Knysna Municipality received recognition at National Govan Mbeki Human Settlements Awards ceremony held in Midrand, Johannesburg on Thursday, November 9 for its Dam-se-Bos, Vision 2002 project.
“We are all extremely proud of our housing department for their achievement as first runner up for the “Best Enhanced People Process” for the now well-known Dam-se-Bos, Vision 2002 project,” said Knysna Municipal Manager, Kam Chetty.
Since the launch of the Govan Mbeki Human Settlements Awards in 2008, Knysna Municipality has received accolades a whopping eight times; twice at national level and six times at the provincial awards.
The Knysna Municipality aims to upgrade and provide the necessary basic infrastructure and services to low income houses. We further aim to upgrade the existing informal settlements within Greater Knysna.
Chetty expressed his excitement and appreciation towards the department for winning the award. “I am delighted that we have once again been honoured in such a manner. I had no doubt that that our Integrated Human Settlements team would, once again, do us proud. A big thank you to our Housing Manager, Mawethu Penxa and his team for their continued hard work and dedication.”
“I am extremely proud that a significant amount of this project has been spent on uplifting local contractors. Housing projects stimulate employment creation and skills development which assists with the employability of people.
The annual Govan Mbeki awards honour those who have performed best in the Integrated Human Settlements sector of local government. The awards further aim to promote excellence, best practices and instil healthy competition among Human Settlements Departments across all Provinces and Municipalities nationwide.