STATEMENT BY EXECUTIVE MAYOR OF STELLENBOSCH MUNICIPALITY – GESIE VAN DEVENTER
As government resources remains under serious strain, it does sometimes affect the speed at which we can accomplish certain goals. Public-private partnerships present excellent opportunities and solutions to some of the challenges we, as a local government, face. That is why I am excited to announce that I have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on behalf of Stellenbosch Municipality, with the Free Market Foundation (FMF), to be part of their Khaya Lam Project. This project will be of especial benefit to previously disadvantaged residents who have been waiting to own the houses they have lived in for several years, even decades.
The FMF is a non-profit non-governmental organisation operating on donations. They initiated the Khaya Lam (My Home) Land Reform Project in 2010. This project aims to assist local governments to transfer ownership of residential council properties to the people who have lived in it for years. This enables these residents who live in these properties to own it for the first time. It allows them access to the economic benefits that come with the owning of property and allows residents to alter and upgrade these properties to their needs, as they were never able to do before. Property ownership allows for a larger middle class and increased economic stability.
The benefit of handing over the title deeds of these properties is that it relieves the Municipality of the financial burden of managing and maintaining rental stock and empowers the residents with economic benefits of owning a property. It is therefore a win-win situation.
Stellenbosch Municipality has approximately 2700 outstanding title deeds, from various projects, that need to be handed over to their respective beneficiaries. The MOU with the FMF will assist the Municipality to issue the freehold title deeds to registered tenants and recognised residents of municipal properties.
The handing over of deeds are a long and tedious process and requires a lot of resources and leg work This is a challenge for the Municipality with limited capacity and human resources. This is where the Khaya Lam Project comes in. They will assist the Municipality in this regard by providing funds for the appointment of temporary staff who will assist in expediting the process. The Municipality expects to have 1000 transfers completed by the end of March 2017. By the end of November 2017, we expect that all 2700 deeds will be transferred to the owners.
This will be an exceptional achievement and we are grateful for the FMF and the Khaya Lam Project for their assistance. Their commitment to improve the lives of struggling South Africans is admirable and I am excited that Stellenbosch Municipality can form part of their project. Their assistance will help us to speed up service delivery in this regarding, benefitting 2700 families in our area. The positive effect of this will be felt across our towns.