FAMILIES' HOUSING DREAMS BECOME REALITY
Tuesday, 6 March 2007
Almost 70 families have had their dreams of owning their own home realised and have moved into new houses as part of the 702 FNB Housing Initiative at Cosmo City.
Construction on this pioneering new housing initiative between Talk Radio 702 and First National Bank (FNB), in association with M5 Developments and the Gauteng Department of Housing, is moving along at a steady pace. More than 300 of the 702 houses have been completed.
"We've already made such a big difference in the lives of those people who have taken occupation of these houses and can't wait to hand over more houses each month so we can continue turning these dreams into reality," said Talk Radio 702 station manager, Pheladi Gwangwa. "At this point, we're set to have 150 houses occupied by the end of March, with the rate of handovers increasing to 100 per month until the end of the project."
The latest recipient in this handover process is Amon Mnguni, who received the keys to his new home on Monday, 12 February 2007.
Amon currently lives with his wife and two children in Zandspruit informal settlement in Honeydew. For him, getting this house was more than just a dream come true, it was about making an investment in the most important thing in his life - his family.
"Our lives are so difficult in Zandspruit. We haven't been able to move out of the area because then our children would be too far away from their schools and transport would become a problem," explained Amon. "But then we heard about Cosmo City and decided to wait to see if we could get an RDP house there. And then the 702 FNB Housing Initiative was launched and I thought to myself, 'maybe we could get one of those houses instead'. So I applied for a house and then got the phone call to say that our application had been approved. We're so happy - I did this for my children, to give them a better life. I just know we're going to be so happy here because this is my house, my chosen house."
To date, 612 applications just like Amon's have been approved.
"It's a very exciting day when public and private sectors can collaborate to assist in housing our nation," said Marius Marais, chief executive officer of FNB Housing Finance. "We are excited about this project and others like it. We also look forward to the day when we see the faces of those South Africans who now own their own haven called home."
According to Faizal Motlekar, executive chairman of M5 Developments, the balance of the 702 houses are at various stages of development and all indications are that the full complement of houses will be ready for final handover in June 2007.
The 702 FNB Housing Initiative was officially launched by the Minister of Housing, Ms Lindiwe Sisulu, in May 2006. It's a public-private partnership that aims to help address the current housing backlog in the province by providing low-income earners with access to affordable housing.
Cosmo City is a mixed-use, integrated housing development near Kya Sands in northern Gauteng. The Department of Housing currently provides subsidies for the construction and servicing of 9 000 units, 5 000 of which are fully-subsidised, 3 000 of which are finance-linked units and 1 000 of which are institutional rental apartments.
The 702 FNB Housing Initiative forms part of the finance-linked component of Cosmo City, where people earning between R3 500 and R7 000 per month can apply for an FNB mortgage bond and government housing subsidy to finance their new home. |
