The DA-led Swartland municipality has delivered 244 homes in the town of Riebeek West as part of an Integrated Residential Development Programme (IRDP) housing project that cost over R45 million to complete.
Of the 244 homes that were built, 226 have already been handed over to beneficiaries. The houses were handed over in batches of 18 from June to November 2019, with the remainder to be handed over at a later stage.
Mayor Tijmen van Essen and Western Cape MEC for human settlements Tertius Simmers were present at one of the ceremonies where houses were handed over to the new homeowners. Mayor van Essen was proud to announce that for the first time ever, Swartland municipality included military veterans as beneficiaries for a housing project.
In conjunction with providing the beneficiaries with a house, the municipality also rolled out a Housing Consumer Education (HCE) programme. The programme covers issues such as housing policy and legislation, current housing programmes, legal matters (such as contracts and their implications, deceased estates as well as title deeds), maintenance and the responsibilities of a homeowner, to name but a few. The project ensures that new homeowners are ready and well informed to make a successful transition to home ownership.
The installation of bulk infrastructure for the project started in November 2017 and was done in November 2018, in the same month the construction of the top structures started and was completed a year later.
Mayor van Essen stated that this housing project, coupled with the knowledge imparted through the HCE programme, will allow the beneficiaries to fully unlock the benefits and opportunities of home ownership. He implored beneficiaries to look after their new homes and take pride in the asset that they have acquired.