A NEW housing development in Mdantsane will pave the way for scores of homeless families to get decent accommodation.

The project, Manyano Thembelihle, which falls under Buffalo City's Make a Difference (MAD) campaign, was launched on Wednesday, 21 April.

Under this campaign, the City has promised its residents to deliver services quicker than before. It is expected to accelerate service delivery, as well as ensure quality services.

Manyano Thembelihle is on this year's City budget; 850 housing units are planned for the area. To help deliver on this plan, the municipality will get R33-million from the national Department of Human Settlements. And, according to a municipal report, the provincial government will be on board to ensure that Buffalo City fulfils the mandate.

Among the dignitaries at Wednesday's launch were Executive Mayor Zukisa Faku; the portfolio head of housing, Desmond Mhani; and the human settlements MEC, Nombulelo Mabandla.

The provincial department has committed about R33-million, with the beneficiary process completed for 563 people for the low cost housing units.

Speaking at the launch, Mabandla explained how these houses would be built. "We are going to use an alternative technology that is quick and will allow contractors to finish a house after foundation within six or seven days."

The appointed contractor would use a type of brick that was three times stronger than a conventional brick and mortar house. There would be no damp, and the house would be at least six to seven degrees warmer during winter and two to three degrees cooler in summer.

According to the municipal report, each house will be fitted with aluminium window frames. They will also come standard with finishes, including a melamine kitchen cupboard under the sink, tiles above the kitchen sink, a bathroom washbasin and tiles above the basin.

The Manyano Thembelihle informal settlement in NU9 Mdantsane was established after the Egerton Bus Boycott Massacre in 1983. The then Ciskei president, the late Lennox Sebe, was opposed to the settlement and he approached the Grahamstown High Court to have the community evicted as a matter of urgency.

He lost the case, however, as it was put before the court that the land belonged to the Republic of South Africa not to the Ciskei government. The community was allowed to remain in the area.

The contractor appointed for the new housing development promised the City that it would donate two edu-care centres for the young children of Manyano Thembelihle.

Beneficiaries will be able to move into their new homes in February 2011.

Launched in late March, MAD was first announced by Faku in her first State of the City address in June 2009. It will look at various services, including road tarring in Mdantsane, which has already begun; safety and security facilities on all roads; grass cutting in all areas; CCTV cameras in crime-prone areas; and a learner's and driving licence station in Mdantsane.

Wednesday's launch ended with a sod turning at the entrance of Manyano Thembelihle informal settlement.