Sauls-August on visit to Bay projects
THE Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements is set to deploy independent quantity surveyors to some deadlocked projects in Nelson Mandela Bay.
The department is also hoping to finally take action on the dilapidated duplex housing in Motherwell NU29 when an investigation into what the province can do is completed.
Human Settlements MEC Helen Sauls-August said the department would also put more pressure on the municipality to finally act on the Red Location Museum.
The museum has been shut for nearly five years following clashes between the municipality and residents over housing.
Sauls-August said she would put pressure on the municipality to start the conversation with residents, in an attempt to solve the matter.
Last week, protests sprang up again in the area.
Sauls-August was in the Bay on two days of unannounced visits to the department’s projects including the Motherwell Multipurpose Centre, Tamboville Destitute Village and the dilapidated Chatty Multipurpose Centre.
While on site she revealed that the province could finally take over and act on the NU29 duplexes as the contract which gave the city developer status had expired.
“The contract has run its course. There is no contractual obligation with Nelson Mandela [Bay] Municipality anymore,” she said.
Sauls-August said there was an urgent need to address housing in the area, with about 450 units yet to be built there.
“Some of these people are still sitting in squalor and land invasions are systematically happening. We need to close that gap as a matter of urgency.”
The MEC said she was happy with the work done at the Motherwell Multipurpose Centre.
The R21-million centre is set to house a netball court, basketball court, hall, dressingrooms and some government departments.
“I am actually happy that now we can see that we are almost complete. This is one of those projects that are so beautiful you just want people to start using it.”
Sauls-August said the project was at documentation stage, with the process to hand it over to the community already under way.
She admitted the houses at Tamboville in KwaLanga in Uitenhage were in a sorry state.
“I’ve spoken to the people and I apologised that they’ve had to wait so long. For me, what’s positive is that the contractor has already begun with refurbishment.”
A beneficiary, Tony Goliath, 48, said cracks appeared just months after his house was built in 2001.