KNYSNA NEWS - Human Settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela was scheduled to handover title deeds to more than 190 residents in Ward 8 at the Concordia High School on Friday 26 April, but instead the minister arrived to empty chairs and less than 50 residents.

Due to the poor attendance the official handover ceremony was postponed.

Ward 8 councillor Thando Matika welcomed dignitaries and apologised for the poor turnout and promised that it was not "sabotage".

Communication gap
He then went on to thank the minister for the assurance that comes with owning a house.

One of the possible reasons for the poor turnout, according to Matika, could be related to communication. He explained that he requested the list of the new homeowners from the municipal housing department so that he could go door-to-door to tell them the good news personally. This was however never given to him and without it, he did not know who to approach.

Next on the stand was Knysna mayor Mark Willemse who commended the Western Cape Human Settlements Department. "Your department is one of the very successfully run departments in the Western Cape. A 100% of its budget is used in all the right places," Willemse said.

Willemse added that it was important to document the recipients receiving their title deeds as this was the second most important document for them to receive other than their birth certificate. He said the reason for it was that having a title deed restored the recipient's dignity.

When the minister took to the stage, he started off by addressing the "elephant in the room" and said: "Anyone who thinks this is about politics couldn't be more wrong. I am not going to go into my five pages of speech that was meant to be heard by 197 title deed recipients."

Handover postponed
He said the recipients who attended the event will be given their title deeds, but the ceremony will be moved to a later date - after the elections to receive the prominence it deserved.

Madikizela said people tend to think that everything is related to the upcoming elections, "Councillor Matika said this is not sabotage, but it certainly looks like it. I'm not going to waste time, so give the people their title deeds. The actual ceremony is postponed and will be properly held at a later stage," said Madikizela.

Municipal manager Dr Sitembele Vatala during his vote of thanks also touched on the matter of the poor attendance and said he too expected a packed hall.

"Henceforth, I take full responsibility and will have the housing department report to my office. I already spoke to the head of the department in George. We need to set systems and processes in place as Knysna communication is a big problem," Vatala said.

He then went on to thank all the recipients who sacrifised their time to attend the function. He also thanked all the stakeholders.

Recipients of title deeds at Concordia High School on Friday 26 April with Human Settlements minister Bongani Madikizela Mandela, and municipal officials. Photo: Nwabisa Pondoyi

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