Municipality approves electricity provision for Edendale
•Fri, 5 Oct 2007

By Thabisile Gumede

RESIDENTS in the greater Edendale area can look forward to brighter surroundings after the Msunduzi Municipality’s executive committee (Exco) yesterday approved the long awaited provision of funding for electricity connections to indigent households inclusive of low-cost housing schemes and informal settlements.

Edendale councillors previously expressed dissatisfaction with council’s failure to spend the budget of R5,81 million received from National Treasury for Free Basic Electricity (FBE), while neglecting the Greater Edendale area when it comes to the provision of free basic electricity to the Greater Edendale Development Initiative (Gedi) and indigent households. The municipality has only managed to spend R12 574,27 from FBE budgeted for the 2007/08 financial year.

(Mnikelo is from Foreman Road, not Kennedy Road and S'bu and the meeting in general stressed the need for mass mobilization and legal strategies and discussed, carefully, how to ensure that the later don't weaken the former)

Shack dwellers to oppose ‘slum’ bill
•Mon, 16 Jul 2007

By Thabisile Gumede

THE Abahlali baseMjondolo (shack dwellers'’) Movement, an organisation of shack dwellers with members in more than 40 informal settlements in the province, has vowed to oppose the KZN Elimination and Prevention of Re-emergence of Slums Bill, 2006 by all means necessary.

This was revealed at a meeting to discuss legal and political strategies to oppose the slums bill on Friday at the Kennedy Road settlement community hall.

Housing policy ‘anti-poor’
•Tue, 19 Jun 2007

By Thabisile Gumede

MSUNDUZI’S low-income housing policy has been criticised by housing rights organisations for being regressive and anti-poor.

A document sent to city officials and residents by the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (Cals) and the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) states that the general lack of affordable housing in the city has led to an increase in the number of informal settlements.

The two organisations embarked on a joint investigation of possible housing rights’ violations after the 2005 Willow Gardens estate evictions.