Gauteng government restores dignity of residents of Lady Selbourne in Tshwane
Josephine Galane (65) was only 12 years old when her family was forcibly removed by the then apartheid after it passed a legislation which declared the area of Lady Selbourne a ‘Group Area’.
On Friday, 12 December 2014, Josephine Galane returned to Lady Selbourne in Tshwane as a property and land owner after Premier David Makhura restored the dignity of Galane and others when he launched the allocation of 300 RDP houses on the day.
Premier David Makhura, Human Settlements MEC Jacob Mamabolo together with Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality MMC for Housing Joshua Ngonyama gave keys to the residents of the Lady Selbourne Mega Housing Project.
On completion the Lady Selbourne mixed housing development project will consist of 5700 housing units with the various options of tenure, including fully subsidised (RDP) houses, low income housing, conventional bonded housing, Finance-Linked Subsidy Housing (FLISP) and rental stock. This mixed income Mega project which is also racially integrated is located in the North of Tshwane, about 10 Km from the CBD, and will bring those who were living far from town nearer to economic and work opportunities.
Josephine Galane said she never thought she will one day own a property in a place where her parents were forcibly removed by the old government. “I am joyful that today I have a place I can call home after many years of renting and staying in backyards of employers properties,” said Galane who is going to share her property with other members of the family.
Premier Makhura said Lady Selbourne is rising again and all people of different races will reside side by side. “What we see in this development is the integration of people from all races something that was taken from them by the then government. These people will once again spend their Christmas as a fully integrated community,” said Makhura.
Lady Selbourne was established in 1905 as a freehold township for Coloured, Indians and Africans. When the old government declared Lady Selbourne a ‘Group Area’ its former residents were segregated with Coloureds in Eersterus and Derdepoort, Indians in Laudium, Blacks in Ga-Rankuwa, Mamelodi, Mabopane and Atteridgeville.
Makhura said all the 300 houses will be occupied before Christmas by residents who will come from the informal settlements and backyard dwellers. He told the new residents that their new houses are capital assets. He discouraged them from selling their houses and return to shacks or backyard renting. He said they are also going minimise the illegal occupation RDP houses by handing over houses immediately after completion and also to deal with delay of projects by contractors and officials.
“We are not going to accept any delay from officials and contractors. Projects must be delivered on time and on budget as people want to see delivery. People don’t want any more excuses and we must not overstretch their patience,” said Makhura.
Also speaking on the day MEC Jacob Mamabolo said the project is advancement by government to move people closer to economic opportunities.
“The manner in which we deliver human settlements must take into consideration the socio-economic circumstances of the beneficiaries, hence our move towards building homes in close proximity to work opportunities”, Mamabolo concluded.
For more information:
Motsamai Motlhaolwa
Cell: 079 897 2240
