Grabouw’s Hillside PHP Housing Project making steady progress | Western Cape Government

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Grabouw’s Hillside PHP Housing Project making steady progress

5 May 2021

I’m happy to note that a further 34 qualifying and deserving beneficiaries of the Hillside PHP Housing Development in Grabouw have taken occupancy of their Breaking New Ground (BNG) homes. This brings the total of residents that have moved into this development to 86.

It’s further expected that 7 more beneficiaries will move into their new homes by the beginning of next week. Given that I’ve not had the opportunity to personally hand these units over to our beneficiaries, I’m looking forward to visiting them in due course to ascertain how they have settled in.

This project, which commenced in 2017, will deliver 321 BNG opportunities by November 2022. The project is implemented in phases with phase 1 comprising of 93 units, and its total budget is R47, 2 million.

It’s been quite unfortunate that the project had to experience significant delays between 2018 and 2020. This was largely due to a poor performance by the previous contractor. This contractor has now been replaced.

In April this year, more delays were experienced when residents illegally occupied 20 of the completed units. The 20 units were initially planned to be handed over on the 1st of April 2021. Due to a non-compliance certificate issued by National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) this was postponed to the 6th of April 2021 to allow the new contractor to address the defects. On the 2nd of April 2021 we were informed that keys to the units were stolen from the site office, allegedly by the Community Liaison Officer (CLO). This resulted in the unlawful occupation of the 20 units.

It’s welcoming that a criminal case, which is currently under investigation was opened against the CLO with the South African Police Services (SAPS). All unlawful acts must harshly be dealt with, as we cannot allow anarchy to reign in our projects, our streets or communities. I’d also like to once again reiterate that illegal land invasions should not be considered as this leads to further delays in creating housing opportunities for law-abiding citizens.

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.

Media Enquiries: 

Marcellino Martin
Spokesperson for Minister Tertius Simmers
Marcellino.Martin@westerncape.gov.za
021 483 9483 (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