Western Cape Minister of Human Settlements, Tertuis Simmers says he is pleased that the Velddrif Housing task team has been finalised and that they are now active.
Pursuant to addressing residents of Noordhoek, Velddrif after violent protest in the area, which led to the destruction of 53 newly constructed homes, at an estimated cost of R4,6 million, Minister Simmers requested that a task team be established. This team had to be finalised by Tuesday, 22 October 2019 and its core function is to address various concerns raised by the community.
This team consists of 7 staff members from the provincial Department of Human Settlements, 3 municipal officials and four community members, who are apolitical. The four community members were elected by the local community. The current Project Steering Committee (PSC) is also part of the task team.
Minister Simmers said: “I trust that the community will see how we’re fulfilling our commitments, as the task team was already established on 18 October 2019. I’m looking forward to receiving regular updates from this structure, and I’d also like to encourage them to thoroughly work through the tasks they’ve been presented with.
Part of their task is to review the beneficiary list, which must be submitted to me by 30 November 2019. They must also formally inform all affected beneficiaries and or complainants who do not qualify for a Breaking New Ground (BNG) or free housing opportunity.
This past weekend we also had our housing beneficiary verification and registration drive in the area, but unfortunately, only 59 people used this opportunity to either update their details or register for the first time. I’d therefore like to encourage this community to continue visiting their local housing office, particularly since the protests were about the legitimacy of the beneficiary list.
Upon receiving the information from the task team, I will return to the community to report back on the progress that’s been made and to further engage them about any other housing related concerns they might have.
As the Western Cape Government, we remain committed to accelerating human settlement delivery, while promoting social inclusion through the development of integrated, resilient and sustainable human settlements in an open opportunity society.”
