On Thursday, 11 October 2018, Executive Mayor – Patricia de Lille, City of Cape Town had the pleasure of celebrating with 60 families who are first time homeowners in Morkel’s Cottage, Strand.
I visited the housing development about four months ago to inspect the project progress and we promised the residents occupation before the end of the year.
I’m happy to say that we have kept that promise by handing out five keys to five families who have been living in informal settlements around Strand.
Since the start of October, 55 families have taken ownership of their new houses. The plan is to move families every week as units are being completed.
The City of Cape Town and its contractor started construction on the R146 million project in March this year. The project will provide 547 semi-detached and detached single-storey houses as well as serviced sites for beneficiaries from the informal settlements of Morkel’s Cottage, Beverley Hills and Dark City, as well as beneficiaries from the City’s Housing Database.
The civil engineering services such as the internal roads and water and sewer infrastructure for the first three phases have been completed. The civil engineering services for phases 4 and 5 will commence in the coming months, followed by the construction of the top structures on those plots. It is anticipated that the entire project will be completed in 2019.
The project is one of many which speak to the goals in the City’s Organisational Development and Transformation Plan (ODTP) to be a more customer-centric administration and to bring about excellence in service delivery to residents.
It was really touching to see Clara and Piet Fourie open the door to their new home after nearly two decades of living in an informal settlement. They told me how relieved they were to finally escape flooding and shack fires, which they have been victims of in the past three years.
Donevan Hammer and Bettie Brown have been opening up the doors to their home as a safe haven to friends and relatives for years whenever they needed help. For 27 years they lived in an informal structure but today they are proud owners of a new home and Bettie Brown is excited to start a new chapter in the house.
I also visited Katrina Abrahams, a 65-year-old pensioner, who took occupation of her new home last week with her 18-year-old grandson.
George and Elizabeth Hendricks were equally anxious to move into their new home after living in the informal settlement for two decades. The couple stay with their two children who have moved with them into the new house.
It has been an especially joyous day for Elsabé and David du Plessis who view their new house as a miracle. Two years ago David fell into a three-month coma after being in an accident. After coming out of the coma, he started walking with the assistance of an aid and he is excited to walk into his new house with his wife and their son.
For Sarah Pietersen, the new home means she no longer has to worry about a leaking roof when it rains and she can enjoy a house with power supply.
The City administration and portfolios were restructured as part of the City’s ODTP in an effort to streamline and align relevant departments and to accelerate service delivery for residents like Sarah Pietersen.
Councillor Brett Herron, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Transport and Urban Development said: ‘Since restructuring the administration in 2017 we are very proud that the delivery of housing opportunities in the city has almost doubled over the last two years, and we are committed to increasing that rate and further accelerating delivery going forward. Each housing opportunity makes the world of difference to the benefitting family. It is a tragedy that many families must wait for decades until they can access secure housing opportunities, but this is a legacy issue and we are working to reduce the waiting time.’
Together with councillors it was a wonderful experience to be able to share this special moment with these families who have been living in backyards and informal settlements for many years.
I wish them a life of joy and bliss in their new homes which they can pass on and keep in their families for coming generations.