The upgrading of the City’s rental stock in Kewtown, Athlone, is well underway and the first families were relocated to their temporary homes on Monday 22 February.
The City started planning the upgrade of its rental stock in 2008 and Kewtown was the first area to meet all the criteria. Funding, approved by the Provincial Government and provided by National Government according to the Community Residential Unit (CRU) Policy, is estimated at over a billion rand for the first phase alone. Phase one will see the upgrading of City rental stock in 11 areas over the next five years.
While the rental units are being upgraded, residents who are unable to move in with family or friends during the refurbishment have been accommodated in a Temporary Accommodation Village built specifically for this purpose.
According to Councillor Sims, Mayoral Committee Member for Housing, residents have been involved in the planning process of the upgrade and relocation from the very start. The CRU Upgrade Programme provides for Ward Councillor representation through a Project Forum, the communities through Project Steering Committees and all tenants through Block Committees.
To decide on the location of the Village, the various parties considered technical issues such as availability of services, proximity to all blocks, the possibility of hardening the surface as required, space requirements and consideration of the site’s invasiveness to normal community activities.
The Project Steering Committee, consisting of block representatives of all rental units, councillors and the Subcouncil, discussed the options and agreed to the location.
Individual block meetings were also held to discuss the proposed location with all tenants. The Project Steering Committee re-endorsed the positioning of the Village in the last meeting held on Wednesday 10 February and all parties agreed to the location of the Village.
The containers placed in the Village for use by the residents are 2,4 m by 12 m long, and have insulation, partitions, power, running water, ablution facilities as well as internal and external lighting. All these services were installed prior to residents moving in. Additional storage space is also provided.
Sims said that security is also a key aspect. The City has arranged for additional patrols by Metro Police in the vicinity of the Village. The Community Policing Forum and the South African Police Service (SAPS) have been briefed and extra patrols have been requested for the area. “The tenants also need to take responsibility and phone the Metro Police and SAPS as soon as any incident occurs,” she added.
While the City understands the inconvenience this relocation brings about, the units are in urgent need of upgrade and as such, tenants will have to adapt to the situation. Tenants must be aware that the benefits of a newly upgraded unit far outweigh the temporary inconvenience of their relocation. All aspects of this project were subject to extensive planning involving Government representatives, relevant City departments, external consultants, specialists as well as representatives from the community, to make the upgrading process as painless as possible for all involved.