The City of Cape Town has launched a ground-breaking initiative to provide basic services to people who dwell in the backyards of City-owned rental housing.
Factreton in Kensington was identified as a suitable area for the project, and 156 rental housing sites owned by the City were earmarked for the immediate provision of basic services.
Lessons learned from this process will influence the implementation of the project in areas such as Hanover Park and Langa, where similar surveys of backyards are currently being conducted.
Executive Mayor, Alderman Patricia de Lille, officially launched the City’s Backyarder Upgrade Project in Factreton on Wednesday, 16 November 2011. Examples of the units to be provided to backyarder households were unveiled. Each household will get an enclosed concrete walled flush toilet with a tap and wash trough on the outside. An electricity connection will also be supplied, so that backyarders can access the basic amounts of electricity and water provided as part of the City’s indigent policy.
De Lille said the pressures of rapid urbanisation and limited resources mean that the housing waiting list – currently sitting at 400 000 – is not being reduced. In the interim, the City is therefore trying to help residents in informal housing in whatever way it can.
The backyarder programme is the first of its kind in South Africa and is the delivery of a major campaign pledge, she said.
“I am pleased that we are reaching the next level of our backyarder upgrade programme. For too long, people have been forced to make a life for themselves without all the help that they need. That help means access to water, sanitation and electricity: access to services.”
The Executive Mayor thanked all those involved in the project, including backyarders and landlords, who remain a central partner in the process.
The Factreton project is the start of the City’s programme to provide services to backyarder communities on Council land over the next five years, she said. Engineering surveys will be conducted on backyarder communities to assess the scale of services needed, and units providing services will then be implemented.
“These services will provide dignity and better living conditions. In partnership, we are demonstrating that we can find innovative solutions to our problems. And in so doing, we build a more caring and inclusive city, together,” De Lille said.
