City focuses on redress through retrofitting
In the City of Cape Town, we believe that we have an important role to play in righting the wrongs of the past. In doing so, we seek to provide our residents with access to opportunities that were once denied to many of them. These opportunities are the key to unlocking a better life.
At the dawn of our democracy, it was decided that government must provide just and equitable redress to those who were denied full access to land after the promulgation of the infamous Natives Land Act of 19 June 1913. The passing of this Act restricted black South Africans from buying or renting land in 93% of the country, and paved the way for a number of other discriminatory laws and practices.
After 1994, the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) was one of the first initiatives aimed at reversing this institutionalised discrimination.
The provision of low-cost housing was identified as a key strategy for redressing the apartheid legacy of poverty and disenfranchisement.
Today, 20 years later, redress remains a priority in all spheres of government.
Between 1994 and 2005, ceilings were not included in the subsidy that National Government paid to build RDP houses. Most RDP houses were therefore built without ceilings or weather walls. In the City of Cape Town, there are currently 40 000 RDP subsidy houses without ceilings and weather-proofing.
Houses without ceilings are subject to poor condensation, which gives rise to damp conditions. Besides the physical discomfort experienced by residents, this also has health implications. Poor indoor air quality can give rise to and exacerbate respiratory illnesses.
After 2005, this situation was rectified and ceilings were included in all new RDP houses. However, in the City of Cape Town, we had not forgotten about those who were still without a proper roof over their heads. We decided to conduct a retrofitting pilot project - a process whereby houses would be fitted with insulated ceilings and weather walls would be weather-proofed.
We implemented this pilot in Mamre, and installed 260 ceilings in RDP houses. When we witnessed the multiple benefits of this project, we were determined to extend the programme to all RDP houses that were built before 2005 across the metro.
Through capital raised from the Green Fund, we are now embarking on a retrofitting programme of all 40 000 RDP houses that did not receive ceilings.
We will be spending R400 million on this initiative. As such, the City of Cape Town is the only metro in South Africa that is undertaking a project of this magnitude.
We anticipate that approximately 8 000 houses will be retrofitted during the first phase of this process, with the remainder of the ceilings to be installed over the next few years. This project will be rolled out in 16 different areas which include Bonteheuwel, Phumlani, Lwandle and Vrygrond.
The installation of these ceilings will not only improve the quality of life for residents, it will reduce their energy costs as well.
Underscoring our commitment to redress, we will also be offering community members the opportunity to be trained in the skills required to undertake this process. As a result, they will develop skills that will assist them in accessing job opportunities, or even creating new jobs. This could in turn help strengthen the manufacturing sector.
We are therefore not just repairing houses; we are empowering communities and changing the lives of our residents by consolidating our commitment to redress. In so doing, we are all contributing to make progress possible, together.
In our efforts to eradicate the legacy of the past, we are striving to create a city in which all our residents can live their best lives by achieving their full potential. I believe that with projects such as retrofitting, we are one step closer to achieving just that.
This article by Patricia de Lille first appeared in Cape Town This Week, the online newsletter of the Executive Mayor of the City of Cape Town.
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