A number of City of Cape Town employees will volunteer their time at the Pelican Park housing development as part of the Nelson Mandela International Build Week.

“It’s a collaborative effort. They will essentially be working on the construction site,” Benedicta van Minnen, the city’s mayoral committee member for human settlements, said on Sunday.

The city was partnering with Habitat for Humanity, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and Power Construction from Monday until Friday.

The housing site will have 2024 fully subsided homes alongside 760 starter homes [or gap housing], priced at R320 000. A total of 360 higher value homes [bonded] are valued from R480 000 to R700 000.

Approximately 1 500 of the fully subsidised homes have already been handed over to beneficiaries.

The total cost of this development is approximately R700m, which includes state funding and private investment.

“So many of our residents were denied home ownership under the apartheid regime,” said Minnen.

“There can be few greater tributes to the great man that we are honouring this week. His legacy continues to inspire us all to do more and to do it better, and to do it every minute of the year.” News24