60 families receive their first homes

MAYOR Patricia de Lille handed over keys to more than 60 families who are first-time homeowners in Morkel’s Cottage, Strand.

“I’m happy to say we have kept that promise by handing out five keys to five families who have been living in informal settlements around Strand,” De Lille said.

The City of Cape Town and its contractor started construction on the R146million project in March.

It will provide 547 semi-detached and detached single-storey houses as well as serviced sites for beneficiaries from the informal settlements of Morkel’s Cottage, Beverley Hills and Dark City, along with beneficiaries from the City’s Housing Database.

The civil engineering services, such as the internal roads and water and sewer infrastructure, for the first three phases have been completed.

The civil engineering services for phases 4 and 5 will begin in the coming months, followed by the construction of the top structures on those plots. It is anticipated that the entire project will be completed next year.

“It was really touching to see Clara and Piet Fourie open the door to their new home after nearly two decades of living in an informal settlement.

“They told me how relieved they were to finally escape flooding and shack fires, which they have been victims of in the past three years,” De Lille said.

She visited a number of residents, some of whom are pensioners and have lived for over 27 years in an informal structure.

“The project is one of many speaking to the goals in the City’s Organisational Development and Transformation Plan,” she added.