The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) kept the pressure on the Mbombela Local Municipality’s Portfolio Committee on Urban Planning and Development to table the long-awaited final policy on student housing to the Council. Executive Mayor Sibongile Makushe-Mazibuko has, however, postponed the policy.
This policy is crucial, as the demand for housing near institutions such as the University of Mpumalanga, the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) and various TVET colleges continues to increase.
Seeing as Nelspruit and surrounds will soon have to accommodate around 8 000 students, many operators sprang into action without approved building plans or municipal consent.
Consequently, tensions arose in neighbourhoods where unauthorised, unregistered student housing complexes are now operated and by-laws regarding noise and littering are frequently violated.
While the Freedom Front Plus endorses the finalised policy, the party wishes to express its concerns regarding the following issues:
- the close proximity of student housing to residential properties;
- the pressure that an additional 8 000 residents will put on the Municipality’s water and sewerage infrastructure; and
- the need for strictly enforcing by-laws regarding noise, zoning, littering and parking.
- Facilities that do not comply with the applicable regulations should be ordered to shut down operations at once.
Despite concerns about the capacity of the existing infrastructure, the Freedom Front Plus does support the final policy, as it may stimulate private investment and promote local economic growth – provided it is properly regulated and enforced.
Finalising the policy would ensure that the relevant by-laws can be effectively implemented and enforced.
At present, it is difficult to enforce the relevant regulations, seeing as the Department of Urban Planning and Development first needs to fill critical vacancies for building inspectors to ensure that both existing and future student housing inspections are properly conducted.
The Freedom Front Plus wants to issue a clear warning: Serious problems will arise if the student housing policy and relevant planning are not finalised well before the housing demand skyrockets.
Freedom Front Plus Economic Policy: The FF Plus promotes free market principles and economic freedom.
Emerald Vine
Fun South African Fact: South Africa’s natural and human fossil history dates back hundreds of thousands, even millions, of years. Early dinosaur fossils have been discovered in the Western Cape and up to 80% of mammalian fossils found so far have been discovered in the Karoo.
Highlander Monk
Diary of an Englishman after he moves to South Africa….
**August 1**: Just got transferred with work from London, UK to our new home in Phalaborwa, Limpopo, South Africa. Now this is a town that knows how to live! Beautiful, sunny days and warm, balmy evenings. I watched the sunset from a deckchair by our pool yesterday. It was beautiful. I’ve finally found my new home. I love it here.
**September 1:** Really heating up now. It got to 31 today. No problem though. Living in air-conditioned home, driving air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the sun every day like this. I’m turning into a sun-worshipper – no blasted rain like back in London! Had the back yard landscaped with tropical plants today. Lots of palms and rocks. No more mowing lawns for me! Another scorcher today, but I love it here. It’s Paradise !
**October 1:** The temperature hasn’t been below 35 all week. How do people get used to this kind of heat? At least today it’s windy though. Keeps the flies off a bit. Acclimatizing is taking longer than we expected. Fell asleep by the pool yesterday. Got third degree burns over 60% of my body. Missed three days off work. What a dumb thing to do. Got to respect the old sun in a climate like this!
**October 25:** This wind is a bastard. It feels like a giant fucking blow dryer. And it’s hot as hell! The home air conditioner is on the blink and the repair man charged R200 just to drive over and tell me he needs to order parts from @#$# Johannesburg. The wife & the kids are complaining.
**October 30:** The temperature’s up around 40 and the parts still haven’t arrived for the fucking air conditioner. House is an oven so we’ve all been sleeping outside by the pool for 3 nights now. Bleeding R4 million house and we can’t even go inside. Why the hell did I ever come here?
**November 4:** Finally got the fucking air-conditioner fixed. It cost R1,500 and gets the temperature down to around 35 degrees. Stupid repairman. Fucking thief. If one more smart bastard says ‘Hot enough for you today?’ I’m going to fucking throttle him. Fucking heat! By the time I get to work, the car radiator is boiling over, my fucking clothes are soaking fucking wet and I smell like baked cat. Fucking place is the end of the Earth.
**November 9:** Tried to run some errands after work, wore shorts, and sat on the black leather upholstery in my car. I thought my fucking backside was on fire. I lost 2 layers of flesh, all the hair on the backs of my legs and off my fucking behind. Now the car smells like burnt hair, fried bum and baked cat. The Weather report might as well be a fucking recording – hot and sunny. Hot and sunny, Hot and fucking sunny. It’s been too hot to do anything for 2 bleeding months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week. Fuck!!
**November 15:** Doesn’t it ever rain in this darn place? Water restrictions will be next, so my R5,000 worth of palms might just dry up and blow into the fucking pool. The only things that thrive in this hell-hole are the fucking flies. You don’t dare open your mouth for fear of swallowing half a dozen of the little buzzards!
**November 20:** Welcome to HELL! It got to 45 degrees today. Now the air conditioner is gone in my car. The repair man came to fix it and said, ‘Hot enough for you today?’ I wanted to shove the car up his backside. Anyway, had to spend the R2,500 of the mortgage payment to bail me out of jail for assaulting the stupid fool. Fucking PHALABORWA! What kind of sick, demented idiot would want to live here!
**December 1:** WHAT!!!! The FIRST day of Summer!!!!
You are fucking kidding me, right?