President Jacob Zuma says government’s efforts to restore the dignity of the residents of Langa through the roll-out of integrated human settlements have paid off.

The President officially opened the N2 Gateway project in the Cape Town informal settlement last week.

The N2 Gateway Integrated Human Settlements Development is a national priority project designed to address poverty, destitution and homelessness through the elimination of informal settlements.

The President said prior to the launch of the project, there was no adequate housing in the area and residents lived in squalor.

“Government took the decision to improve this place because we realised the hardships that our people faced.

“We wanted to ensure that the N2 Gateway project becomes an important intervention … we realised that in order to cater for the needs of the residents of the city, there had to be a change of gear and approach in the way of doing things,” he said.

The bigger picture

The President said government wanted to ensure that the project not only created houses, but was part of an overall strategy to provide facilities such as schools and clinics, correct apartheid spatial planning and bringing people closer to their workplaces.

To date, the project has delivered over 14 000 houses. The Department of Human Settlements will complete a further 8 000 units by 2019.

The main aim of the project, which was launched in 18 August 2004 as a pilot project by the Department of Human Settlements, was to provide low-cost human settlements that would restore the dignity of locals.

The President unveiled a plaque at one of the construction sites to commemorate the official opening of the project, before he put on a protective jacket and hard hat and laid bricks at one of the units that were still being built.

He was accompanied by Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane and Human Settlements Deputy Minister Zou Kota-Fredericks.

The President then proceeded to hand over houses to several beneficiaries before addressing members of the community during an imbizo.