Cape Town has signed an historic Memorandum of Agreement with NGO Urban Think Tank Empowerment (UTTE) for the community-led upgrade of identified informal settlements across the areas of Cape Town. The agreement is one of the interventions that the City believes which could change the face of informality in the identified informal settlement areas in the future.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Human Settlements – Councillor Carl Pophaim said that what is happening here is really special. Most importantly the pilot project in BTT Section and Vukani informal settlements in Site C Khayelitsha, and it is just the beginning as they plan to tackle the upgrading of identified informal settlements in other metro areas at scale.
Spreaded over for three phases, this innovative community has led the upgrade programme which is foreseen to improve the lives of more than 5,000 households.
Pophaim exclaimed that, it is a historic partnership agreement that the City of cape Town has just signed with UTTE and it holds a great potential for similar partnership roll outs with other organisations.
The Human Settlements Strategy of the City of Cape Town is specifically found on the principle of partnership across type of housing delivery, where the City plays an enabling role to unlock and drive housing delivery at scale.
Considering this, the local government on its own has simply but not alone, has solved the housing challenges. Per se the teamwork is necessary and a private-public partnership, community-led approach enhances the chances of success.
Carl Pophaim further stated that as a city, together they have been working with partners in areas such as Khayelitsha and others for more than decade to enable community-led to upgrade projects.
He also stated that they will continue to explore all avenues to find their ways to provide hope and dignity through affordable housing of all types, and especially in the informal settlements that are faced with high health and safety risks.
However, as all are moving into summer with gale force winds and hot weather the fire risk the informal settlements that residents are constant. By expanding service delivery and upgrading informal settlements on a much larger scale to enhance health and safety remains crucial. Further they will bring the change that they want to see and will build Cape Town together.