Qolweni housing beneficiaries "over the moon"

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PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Just shy of a year ago, Plettenberg Bay was hurled into disarray when anger over slow progress on the Qolweni housing reached boiling point, leading to massive and violent riots which brought the small holiday town to a standstill.

Fast forward a year; these issues were finally put to bed when the first 30 beneficiaries of the Qolweni housing project received the keys to their brand-new homes.

On Friday 3 June political heavyweights, including the Western Cape MEC for infrastructure Tertuis Simmers and Garden Route District Municipality Mayor Memory Booysen, visited the community to hand over the homes to beneficiaries.

PHOTO GALLERY: Qolweni housing beneficiaries receive keys

This is the first batch of 169 homes that form part of the project. The remainder is scheduled to be completed before the end of the year.

The housing project has been a point of contention over the past few years with delays leading to riots on several occasions.

Garden Route Municipality Mayor Memory Booysen addressing beneficiaries.

As a result, the Bitou Municipality handed the project over to the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements on 18 June last year. Excluding professional fees, this project has an allocated budget of R33,5m.

Construction began in September and will be conducted over two phases. All 169 qualifying beneficiaries have been approved on the Housing Subsidy System (HSS).

During the handover ceremony, Simmers told the community, "On June 18 2021, together with the community leaders and municipality, a commitment was made to successfully deliver this project to the deserving beneficiaries of this community.

Therefore as I stand here today, I am delighted to hand over keys to these beautifully constructed houses to the 30 beneficiaries. After enduring such a tough and long wait to realise this dream, I want to commend you for standing together and maintaining the collaborative relationship with the spheres of government and private sector stakeholders," he said.

Not only has the project brought homes to those who need them, but it has also created various economic opportunities for locals.

The contractor, Ruwacon, had identified 12 local small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) from the local community to be part of the project.

Simmers also addressed the community on what is fast becoming a challenging issue in government housing developments, which is the illegal sale and rental of these houses.

"Your journey in homeownership does not end here today. You still have an obligation towards all those who still yearn for this opportunity. Therefore I implore you to protect the dignity of these houses and not to fall into the trap of seeking to make a quick profit, by illegally selling your houses or renting them out."

Bitou Mayor Dave Swart described the occasion as a "historical day for the community of Ward 3".

"The beneficiaries of this project are over the moon for finally receiving keys to their own houses. This has been achieved through great cooperation between the provincial government, the Bitou Municipality, and the community of Ward 3," he said.

"Since the project was handed over to the Provincial Department of Human Settlements by the Bitou Municipality, quick and great strides have been made to ensure that the project is completed as quickly as possible."

Western Cape MEC for infrastructure Tertuis Simmers and Bitou Councillor Thembela Mhlana handing over keys to a home beneficiary.