The City of Cape Town handed over keys to eighteen new homes at Elsies River’s Florida site families as they continue to drive housing delivery at the Elsies River Infill Housing Project. The project spans six sites across the area and will ultimately provide homes for 724 qualifying beneficiaries and their families.
This latest handover saw 18 families receiving the keys to their new homes at the Florida site and marked another important step in the delivery of this significant housing project.
The Elsies River Infill Housing Project demonstrates how the City of Cape Town is making better use of available land within existing communities to deliver housing opportunities where people already have access to established services, transport networks and economic opportunities. The six sites vary considerably in size, with the largest providing 303 housing opportunities and the smallest providing just nine.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Human Settlements – Councillor Carl Pophaim stated that every key they handed over represents a promise that is being turned into something real. Behind every housing opportunity is a family that has waited for the security and dignity of a place they can finally call home.
According to Pophaim, this week, 18 more families received their homes. Across this project, 724 qualifying beneficiaries and their families will ultimately benefit. This is what steady delivery looks like – site by site, home by home, family by family.
Cllr Pophaim added that this project has been a great challenge. Safety concerns disrupted construction at some of the sites, but they were determined that these challenges would not prevent qualifying beneficiaries from receiving their homes. With additional support from City Law Enforcement, construction was able to continue, now they are seeing the results.
Reportedly, Cape Town has enormous housing needs, and they know that they cannot address them overnight. But that cannot become an excuse for standing still. Their responsibility is to use the resources and land available to them that keep projects moving and continue delivering opportunities to qualifying residents across the city.
This housing allocation must also remain fair. Housing opportunities cannot be determined by political pressure, intimidation or by who shouts the loudest. They must go to qualifying residents fairly and transparently, in accordance with the City’s Housing Allocation Policy and Housing Needs Register.
They will further continue to protect the integrity of that process because every resident who has waited patiently deserves to know that their housing opportunity cannot simply be taken away because somebody else attempts to jump the queue. For the families receiving their keys this week, this is much more than the handover of a structure. It is the beginning of a new chapter, a secure home, greater stability and something they can build their future around.
Cllr Carl Pophaim stated that there is still much work ahead of them and they know that. That is precisely why they will keep working, keep building and keep delivering. This week it is 18 families in Elsies River. As construction progresses, more families will follow.
At the handover ceremony Pophaim was joined by the Ward Councillor Beverley Van Reenen and Subcouncil Chairperson Franchesca Walker.
Beneficiaries of City housing projects are selected in accordance with the City’s Housing Allocation Policy and Housing Needs Register to ensure that housing opportunities are made available in a fair and transparent manner that prevents queue jumping and to those who qualify for housing as per South African legislation.