New beginnings for beneficiaries
On Friday, 10 February, the first recipients of the Transand section of the Mossel Bay Upgrading of Informal Settlement Programme (UISP) were welcomed on site.
The Mossel Bay UISP project is funded by the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements and is intended to improve the living conditions of all households living in informal settlements through an incremental upgrading process.
On site in KwaNonqaba, which forms the core of where the UISP is rolled out, were community members and project partners Zutari and Entsha Henra.
Municipal housing portfolio chairman, Mossel Bay deputy mayor, Alderman Cliffie Bayman, welcomed the beneficiaries.
Councillor Sibabalo Dubula convened the welcoming and encouraged community members to make the most of the new opportunity of establishing their homes.
“The UISP was introduced in 2004 and focuses on ‘making things better’. Because, as a municipality, we strive to treat all our residents with respect and therefore want to offer them dignified experiences, it is important to note that great care is taken to follow through with all the processes that are part of the UISP programme,” explained Alderman Bayman.
There are 28+ informal settlement areas that are part of the overall UISP project in Mossel Bay. The majority of these informal settlements are in KwaNonqaba. When the project started in 2017, only about 3 600 households were surveyed.
In 2022 the estimate is 6 500 households and growing.
The estimated number of people who will be positively impacted by the overall project is about 30 000 people.
'Integrated neighbourhoods'
“The vision of informal settlement upgrading interventions is to see informal settlements transformed into sustainable and integrated neighbourhoods, where residents have access to decent municipal services and social facilities.
"To ensure community members assume ownership of their own development and project, the involvement of the community from the onset is key,” explained Rudolf Schroeder from Zutari, the appointed implementing agent. “Today is very exciting because the handing over of these sites is a culmination of many years of hard work, where the very first serviced sites are handed over to beneficiaries of the UISP programme,” said Schroeder.
He explained that there are many planning and statutory approval processes required, such as environmental studies, town planning applications, land surveying and engineering designs before a site can be handed over. Alderman Bayman said, referring to the unhappy events of August 2022, when community members vandalised the temporary relocation area (TRA) site in KwaNonqaba during protest action, that his wish is that discussion will always reign over disruption.
“Meeting one another through communication always provides the best solution; it is indeed a bridge over sometimes troubled water.
"Today, I implore you as the first residents of the new community – be a solid foundation, choose harmony and lead by that example. I wish the residents of this new community progress, but more than anything, I wish you peace.”