21 November 2006
Irish property developer and philanthropist Niall Mellon says "volunteerism will unlock the backlog in housing", and he has challenged Cape Town to provide 1 000 volunteers for a "building blitz" of low-cost township housing in 2007.
Mellon and his team of 350 Irish volunteers plan to build 300 houses in Mfuleni near Blue Downs by the end of December.
More than 1 600 Irish volunteers have taken part in the Irish/South African building initiative since it was started by Mellon four years ago.
According to a report on
IOL, Mellon said he planned to bring 1 000 Irish volunteers out in 2007 and would print "an extra 1 000 T-shirts" for local volunteers.
The report says Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Local Government and Housing MEC Richard Dyantyi and executive mayor Helen Zille visited the construction site on Monday.
Zille, who spent Sunday building houses with Dyantyi, was reported as saying that it was "probably the most fulfiling day in my eight months as mayor".
Zille reportedly emphasised that the contribution of the Irish to housing should be seen as a catalyst for local action.
"Thank you for showing us how. Thank you for throwing down the gauntlet. You will be outnumbered next time by South Africans."
Cape Town's housing backlog is now at more than 400 000 units, said Zille. She said the government's key policy decision was therefore: "Are we going to do a lot for a little or a little for a few?"
She said partnerships with banks and organisations such as Niall Mellon's housing charity would help more people get better houses.
Dyantyi said the city's growing housing backlog was a "moving target" that needed a multi-faceted approach by all levels of government.
He said the province's housing budget of R600-million would provide only 16 000 houses, while the annual demand was for 27 000 houses.
"Every one of us can change the lives of human beings by simply becoming involved. If people and companies play their part in eradicating shacks and building decent homes for all, they will not only help the impoverished people of the townships, but the economy too," said Mellon.
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