Mid Term Report - Gauteng Online

––Progressfee exemptions, free health care, schooluniforms, school feeding and psycho-socialsupport such as foster careIntroducing a comprehensive and integratedfood security programme focusing onincreasing local food production throughsupport for farmers, especially black andwomen farmers, and food gardens, continuedschool feeding programmes andimproving the nutritional status through supplementationand awareness programmesSupporting and empowering people withspecial needs, including the most vulnerable,children and youth in conflict with thelaw and people with disabilities. Governmentwill play a stronger role to compensatefor compromised family support as aresult of the AIDS epidemic.Since 2004, the provincial government has madesignificant progress on all its commitments relating tofighting poverty and building better communities. Arange of new strategies and programmes have beendeveloped, including the Gauteng Social DevelopmentStrategy, an integrated housing strategy, theGauteng Strategy on Sustainable Development, theGauteng Safety Plan, the Gauteng Road Safety Plan,the consolidated Expanded Public Works Programmeand the Sports Development Strategy. Significantprogress has been made in developing poor communitiesand access to basic services and in expandingthe social safety net, including through the BanaPele programme, which provides free services to theprovince’s poorest children.Human settlementIn line with the commitments in the GPG’s five yearprogramme and the national human settlement plan,the provincial government adopted a new and integratedapproach to housing and human settlement,known as Breaking New Ground. The strategy goesbeyond simply building houses to a more holisticapproach focusing on a comprehensive package offacilities such as clinics, schools, policing services,roads, community centers and economic hubs. Theseare essential in building sustainable communities andimproving people’s quality of life.The plan has shifted from a “one size fits all” responseto the growing demand for decent shelterin Gauteng which is further prompted by rapidurbanization and in-migration. We have expandedpeople’s access to a variety of housing opportunitiesby focusing on the specific needs of different sectors.Between April 2004 and October 2006, a total of161 579 new housing opportunities were providedin the province. This amounts to at least 177 housingopportunities a day, improving the lives of over 600000 Gauteng residents.We have succeeded in mobilizing private sectorinvestment in the delivery of affordable housing to includea significant section of the population excludedfrom housing opportunities provided by governmentand through banks.Key initiatives since 2004 have included the formalizationof informal settlements, the upgrading of hostelsand a major urban renewal programme targetedat 20 of Gauteng’s older, established townships. Thedevelopment of new communities, including mixedincome settlements, are beginning to break downapartheid settlement patterns where communities aresegregated according to race and income. This willhelp contribute to social cohesion and nation building.New communitiesOne of the largest new communities to be developedin the province is Cosmo City, which was launchedin 2005 and caters for a variety of income groupsthrough mixed-use housing. This includes give-awayhouses for low income earners and bonded housesfor middle to higher income earners. Over 2 800bonded houses have been transferred to owners,while close to 1 900 RDP houses had been completedby December 2006. In addition, in linewith provincial government commitments to ensurethe timeous provision of an integrated package ofamenities in new settlements, three schools havebeen opened, with an additional three planned forcompletion in the 2007/08 financial year. A mobileclinic was made available in the area while plansare afoot for the completion of a permanent clinicand other facilities.Social and rental housingSocial and rental housing has been provided forGauteng residents who do not wish to own theirhouses. This includes migrants who may own houseselsewhere and young working people who wish tolive close to urban amenities to minimize transportcosts to work. It has been used for infill housingopportunities in inner cities and contributes to urbanrenewal.These initiatives have been supported by the GautengPartnership Fund (GPF), which was set up toaddress funding needs in the social housing sector.Its key focus is to attract private sector finance foraffordable housing by enabling social housing institutionsin Gauteng to obtain financing on favourableMidterm Report - 2004/06 • 23