Foundations laid for first housing upgrade

The first phase of housing upgrades in Evaton has started and already the foundations of nine houses have been dug. Meanwhile, a special metals system is being prepared to erect foundations in all mud houses that qualify for the ERP housing upgrade programme. “We are happy to see this progress towards our primary target of 500 upgraded houses for the community,” said Samantha Kaine, Project Manager of the Evaton Renewal Project.

78 year old pensioner, Christopher Segole, is the first housing upgrade beneficiary to have building foundations laid in his yard. “This hole will help in building a strong structure for my new house, and I’m delighted that the work has started in my yard,” said an excited Segole. He added that his stand has also been fenced and graded by the ERP, without him paying a cent. “Who else on earth will erect a fence, grade your yard and build you a house for free?” he asked. “People need to understand that the Evaton Renewal Project is here to change people’s lives. When my new house is finished, I will be an example of this splendid development,” he said.

An excited Christopher Segole, shows the foundations of a new house in his yard.

“We have started building and upgrading houses in Evaton and by December there will be at least 300 houses on the ground,” said Samantha Kaine, Director of the Evaton Renewal Project. “We are moving on from putting in infrastructure and the key focus this year is tackling the housing problem in Evaton,” she said.

500 houses have been identified for housing upgrades. In most cases this means replacing informal and mud houses with formal brick houses. The objective of this project is to improve the quality of lives of the neediest people in Evaton. Phase 1 of the upgrades are being finalised and the contractor has been appointed and is on site and ready to begin the project.

• Show Village: The housing plans for a Show Village have been completed and submitted to the council for approval. Thereafter a contractor will be appointed.
  
• Temporary Relocation Village: While the shacks and mud houses are being built, people will need to have a place to live. The temporary relocation village will be built for this purpose. The house plans have been completed and submitted to the council for approval and the building contractor has been appointed.
  
• Evaton Development Modelling: A model of Evaton is being developed to show what the entire Evaton Renewal Project development will look like. This will be completed in April 2008 and people will be able to view the model at the Evaton Renewal Project offices.