Qolweni housing on track for completion

Update

PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - From stagnation which led to widespread frustration to being on track to be completed early next year, Bitou's Qolweni housing project has seen major progress since it was handed over to the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements in June this year.

The lack of progress on the project has been a bone of contention for almost two years. On various occasions, unhappy residents resorted to violent riots that brought the town to a standstill.

While the project was funded by the provincial department, the construction was initially the responsibility of the Bitou Municipality. The project, which has a budget allocation of R33,5-million excluding professional fees, was approved in October 2019. Construction of the units had to commence in January 2021.

Due to various challenges faced by the Bitou Municipality, including the appointed contractor and community dynamics, this did not occur. After numerous community demonstrations, the municipality handed the project over to the Department of Human Settlements on 18 June and construction commenced in the first week of September.

According to Human Settlements MEC Tertuis Simmers, construction would occur in two phases. The first phase is set to see the completion of 66 units by the end of the current financial year (March 2022). The second batch will follow upon the conclusion of phase 1.

As part of phase 1, 66 families had been relocated and earthworks for 66 homes had been completed.

Simmers said 63 of the 66 slabs have been cast and the final three are set to be completed this month. The brickwork for 53 ground floor units has also been completed.

In preparation for phase 2, five families have been relocated and the earthworks for five units have been completed. Another six will be completed by 10 December. The first slabs will be cast in January next year.

"Further to the development, we've also committed to creating job and empowerment opportunities for local small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs), as well as labourers. To date, 104 local residents have had the opportunity to work on this project. This is an increase of 48 from the 56 workers we had on site in October 2021. Of the 104, 32 are young people and seven are women," Simmers said.

Phase 1 of Bitou's Qolweni housing project is on track to be completed early in 2022.