- Maitland Mews in Voortrekker Road is Cape Town’s newest social housing development.
- Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi unveiled the 24-unit apartment complex.
- Most of the apartments will be allocated to beneficiaries who earn between R1 850 and R6 700 per month.
Cape Town’s newest social housing development in Voortrekker Road welcomed its first tenants last week.
“I’m at Maitland Mews, in my new home,” 66-year-old Merle Malan told News24 in the living room of her ground-floor apartment.
READ | Limpopo police build house for woman left paralysed after partner allegedly shoots her in the head
Clutching a bouquet she received moments earlier as a housewarming gift, Malan described the joy of being a tenant in Cape Town’s latest social housing development.
She moved from Belhar and is closer to Groote Schuur Hospital and the local clinic – essential amenities for her, owing to her health issues.
Haven for low-income earners
Joined by local government officials, Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi was on site to participate in the official unveiling of Maitland Mews.
“To families, being able to see this project, it means as government and private sector and all our stakeholders, we are able to give dignity to our families. We are able to give dignity to communities,” said Kubayi.
She added:
But, more importantly, for women, we are able to ensure that they can live in an environment that provides security.
Maitland Mews, which comprises 204 apartments, is situated on the corner of Voortrekker Road and Cannon Street, with Cape Town’s CBD a less-than-10-minute drive away.
More than half of the units within the social housing development will be allocated to beneficiaries who earn between R1 850 and R6 700 a month.
ALSO READ | Will political pacts save SA? Steenhuisen, Mashaba
and others take hot seat at News24 summit
Bachelor units, like the one occupied by Malan, are rented for as little as R650 per month.
Larger two-bedroom units, for the secondary target market of people who earn between R6 701 and R22 000 per month, are available for R4 900 a month.
In this way, social housing company Madulammoho, which manages Maitland Mews, can maintain the complex through rental income.
More public-private partnerships needed
The R95.9 million project, which broke ground in November 2021, received a financial boost through the Consolidated Capital Grant from the Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA) and loan finance from the National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC).
The area, which was a parking lot, was also sold at a discounted price by the City of Cape Town, with additional rates reductions, making the units even more affordable.
“This is one of the projects that allows us [to be involved in] partnerships. I’m a proponent of public-private partnerships because I do believe that government alone will not be able to achieve our objectives… we need all partners to come together,” said Kubayi.
Just the beginning
A further 6 500 social housing opportunities are in the pipeline across 50 land parcels throughout the city.
“There are also several huge parcels of land in the city that are owned by the military, in particular, and the Department of Public Works, and sometimes Transnet as well, and we’ve asked repeatedly [if] we can get access to those so we can do this on a much bigger scale,” City of Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis told News24.
However, Hill-Lewis said discussions with stakeholders were ongoing and that his office would “keep chipping away at that and keep making the arguments, and hopefully, we’ll get there one day”.