The community of Struisbaai received some much needed good news during a meeting with the Provincial Minister of Infrastructure, Tertuis Simmers.
A large number of residents attended the meeting with the minister that was arranged specially through Mayor of Cape Agulhas Paul Swart’s office. The meeting was requested to address residents’ concerns about housing issues, including clarity around the department’s beneficiary selection criteria. The Struisbaai community covers 10% of Cape Agulhas Municipality’s housing demand database.
Simmers announced that the area known as Site B (Oukamp) will be converted into a Mixed-use Development Project, comprising Breaking New Ground (BNG), Help Me Buy a Home (FLISP) and Serviced Site housing options. He added the department had received a Project Initiation Document (PID) from the municipality in July. This has subsequently been provisionally approved, subject to the finalisation of outstanding internal procedural items. This means the project will be accommodated in the November budget adjustment by Simmers and allow for the project to be expedited.
The minister pleaded with the community to play their part and protect the land earmarked for development. He requested the community not invade nor allow any similar act to occur on the land, as it will be to the detriment not only of the project but the community of Struisbaai at large.
Simmers described the meeting as “a productive public meeting” that allowed two spheres of government and the community to engage, debate and clarify areas where there may have been some misunderstanding.
He added: “Approximately 43% of this community’s population is above 35 years of age, and it is likely that the majority does not qualify for a BNG subsidy. It is for this reason the project will be constructed in the form of a Mixed-use Development. I will return before the end of the year to announce the budget allocation that will be made available for this project.”
The provincial Department of Infrastructure is expected to arrange a verification drive weekend in Struisbaai in the coming months. This will assist the municipality with the updating and verification of the Housing Demand waiting list, to further determine the housing subsidy ratio required for this project.
The DA in the Western Cape welcomed Simmers’ announcement that the area known as Site-B (Oukamp) in Struisbaai will be transformed into a Mixed-use Development Project that will include Breaking New Ground (BNG), Help Me Buy a Home (FLISP), and serviced site-housing alternatives.
The Struisbaai community makes up 10% of the housing demand database for the Cape Agulhas Municipality. The new housing development will, therefore, greatly benefit the people of Struisbaai and bring dignity to this community.
MPP Matlhodi Maseko said: “I call on the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements and the Struisbaai community to work closely together to protect the land that has been designated for the development of this project. In recent years, illegal land invasions have become a common occurrence on land set aside for housing and infrastructure projects. These illegal land invasions inhibit government’s flexibility to plan promptly and adequately so that development projects can proceed uninterrupted.”
