MINISTRY OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NO.: 381
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 4 JULY 2014
Mr K P Sithole (IFP) to ask the Minister of Human Settlements:
(a) What plans are in place for the revamp of Thokoza Hostel, (b) how much
will it cost and (c) when will this plan be implemented?
NW450E
REPLY
The Thokoza Hostel is situated in the Gauteng Province and falls within the
jurisdiction of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality. The hostel
comprises of fourty one (41) hostel blocks (dormitory type) which were
deemed not suitable for human habitation. A decision was then taken that
these blocks will be demolished and new buildings will be constructed. As a
result of this, the Department appointed the service provider to conduct
planning studies in Thokoza Hostel and detailed
planning and design studies have subsequently been completed and the
service provider is in the process of finalising the business plan.
The hostel will be redeveloped by utilising the complete redevelopment
option of the Community Residential Units Program. Three storey buildings
containing approximately two thousand six hundred and twenty one (2 621)
family units will be constructed in the total development. This project
will consist of seven phases and will be implemented in a phased approach
over a period of approximately 7 years depending on the availability of
funding in subsequent years.
The proposed project plans of the project were communicated to the Thokoza
Hostel leadership and community through community facilitation structures
and a process of setting up a Project Steering Committee is currently
underway.
It is envisaged that the existing residents will be relocated to the
Temporary Residential Units (TRUâs) to make way for the demolition and
installation of new engineering services. These TRUâs will be placed within
the existing hostel area and provided with basic temporal services such as
water, sanitation and electricity. The construction of the actual buildings
in phase 1 will commence during the 2015/2016 financial year.
(b) The budget allocated for the 2014/2015 financial year amounts to R 65.7
million which will cover the cost for the demolition of existing buildings
in phase 1 and the installation of engineering services.
(c) The implementation of phase 1 of the plan will commence during the
second quarter of this financial year. This project will be implemented
over a period of approximately 7 years subject to the availability of
funding.
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