There are people who waited for more than 20 years for their own home and on 10 October the Western Cape Minister of Infrastructure, Tertuis Simmers, along with Overstrand Executive Mayor Dr Annelie Rabie handed out 82 title deeds to residents of the Gansbaai-Stanford area.
This included 69 beneficiaries in Blompark, Gansbaai, seven in Pearly Beach and six beneficiaries in Stanford.
According to Overstrand Municipal Manager Dean O’Neill the housing development projects in Blompark and Stanford are still ongoing and will deliver more housing opportunities to beneficiaries in the area.
“The development in Blompark is planned to deliver 539 housing units,” he said, “of which 400 units were completed and handed over during the 2021-’22 (100 units), 2022-’23 (150 units) and 2023-’24 (150 units) financial years. Of the 400 completed units, eight units were built and allocated to qualifying disabled beneficiaries.”
O’Neill said the construction of the final 139 units will commence in the 2025-’26 financial year.
At the housing development in Stanford, with a total of 621 units, 100 units were completed in the 2023-’24 financial year, 200 were completed earlier this year, with another 250 expected to be completed in March 2025. “To date, 209 housing units have been handed over to beneficiaries,” O’Neill said.
Simmers, who was very excited to be part of the handover ceremony, said: “Many of the recipients here today have been waiting many years for this process to come full circle, and I am pleased to be part of this significant moment. I look forward to returning to the Overstrand soon, when there will be more housing opportunities to deliver to qualifying beneficiaries.”
He thanked the community, especially those who have been waiting for their title deeds for more than 20 years, for their patience.
In her address, Rabie encouraged homeowners to take pride in their properties and address maintenance issues, such as broken shutters or leaking taps, as soon as they occurred. She advised beneficiaries to think carefully before selling their houses, as this would result in their becoming backyard dwellers once more.
