Forest Village housing development continues to improve people’s lives

Western Cape Minister of Human Settlements, Tertuis Simmers is extremely happy to announce that as of the end of February, 2 578 people have already moved into their brand-new homes in the Forest Village Housing Development in Eersteriver.

Minister Simmers said: “We’re clearly demonstrating the Western Cape Government’s commitment to ensuring that more of our residents, especially those who are most vulnerable, live in improved and safer conditions.”

The Forest Village Housing Development has benefited residents from across the Metro.  579 of these residents are N2 Gateway beneficiaries, 504 are from the Southern Corridor, 145 are Priority Cases and 1350 are from the local area, which includes Eersteriver, Eersteriver South, Electric City, Faure, Dreamworld, Blue Downs, Malibu Village, Kleinvlei, Rosedale, Mfuleni and Fairdale. 

For the month of February alone, 81 people have benefitted from this development and it is anticipated that a further 82 beneficiaries will move in during March 2021.

Minister Simmers said further: “We’re committed to making a tangible difference in people’s lives. It is for this reason that we prioritise the elderly, persons with disabilities, those that have been on the Housing Demand Database (HDD) for 15 years and longer as well as our backyard dwellers.

It’s humbling and pleasing to see how South Africans are coming together from different backgrounds and living side-by-side in this new community. This is helping breakdown the spatial legacy of Apartheid, by ensuring that different cultures, creeds, languages and sexual orientations can live in integrated communities”

Thandiswa Magadla, a beneficiary from the local Ward 108, Mfuleni said: “This is an absolute wow. I am so happy, as I’ve been waiting for 16 years. I have tears of joy. What a wow. Thank you to all who made it possible.”

Simmers added: “This house is an asset and beneficiaries should value and take care of it. They should also draft a will, so that a legacy is left behind for their children.

Beneficiaries should also not consider renting or selling the property, as doing so would suggest that they never had a housing need to start with. It is important to note that should a beneficiary wish to sell the property within the first 8 years after receiving the property, compelling reasons for the sale would be required, permission from the State is needed, while Government should be given the first opportunity.”

Forest Village is one of the Department’s Catalytic Projects, which commenced in January 2016 and has a budget allocation of R1.1billion. This mixed-use development consists of various types of units to cater for beneficiaries of different income levels and specific needs such as Military Veterans, Breaking New Ground (BNG) and Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (FLISP) units.

“As the Western Cape Government, we remain committed to accelerating human settlement delivery, while promoting social inclusion through the development of integrated, resilient, safe and sustainable human settlements in an open opportunity society,” concluded Minister Simmers.