Cape Town - Delays in the R132 million Macassar housing development have irked the residents who wrote to Premier Alan Winde, mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, and ward councillor Peter Helfrich demanding transparency and openness about the project.
The project to provide state-subsidised homes to approximately 2 469 beneficiaries had been marred by numerous delays and the construction halted due to lockdown.
Community leader Christiaan Steward, who accused the City of constantly lying to the community, said the elderly were dying without proper housing and the number of backyard dwellers increasing daily.
“Since 2009 our people have been struggling to get proper housing and are staying in informal settlements and as backyard dwellers where there is no proper water and sanitation. Last year they said they will start building in August and postponed it to September, now we hear that construction would not commence until next year. This is unacceptable considering that we do not know where the delays stem from,” he said.
ANC PR councillor Judy Ann Stevens said there has been no communication from the City on the developments. She said the last community engagement was last year when verifying beneficiaries started.
“The beneficiaries are frustrated as in the end services delayed are services denied. Some of them say a few years back they qualified for the houses and some in the meantime got employment and are now earning more than the R3500, meaning they won’t qualify.
“They also can’t go to a bank to apply for a bond with such a salary. There is no actual reason what these unforeseen delays and the costs for this project will be far more than the R132 million budgeted,” she said.
Mayco member for human settlements Malusi Booi said he was heartened by the progress made on the site. He said the construction of houses for Phase 1 was earmarked to start in March 2023.
Due to the scale of the project, various legal, contractual and procurement processes must be followed, he said and added that the project’s complexity led to unforeseen delays in some of the processes.