Cape Town - The Western Cape government has been given the mandate to take over the controversial Qolweni housing project following a series of meetings between senior officials from provincial Human Settlements, the Bitou municipal council and community leaders.
The solution was reached after five days of protests by the Qolweni community that led to the N2 highway being blocked by protesters last week bringing Plettenberg Bay to a near standstill.
Community leaders had demanded that the project be handed over to the department as a condition to call a halt to their road-blocking protests.
The community leaders had also demanded that all those arrested during the protests be released. This demand was passed on to the Human Rights Commission, which is considering the merits of the issue.
As acting Bitou mayor Sandiso Gcabayi officially handed over the Qolweni Phase 3A Housing project to provincial Human Settlements MEC Tertuis Simmers, he pleaded with the community not to resort to protests such as those the municipality had witnessed to air their unhappiness.
“There are various avenues open to residents to raise their concerns and unhappiness.
“The handing over of the project is done in the best interest of the town and does not mean that the Bitou Municipality will not have a role to play in the project in terms of co-operative governance.”
“This demonstrates that the two spheres of government can work together. It is critical that there is strong intergovernmental co-operation, as this will ensure that the people can ultimately benefit," said Gcabayi.
Simmers welcomed the decision by the Bitou council and said the department wanted to ensure there were no further delays in the project.
“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 was meant to start in January this year.
“We will now urgently commence with all the necessary and relevant processes to get this project back on track. My appeal to the community is always to seek dialogue to resolve any dissatisfaction around service delivery matters, as violence and vandalism is never a solution,” said Simmers.