Launch of landmark R27-billion Southern Farms development flames housing hopes for Joburg South residents

Residents of Region G in the South of Johannesburg sing and dance at the handover of the Southern Farms Mega City Project, where the City is expected to build over 43,000 subsidised houses. (Photo: Lerato Mutsila)

By Lerato Mutsila

13 May 2025

After more than a decade of grassroots activism and broken promises, residents in Johannesburg South are finally seeing progress in their fight for land and dignified housing.

After more than a decade of protest and sustained calls for government intervention in the housing crisis, residents in the south of Johannesburg are finally seeing long-awaited progress.

On Friday, 9 May 2025, Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero, along with MMC for Human Settlements, Mlungisi Mabaso, and other City of Johannesburg officials, met with community members at the Bushkoppies site in Region G to officially hand over the land where the Southern Farms Mega City Project will be constructed.

The ambitious development marks a significant milestone in a community-led fight for equitable access to land and dignified housing. Although the project was officially launched in 2018 under the name “Southern Farms Biodiversity Development Project”, the struggle dates back to 2013, when grassroots movement Abahlali base Freedom Park began mobilising residents to demand solutions to overcrowded and inadequate housing conditions.

Residents of Region G in the south of Johannesburg gathered at the Bushkoppies site camp on Friday, 9 May, where Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero handed over the site where the Department of Human Settlements is expected to build more than 43,000 houses. (Photo: Lerato Mutsila)

Residents of Region G sing and dance at the handover of the Southern Farms Mega City Project. (Photo: Lerato Mutsila)

“In 2013, Abahlali came together to fight for land and housing. We were sharing small spaces with our families, with three to four generations living in one Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) house,” Peter Monethe, a founding member of Abahlali base Freedom Park, told Daily Maverick. “So we came together and fought so we could find a space where we could live in dignity.”

Long road of resistance and negotiation

Over the years, Abahlali base Freedom Park, together with other community organisations in Region G, engaged in tireless advocacy, protests, and negotiations with the City. Their efforts spanned multiple mayoral administrations, often marked by broken promises.

Read more: Freedom evades Freedom Park as residents protest over lack of access to land and sanitation

“All through this time we protested, and then the government would engage, but then nothing would happen,” Monethe said. “There would be houses built, but they’d be allocated to ANC members because of cadre deployment, while the community was excluded.”

Frustrated by the delays, Abahlali eventually identified and occupied Bushkoppies — the very site now earmarked for the project. After enduring years of forced removals and legal battles, the City of Johannesburg ultimately purchased the land, paving the way for development to begin.

R27-billion housing initiative

The Southern Farms Mega City Project is a R27-billion housing initiative designed to address Johannesburg’s estimated 1.3 million housing backlog. It will also promote economic development and environmental sustainability in one of the City’s most underserved areas.

As the community gathered on Friday to mark the handover, spirits were high. Residents sang, danced, and ululated in celebration of what many called a long-overdue breakthrough.

Set to unfold over the next 10 years, the project covers 4,000 hectares and will deliver at least 43,000 mixed-housing units for communities in Freedom Park, Eldorado Park, Diepkloof, and surrounding areas — many of whom have waited years for housing allocations.

“This really feels like there is finally change coming,” said Farhana, a lifelong Eldorado Park resident. “It has felt like we were divided for so long, fighting the government and fighting among ourselves for housing. My mother has been on the list for years, but now at least we can see this is really happening.”

According to Mabaso, the development will include:

Breaking New Ground (BNG) multi-storey units

Affordable finance-linked housing options

Serviced stands

Mixed-income neighbourhoods

Economic zones and community facilities

“Southern Farms is a bold statement that every Joburg South resident deserves dignity, opportunity and progress. We’re building more than homes, we’re building an inclusive future,” Morero said.

Questions remain about transparency

Despite the celebrations, concerns persist. Monethe said some members of Abahlali remained uneasy about the lack of clarity surrounding the number of RDP houses to be built and the criteria for allocation.

“We want to know who the beneficiaries will be. There are elderly people living in shacks, people with disabilities, and we want to ensure they are included in the allocations,” he said.

During the launch, Mabaso assured the public that beneficiary management would be handled with strict transparency and adherence to the City’s verified housing database.

“No one will receive a house unless they’re on the verified housing database,” Mabaso said. “Only pre-approved residents will benefit.”

However, when Daily Maverick contacted the City for specific figures regarding RDP house allocations and further details on the selection process, no response had been received by the time of publication.

As the bulldozers prepare to move in and formal construction begins, the community remains cautiously optimistic. For the residents of Region G, the Southern Farms Mega City Project symbolises not only a victory after years of struggle, but a test of whether the government can finally deliver on its promises. DM

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South Africa

Long road of resistance and negotiation

R27-billion housing initiative

Questions remain about transparency