The Johannesburg City Council has approved a plan to tackle the housing challenge within the inner city and create safe‚ clean and connected communities with access to economic opportunities.
On Thursday‚ the council made 12 City owned properties available for the purpose of creating quality low cost income housing within the inner city.
Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba said on Sunday that since coming into office‚ revitalising the inner city has been a critical component of his administration.
“There is no doubt that one of the highest challenges we face in the inner city is access to affordable housing and the increase in hijacked buildings.
“It is estimated that some 30‚000 accommodation units are required in the short term to address the needs of the most vulnerable households within the City‚” Mashaba said.
“The City has conducted an audit of some 500 bad buildings‚ 84 of which are confirmed as hijacked. 24 of 500 bad buildings belong to the City. All of these buildings represent opportunities for creating affordable housing.
“Through the Inner City Housing Implementation Plan‚ we are set to make the inner city housing market work better for the poor‚” Mashaba said.
Public-Private partnerships were crucial to this strategic approach‚ he added.
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