Proper housing on the cards for Kennedy Road, Foreman Road and Burnwood informal settlement residents

DURBAN - KENNEDY Road, Foreman Road and Burnwood informal settlements residents within the eThekwini Municipality could have proper housing soon.

That was according to Minister of Human Settlements Mmamoloko Kubayi, who was responding to a parliamentary written question from the EFF’s Thokozani Langa.

Langa had asked Kubayi that since ward 25 in eThekwini had the largest informal settlements in South Africa, which increased yearly, on what date would the community of Kennedy Road, Foreman Road and Burnwood be provided with adequate housing?

Kubayi said construction on the Kennedy Road Housing Project was being developed in three sub-phases.

“First, the development of 45 sites in Dodoma Avenue (ward 25), a greenfield portion adjacent to the current settlement. Second, 198 sites in Barton Place (ward 23), also a greenfield site in close proximity to the current settlement. Lastly, 225 sites were proposed to be upgraded within the existing Kennedy Road informal settlement.”

Status to date at Dodoma Avenue (45 sites):

• Priority Development Area approval was obtained in 2015 and Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (Spluma) approval for the amendments to the layout is anticipated in February this year.
• To date, 100% of site servicing is complete, 11 units are completed and handed over to beneficiaries. The remaining 34 units are at the completion stage and will be handed over in February.

Barton Place (198 sites):

• Spluma Approval obtained in May 2020.
• Construction began with civil works in September 2020.
• To date, 65% of civil work is completed, and top structure construction has begun. It is anticipated that construction will be completed by November this year.

Kennedy Road Insitu upgrade (225 sites):

• Spluma pre-submission was submitted for approval in 2021.
• Preliminary engineering designs have been completed.
• The environmental and geo-technical inputs from line departments causing the delays are being addressed.
• Spluma approval is anticipated by July this year.
• Civil works are expected to begin in February 2023 and construction by March 2024.

Kubayi said in terms of the National Upgrading Support Programme categorisation, Kennedy Road informal settlement was categorised as B1/C.

The Category B1 portion entails the provision of essential services and other incremental upgrading arrangements leading to eventual formalisation.

When complete, the project will yield about 225 units.

Most households (almost 2 000) are in the category C portion, which entails the need for relocation due to serious health and safety threats that cannot be adequately mitigated in the short-term through basic services provision.

“There have been some unforeseen delays on the project due to unfavourable topography and various social challenges, including disruption by local business forums and disputes between two wards over which the project spans,” Kubayi said.

“Encroachments by surrounding communities on the project footprint also impacted on the construction programme. The municipality has employed a social facilitator to address social challenges in order to mitigate any further risks to the construction programme.”

Regarding Foreman Road and Burnwood, Kubayi said an assessment of the settlements indicated that the land was not appropriate for purposes of formalisation or permanent settlement, therefore the communities should be relocated at some stage.

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