A Key Metropolitan Housing Opportunity

The importance of Cato Manor as a key metropolitan housing opportunity has long been recognised. This is due to the extent of publicly owned vacant land, coupled with Cato ManorÕs close proximity to the city centre and the potential to make the area highly accessible to both public and private transportation. Thus key strategies in the delivery of housing in Cato Manor have been to achieve the following:

• to gain the highest possible number of housing opportunities out of the available land;
• to broaden the range and variety of housing available to Durban's populace;
• to ensure that a high proportion of housing is affordable to low and middle income earners;
• to avoid the creation of vast, monotonous, unsafe and environmentally unsustainable housing estates.

To date the CMDA, working together with its partners the KZN Provincial Housing Development Board (PHDB) and the Durban Metro Council Housing Service Unit, has delivered subsidised housing funding worth approximately R45 million. Commitments of R117,7 million have been received from the PHDB.

Income Mix
The target income mix in Cato Manor for housing allocation proposes that 50% of units are for households with a monthly household income below R1 500pm, 35% for households with a monthly income between R1 500pm and R3 500pm, and 15% for households with a monthly income above R3 500pm.

Housing Types
The delivery of housing will involve a variety of housing types. The final mix of housing types will be determined by subsidy and financing arrangements. Land for houses already built or currently in construction has been allocated in the following proportions: 85% for single and double storey units on individual plots, 5% for attached and semi-detached single storey units, 10% for low rise two-to-four storey apartments.

Upgrading of informal settlements
There are six informal settlements in the Cato Manor area, collectively housing an estimated 7 500 families. Much of CMDA's housing capacity has focused on these projects and development in these areas has now reached a point where PHDB funding has been secured for the development of all the areas except one. By June 2000 the upgrading of Wiggins Umkhumbane (672 houses)was substantially complete and the upgrading of Nsimbini (433 houses) 70% complete.
A developer has been appointed for Jamaica (540 houses) and has completed pre-construction survey work. Town planning is approved for Old and New Dunbar and portions of Cato Crest, and 250 families from these settlements are being relocated in preparation for upgrading work.

Home loan Guarantee Fund
An innovative loan guarantee scheme has been set up to give Cato Manor housing beneficiaries access to small housing loans which will enable them to top up their subsidies and improve their homes. The loan guarantee fund was capitalised with R7 million of European Union funds and is administered by the Home Loan Guarantee Company (HLGC).
The scheme gives beneficiaries access to loans of between R3 000 and R7 000, repayable over a maximum of five years at competitive interest rates. Approximately 20 000 individual loans can be granted under the scheme. By June 2000, 100 loans had been granted and 444 housing beneficiaries had been trained.