On Friday, 12 August 2011, officials from the Northern Cape Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs and the Sol Plaatje Municipality visited the N2 Gateway project. The purpose of the visit was for the HDA to share lessons learnt from a mega housing integrated development project.
The annual South African Local Government Association (SALGA) national conference took place in Durban from 29 August to 1 September 2011.
In July 2011, Karishma Busgeeth, HDA’s Spatial Information and Data Manager, lead author of two papers titled NaHSLI: A South African Catalogue of Habitable Land and LaPsis: The Window to South Africa’s Land and Property, attended and presented both papers at the Esri (Environmental Systems Research Institute) International User Conference in San Diego, USA.
On 4 October 2011, Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale launched 800 houses in Chatty as part of the Zanemvula mega-housing project in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro. He commented that the project had a “good look and feel”, but added that the roads, pavements, grass, trees and community facilities must now come.
Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale and Executive Mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, Councillor Zanoxolo Wayile, opened the Soweto-on-Sea multi-purpose community centre on 3 October 2011.