Qolweni residents to benefit from housing project as Human Settlements take over | Western Cape Government

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Qolweni residents to benefit from housing project as Human Settlements take over

18 June 2021

With the Acting Mayor of the Bitou Municipality, Councillor Sandile Gcabayi, today, officially handing over the Qolweni Phase 3A Housing project to Western Cape Department of Human Settlements (WCDoHS), it will now ensure that the residents of this community, will in due course and finally benefit from a housing opportunity.

This handover came after a special meeting, today with the Western Cape Minister of Human Settlements, Tertuis Simmers, the full Council of the Bitou Municipality, along with officials from both the WCDoHS and the municipality. 

This project, which has a budget allocation of R 33, 5 million for construction and professional fees, was approved in October 2019. Construction of 169 units had to commence in January 2021.

Minister Simmers said: “I welcome this decision taken by the Acting Mayor and full Council. We will now urgently commence with all the necessary and relevant processes to get this project back on track. We want to ensure that any further delays are completely removed from this process.

I’m happy to see the community’s positive response to this announcement. It is also pleasing that the community has agreed to immediately seize their protest action so that the N2 highway can be reopened. My appeal to the community is to always seek dialogue to resolve any dissatisfaction around service delivery matters, as violence and vandalism is never a solution.”

Acting Mayor, Councillor Gcabayi said: “This demonstrates that the two spheres of government can work together. It is critical that there is strong intergovernmental cooperation, as this will ensure that the people can ultimately benefit.”

Simmers added: “As the Western Cape Government, we remain committed to this project and sufficient funding has been set aside so that it can be completed.” 

Media Enquiries: 

Marcellino Martin
Spokesperson for Minister Tertius Simmers
Marcellino.Martin@westerncape.gov.za
021 483 3397 (o)
082 721 3362 (m)

Or

Nathan Adriaanse
Director Communication & Stakeholder Relations
Tell: 021 483 2868
Mobile: 083 2631720
Email: Nathan.Adriaanse@westerncape.gov.za