EC housing projects recognised as the best
MULTI-MILLION rand housing projects funded by the Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements came out tops in the national Govan Mbeki Awards on Thursday after the province scooped the number one spot in at least four categories.
Buffalo City Metro’s Needs Camp housing project beat other provinces in the best enhanced people’s housing process category at the Durban International Convention Centre.
Human settlements spokesman Lwandile Sicwetsha said the award was for projects that strictly involved beneficiaries in the construction of their houses.
Three other provincial winners came from the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro for a project in Fairview, which took the best social housing award.
The Walmer Q project came in at number one for the integrated residential project, while the metro took the number one spot for having the best performance in the Level 2 category.
The awards are aimed at assessing the government’s progress in delivering quality housing developments, while recognising the outstanding work of contractors and municipalities.
Provincial housing MEC Helen SaulsAugust told the Daily Dispatch yesterday that her department was proud that the collective work for human settlements in the province was being recognised as the best in the country.
“That each and every year our projects continue to win national awards is testimony that the service delivery model we introduced a few years back is now bearing fruit,” she said, also congratulating all the communities, project steering committees, property developers, municipalities and managers whose role in the success of the projects was instrumental.
Sicwetsha said in addition to the four top awards won by Eastern Cape projects, the province also took home five more awards as runners-up in other categories, including the best rural project.
BCM’s Thembelihle and Manyano informal settlements in Mdantsane, which won the provincial award for the best informal settlement upgrading project in September, only came in third on Thursday.
Lebo Aron of L&R construction company in Mthatha took the second position for the best woman contractor award. —