Cape Town – A new development of 125 housing units in Elsies River in Cape Town is finally nearing completion after being delayed by vandalism, the City of Cape Town said on Sunday.
The City’s Human Settlements Directorate had employed two contractors to restore the electricity supply to the last 35 units at the Leo Mews development which included rewiring or replacing plugs and the installation of electricity dispensing unit (EDU) meters.
This meant that all 125 units at the Leo Mews development would soon have access to electricity.
The City said that before the 35 tenants were allocated these units, they had been informed that the dwellings had been badly vandalised and that contractors were in the process of being assigned to restore the electricity supply and to replace the EDU meters. This was costing the City approximately R250 000.
The two contractors started work on site on Thursday 25 June and 1 July 2015 respectively, when the new financial year started and work should be completed by the end of August, the City said.
The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, Councillor Benedicta van Minnen, said: “The City wants to thank the residents of Leo Mews for their patience during the entire process, including now while the electricity is being restored and the EDU meters are being replaced as a result of vandalism which took place prior to their occupancy.
“The process of appointing the electrical contractors has taken some time as the necessary processes needed to be followed. As a caring city, we are pleased to see that all the families living at Leo Mews will be able to enjoy the benefits of having electricity in their homes, especially now during winter.”
Council approved the City’s acquisition of the Leo Mews development from Standard Bank in January 2014. As such, 90 of the units at Leo Mews are brand new. Standard Bank could not sell these units in the Gap market as they had intended to do, and the City therefore acquired the property at a much lower rate than what it actually cost to develop the property.
The City said that all of the units had been allocated to beneficiaries, including elderly tenants.
ANA