The first residents of the biggest mixed income human settlement in Gauteng which will add a totally new township to Soweto known as Lufhereng.
The housing development will assist in the reduction of housing backlog in the sprawling southern Johannesburg township and deliver 24 000 housing opportunities for residents of the Greater Soweto area.
The Minister of Human Settlements, Tokyo Sexwale, the Premier of Gauteng Nomvula Mokonyane, the Executive Mayor of Johannesburg, Amos Masondo, and the MEC for Local Government and Housing, Kgaogelo Lekgoro, officially launched the project today, handing over new houses to six first time women home owners. This was in keeping with the Women’s Month activities.
Established in line with the Breaking New Ground policy, the development is aimed at building a sustainable community located closer to economic opportunities and able to provide residents with social and economic amenities such as schools, crèches, churches, clinics, parks as well as business nodes.
The development is also set to foster social cohesion by providing housing for the poorest of the poor, affordable housing for other low income households, and middle-to-high income bonded housing stock for the general market earning between R3 500 to R10 000 per month.
Low cost housing Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) houses will form half of the Lufhereng project and beneficiaries are people from the 96/97 housing demand database from the Greater Soweto area as well as residents from the Protea South informal settlement.
Small farmers from the Doornkop farming community who currently occupy the development land will also be accommodated and integrated into the new development.
The first phase of the project includes the development of 2 433 freehold stands, detached, semi-detached and row house units, 1 192, of which are earmarked solely for Reconstruction and Development Programme homes.
This human settlement project is planned to include other land uses normally associated with a sustainable urban environment, social, institutional, commercial, municipal and public open space.
Provision will be made for over 15 primary and secondary schools and more than 60 community facilities, churches and crèches.
The agricultural component of the project will focus on small scale intensive field farming and commercial hydroponics, targeted principally at Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) small farmer development.
During development, attention will be focused on the entire agri-business value chain, targeting each of production, processing and distribution.
For more information please contact:
Fred Mokoko
Cell: 082 447 8707
Nthatise Modingoane
Cell: 082 467 9228
Sipho Mokoena
Cell: 082 566 0515
