The Citizen newspaper today in South Africa stated today that the "Big Hole" diamond mine in Kimberley is "threatening to swallow a busy road as its sides slowly erode." Kimberley is the city we are building our first homes in South Africa this March and the "Big Hole" is still a very visible artifact of this city. This mine has historical significance as it its considered the "largest hand-dug mine in the world".
The road that is threatened runs about 24 feet(8 metres) from the edge of the 1.6 kilometre-wide open mine. Five businesses, including a roadhouse, a garage and a greengrocer and also threatened. A observer stated that it is not possible to predict timing of when the edge of the pit may collapse. That being said, the general consensus is that the loss of the relevant section of this road is inevitable. Continued rainfall and heavy traffic could hasten the anticipated demise of the areas adjacent to this mine.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
NEWS: Housing For All 'By 2014'
Government aims to speed up delivery of housing for the poor, and have all persons accommodated in formally planned settlements by 2014, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said yesterday.
“To achieve this objective, government and its partners seek to increase the deliver rate of 300,000 homes a year. “Our target is the deliver of 500,000 housing units a years,” she told a social cluster media briefing in Parliament. “With the implementation of the Social Housing Act, we will be subsidizing the creation of various forms of rental accommodations, and thus contribute to our goal of the elimination of slums by 2014.”
This year would also see the introduction of the Housing Development Agency Bill. Establishing such an agency would enable government to “finally redress apartheid spatial planning”. A key instrument of the agency would be the “release of well-located land and serviced sites for human settlement programmes”, she said.
Citizen- Feb. 15, 2008
“To achieve this objective, government and its partners seek to increase the deliver rate of 300,000 homes a year. “Our target is the deliver of 500,000 housing units a years,” she told a social cluster media briefing in Parliament. “With the implementation of the Social Housing Act, we will be subsidizing the creation of various forms of rental accommodations, and thus contribute to our goal of the elimination of slums by 2014.”
This year would also see the introduction of the Housing Development Agency Bill. Establishing such an agency would enable government to “finally redress apartheid spatial planning”. A key instrument of the agency would be the “release of well-located land and serviced sites for human settlement programmes”, she said.
Citizen- Feb. 15, 2008
Saturday, February 9, 2008
UK To Require South Africans to Have Visas in Future
Currently South Africans can travel to the UK without a Visa for six months at a time. The British High Commission has confirmed that it is reviewing the relaxed visa requirements it has with South Africa. For more information about this go to the South Africa House website at www.southafricahouse.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
