MEDIA RELEASE
NO. 630 / 2010
27 AUGUST 2010



The City of Cape Town’s community residential units (CRU) refurbishment programme which started in February this year is making good progress, resulting in many happy tenants. Upgrades to 200 City-owned rental units have already been completed in various areas across the city. This project is the first of its kind in South Africa whereby the national Housing CRU policy funding is being utilised to upgrade public rental housing.

Residents of the City’s rental stock have been vacating their flats, a block at a time, so that renovations can be done. On average, a block of flats is upgraded over a period of a month. In the interim, the City has set up temporary accommodation villages to house residents during the upgrade.

“The units in these villages are of a high standard with partitions, bathrooms and hot water for the shower and kitchen. In addition water and electricity are provided free of charge for the duration of their stay,” said the City’s Manager for Existing Housing, Grace Blouw. “People are willingly giving up their rental units to enable this transformation and they appreciate the comfortable conditions that these villages provide,” she said.

“When tenants return to their once dilapidated flats, it is so heart-warming to see the overwhelming excitement and joy on their faces,” said Blouw. This time round it is not just a paint job. A complete transformation is being done looking at all aspects of the buildings, including:

• Repairs to leaks and blocked sewers
• Repairs to plumbing installations
• Rewiring of the entire electrical installation
• Repairs to deteriorating staircases
• Repairs to leaking roofs, fascias, gutters and down pipes
• Repairs to doors and windows
• Installation of new kitchen sink units
• Laying of vinyl flooring
• Laying of new wall tiling
• Improvements to refuse collection areas
• Improved security, i.e. repair of fences and gates

Upgrades to some units in Kewtown, Scottsville, Scottsdene and Uitsig have already been completed. Work on flats in Hanover Park and Ottery has just begun, and Woodlands and The Range will follow thereafter. Heideveld, Connaught and Manenberg are also included in this first phase of the refurbishment programme.

Tenants are grateful that, despite the improvements, they will not have to pay more rent at the end of the month. One woman was in tears as she entered her newly-renovated flat in Kewtown. “I want to thank the City for giving us so much, and we don’t even have to pay for it. This will definitely make a big change in our lives,” she said.

Mr Jerome Byland (27) and his family have lived at Ashbury Court in Scottsdene their entire life and recently moved back to their renovated home. Byland is one of the people who have been helping with the repairs. “The house is just so much better now. It feels more like a home. They also added grills to the stairs and this makes it safer for the children. I am very happy with the repairs,” he said.

In Uitsig, residents say the upgrades are far better than they ever imagined. This is one of the poorest communities in the city and some units did not have a sink in the kitchen, let alone proper ablution facilities. Now, they have upgraded bathrooms with hot water and full kitchen sink units. Kevin Louw, who recently moved back said of the upgrade: “Ons is baie gelukkig – ons kan niks verder verwag nie.” (English translation: “We are very happy, we can’t expect anything more”).

Executive Mayor, Alderman Dan Plato, says he is immensely pleased with the progress that has been made. “We are not just performing maintenance with these upgrades; we are setting new standards in the city. Tenants living in the City’s rental stock are experiencing firsthand a significant upliftment that will really make a difference for many of our people in Cape Town,” he said.


Note to editors: High-res photos are available on request, including exterior and interior shots.
The captions are:
1. Kevin Louw and Mimmie Louw and Chantelle Kannemeyer of Uitsig Avenue are very happy with their newly upgraded house in Uitsig.
2. Kitchen sink units being installed at Scottsdene are of a high quality solid timber.
3. Baths, tiles and hot water in the bathrooms are part of the upgrade for Kewtown.
4. Floors in Kewtown are sealed before top grade vinyl is installed – usually only seen in hospitals and clinics.
5. Ashbury Court in Scottsdene where builders are busy with a complete revamp of the block.
6. One of the first completed blocks in Kewtown. Residents can now boast that they stay in flats that compete with many ‘upmarket’ areas.
7. A temporary accommodation village in Kewtown where residents can stay while their units are being upgraded.


END

ISSUED BY:
COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT, CITY OF CAPE TOWN

MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
GRACE BLOUW
MANAGER: EXISTING HOUSING
CITY OF CAPE TOWN
TEL: 021 400 4952 CELL: 084 208 7778

ZAAHIR JASSIEM
SENIOR ENGINEER: EXISTING HOUSING
CITY OF CAPE TOWN
TEL: 021 710 8127 CELL: 084 225 1993