A new Community Construction programme has been launched by Forge Academy & Labs, in partnership with mining company Sibanye-Stillwater, in Brakpan.
Forge Academy & Labs has a strong focus on digital technologies and courses being offered online, so the hands-on construction programme being presented at the precious metal refinery of Sibanye-Stillwater presents a major departure for the education provider. Designed to cover all aspects of construction, the course will include components such as bricklaying, plumbing and electrical wiring.
The new training centre was launched in February 2024 with two 12-month programmes offering certification courses in Amazon Web Services with Business Analysis, together with the Community Construction. Course graduates will earn a full SETA-accredited qualification.
More initiatives
A provincial government programme has been launched in the same field, but this one is designed to give skills to unemployed people living in townships. The aim is to provide the skills that can be applied to upgrade the quality of housing where people live. The “iCrush le Lova” programme aims to create qualified bricklayers, electricians and plumbers.
A complementary programme will improve and expand a database on township architects, hardware stores, building suppliers and contractors, all professionals and businesses that can work on the design and construction of upgrades to township housing stock. A further group of unemployed people will be trained to assist in compiling the database. There are about 700 informal settlements in Gauteng, and there are provincial plans to upgrade 68 in the short term.
The R300-million SA SMME Crisis Partnership Fund has been launched. A collaboration between the Provincial Government of Gauteng, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the SA SME Fund, it intends to make financing available up to R1.5-million to SMMEs and to home owners wanting to upgrade their backyard rental accommodation.
Six intermediaries have been identified to find and fund entrepreneurs and rental properties that need working capital or asset finance. Indlu Living, one of the six companies, is already funding rental property upgrades, with the expectation that rental income will pay off the loan.
Projects
An innovative scheme to build a new township in Gauteng is backed by a retirement fund. The Transport Sector Retirement Fund is building an integrated settlement in the Sedibeng District Municipality south of Johannesburg. The R2.7-billion development includes a shopping centre and will include a mix of housing types.
A large housing project south-east of Tshwane has been designated a Strategic Integrated Project (SIP) which means that all of the external bulk services will be supplied by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. Balwin Properties will develop the residential component of Mooikloof Mega City and the educational, commercial and filling station erven will be sold to a third party. The intention is to build about 16 000 apartments, with the potential to increase to 50 000. The property is on Garsfontein Drive.
Another SIP is Malibongwe Ridge, a mixed-use development that is a joint venture between the City of Johannesburg and the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements. Located next to Cosmos City, housing for 5 500 families is expected to cost R2.55-billion to develop.
New cities
By 2030 Gauteng will have two huge new cities, socially diverse, digitally connected and ecologically responsible and sustainable. That’s if the Provincial Government of Gauteng brings to fruition its plans for the west (Lanseria to Hartbeespoort Dam) and the south, where Vaal River City will stretch from Vereeniging to Sasolburg in the Free State.
In the 25 years since South Africa has been a democracy, more than 1.2-million subsidised houses have been built by government entities in Gauteng. Provincial government has pledged to release 10 000 serviced stands as part of its Rapid Land Release programme and it intends finishing incomplete housing projects in Alexandra, Evaton, Kliptown, Bekkersdal and Winterveldt.
Bodies such as the National Housing Finance Corporation, Indlu and Umastandi (social capital entrepreneurs) are working with provincial authorities to find ways to formalise and monetise the township market so that sustainable incomes can be generated and affordable housing and rental stock become more readily available.
The Gauteng Partnership Fund (GPF) has attracted more than R3.5-billion in private sector funding for affordable housing in the province since 2012. The Brickfields housing and rental development in Newton was funded by the GPF and implemented by the Johannesburg Housing Company (JHC) as one of the first inner-city rejuvenation projects. JHC is a leader in converting bad buildings to usable rental space.
Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) projects range from the upgrading of Constitution Hill, the Faraday Station precinct, work on the Fashion District and pavements of the inner city, renovation of the Drill Hall and the Newtown upgrade.
Private developer Indluplace Properties has purchased nine large apartment blocks, taking its total buildings in central Johannesburg CBD, Berea and Hillbrow to 23: 33% of the units are bachelor pads and 22% are two-bedroomed flats.
Gauteng construction and property sector resources:
- Construction Industry Development Board: www.cidb.org.za
- Gauteng Partnership Fund: www.gpf.org.za
- Green Building Council SA: www.gbcsa.org.za
- Johannesburg Development Agency: www.jda.org.za
