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Residents of Princess Plot West of Johannesburg will finally have a place they could call home following the visit today by Human Settlements MEC Jacob Mamabolo where he launched a housing project that will deliver more than 4000 houses.

Princess Plot residents have been waiting for years to receive houses from the government. In the years that they have been waiting the area was marred by violent service delivery protests which negatively affected the businesses around the area and the busy routes.

“Today we are changing the perception of Princess Plot which was one of violence and blockading of roads. We are fundamentally redefining Princess as a place of new beginnings and stable home for future generations. It was not an easy task getting to where we are today. Our road to a new Princess was paved with difficulties and challenges,” said Mamabolo.

The MEC together with Housing MMC Dan Bovu in the City of Johannesburg visited the site where the houses are currently under construction for the residents of the informal settlement.

MEC Jacob Mamabolo said the project was delayed due to lack of land to build enough houses for the residents. “In responding to human settlements’ needs we had to come up with spatial transformation that will assist us in maximising output through densification so that we can allocate homes en masse in a way that makes a dent amongst those who are waiting for homes. That is why we are building these houses so that we can be able to accommodate more people from the settlement,” said MEC Mamabolo.

The Princess Plot housing project will be implemented as a mixed tenure, mixed density and mixed land. The first phase will be implemented through the Human Settlements Department, with the second being run by the City of Joburg. The current phase in construction is expected to completed between 2016-17.

Mamabolo said that Military Veterans will also benefit as a specific group of beneficiaries.

The MEC said whilst the approach going forward is mega human settlements projects, they are mindful that there are housing projects already started so they will work tirelessly to complete such projects, especially such as Princess plot which is a project where people currently reside.

“This Princess project is in line with our programme of eradicating informal settlements in our province,” said MEC Mamabolo.

Initially Princess Plot project was meant to benefit just more than 1000 beneficiaries but was later revised to cater for more than 3500 units due to the mushrooming of the informal settlement. MEC Mamabolo urged the community to report to the authorities of any new shack erection in the area.

Mamabolo added that Princess Plot is strategically located near economic opportunities and also along transport nodes. “The design of Princess was influenced by the close proximity to Westgate Railway Station, Westgate Shopping Centre, Main Reef Road and K11 future Provincial Road,” said Mamabolo.

He further said with such a project and easy access to amenities, there will be minimal disruption to people’s daily lives, something that will be welcomed by the community who have designed their lives around living in this area.

Issued by the Gauteng Provincial Government