The City of Johannesburg held workshop with higher learning institutions and student representatives to discuss about offering affordable houses to students as accommodation.
Development of Planning MMC Reuben Masango said they can assist universities and colleges with provision of quality and affordable student accommodation.
“We recognised that there is a growing demand for safe and affordable students’ accommodation in the city. The City finalised the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), the University of South Africa (UNISA) and various TVET Colleges. The MoU explains key areas of collaboration between the City and Universities represented,” said Masango.
The workshop was attended by representative from University of Johannesburg, University of Witwatersrand, Central Johannesburg Technical College and UNISA.
Johannesburg Property Company (JPC) and Johannesburg Social Housing Company (JOSHCO) presented some of the initiatives including: 154 City-owned properties that have been released by Council for mixed-use development by private sector. They said some of the property will be used as student accommodation. JOSHCO is completing Nederburg Building Project in June. It will have 120 beds and be used by students. There are also 3 projects on pipeline with JOSHCO and will have additional 1257 beds. As for JPC, it is identifying land or properties located near institutions of higher learning that can be developed into students accommodation.
Higher learning institutions’ representatives were given a platform to highlight their requirements to the City’s existing programmes. They indicated that they need collaboration in the design of student precincts and affordability of the accommodation. They added that there should be safety and accessibility to social amenities.
Masango said he is looking for further collaboration with these institutions of higher learning institutions through their MoU.
