City of Cape Town's historic agreement aims to transform informal settlements

Cape Town homeowners are watching a major shift unfold. The City has signed a historic Memorandum of Agreement with Urban Think Tank Empowerment (UTTE) to roll out a large-scale, community-led upgrade of informal settlements. 

The first pilot will focus on BTT Section and Vukani in Site C, Khayelitsha. It’s the start of a three-phase programme expected to improve living conditions for more than 5 000 households.

“What is happening here is really special, and the pilot project in BTT Section and Vukani informal settlements in Site C Khayelitsha is just the beginning, as we plan to tackle the upgrading of identified informal settlements in other metro areas at scale. Spread over three phases, this innovative community-led upgrade programme is foreseen to improve the lives of more than 5 000 households,” the City said in its statement.

The agreement opens the door to similar partnerships with other organisations. The City says this approach aligns with its Human Settlements Strategy, which hinges on collaboration.

“And the historic partnership agreement that the City has just signed with UTTE holds great potential for similar partnership roll outs with other organisations…. A local government on its own simply cannot solve the housing challenges, said Human Settlements Mayco Member, Councillor Carl Pophaim.

Pophaim stressed the urgency, focusing on fire risks spike during summer with health and safety pressures remaining severe. 

“Expanding service delivery and upgrading informal settlements on a much larger scale to enhance health and safety remains crucial. We will bring the change we want to see and we will build Cape Town together,” Pophaim said.

The City said the model draws from the BT Soweto pilot, where 72 row-house duplexes replaced unsafe structures. The project included four commercial spaces to boost local income, a community centre with a crèche and tutoring hub, an urban farm, a football academy, and public open spaces.

UTTE Managing Director Delana Finlayson added they’re ready for the next leap. “We’re super excited to sign this partnership with the City to significantly change housing conditions in informal settlements. We have a proven model that works and we are ready to scale it up with our partner, the City,” she said.

Residents who’ve already benefited say the shift is life-changing. “I was staying for 20 years in a structure that was terrible, wooden and dangerous…. I feel I am in a safe place, I feel secure in my new home and even the people who were working here, were local,” said Khayelitsha resident  Phumezo Tsibanto.

Under the agreement, the City will handle civil infrastructure, bulk services, site management, subsidy administration and development processes. UTTE will focus on trust-building, local labour, and a bottom-up, site-specific design that replaces single-storey structures with safer duplex units.

Get your news on the go, click here to join the Cape Argus News WhatsApp channel.

Cape Argus