CAPE TOWN - Western Cape Human Settlements MEC Tertius Simmers on Tuesday extended his condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of a contract worker who died in an accident at the Forest Village Housing Development site.
The human settlements department said the events leading to the accident were still being investigated, although it is believed that a container was being moved and during this move, the man, who is an employee of one of the contractors, was accidentally electrocuted.
Simmers said: “My heart and thoughts go out to the deceased man's family, friends and colleagues. This is really an unfortunate incident. I will be visiting his family to personally express my commiserations.
“I have also instructed my department to launch an immediate investigation into this incident. Safety is a priority for us at all of our housing development sites. Through his involvement in this development, he has made a significant and positive contribution to the lives of many beneficiaries of this project.”
According to the department, Forest Village is one of its catalytic projects, which commenced in January 2016 and has a budget allocation of R1.1 billion. 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.
Those who are benefiting from this project are from the Airport Precinct, the N2 Gateway excess and Wards 16, 17, 108 and 114.
“We are committed to accelerating human settlement delivery, while promoting social inclusion through the development of integrated, resilient and sustainable human settlements in an open society,” Simmers said.