MEC Kgaogelo Lekgoro has indicated that "Cosmo City, which is a success story, should be emulated for future development".
This comes in the wake of his visit to construction sites around Cosmo City this morning.
"We intend to legislate the inclusionary housing policy, which would mean that future human settlement development will have to follow the model of Cosmo City.
"This is an area which over time has grown into an integrated community were up market housing development exists along site low cost housing and rental stock," said MEC Lekgoro.
"We will be tabling legislation which will force all future human settlement development to include in their plans, schools, parks, shopping areas, recreation areas, transport facilities, as well as different housing typologies to accommodate a wide cross section of people from across all economies," said MEC Lekgoro.
"We will further engage other departments especially the Transport Department to help with the development of an integrated transport plan for Cosmo City.
"We intend to speak to the health and police departments about other issues we saw which require the involvement of these departments. It is important that an area of such magnitude should have all the support services from government benefitting people," said MEC Lekgoro.
Cosmo City currently has more than 9 000 houses completed from the 12 500 expected. It is expected that by year end (2010) all services would have been installed to complete less than 1 000 Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) houses which are remaining from the 4 000 that has already been completed.
All the streets have been tarred which is as a result of cross subsidisation encouraged by the inclusionary and integrated housing development.
Cosmo City currently boasts six schools from the 12 expected on completion of the project. One of the schools is a hotel school. At the moment and industrial area is under development. It will complement other commercial and retail sites currently in existence or developing around the area.
It is expected that Cosmo City will have 43 parks on completion complementing the 300 hector environmental area.
For more information please contact:
Fred Mokoko
Cell: 082 4478 407
Tel: 011 355 4013
E-mail: Fred.Mokoko@gauteng.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Local Government and Housing, Gauteng Provincial Government
8 June 2010
