Gansbaai residents were overwhelmed with joy and couldn’t hold back their tears when Infrastructure Minister Tertuis Simmers handed over new homes at two prestigious projects.
The communities of Masakhane and Blompark were given keys to their brand-new homes on 10 March to commemorate Human Rights month.
The minister started the day at the Blompark project, where he handed new homes over, in addition to 150 that were delivered in December 2022. The handover forms part of the 100 homes that will be given to qualifying beneficiaries over the next couple of weeks by the Overstrand Municipality.
On completion the project will have created 589 housing opportunities. Multiple job opportunities will have been created by the R98 million project.
An emotional Leonie Pieters (59), a beneficiary with a hearing impairment, described the day as a dream come true. Her daughter translated: “Having lived most of my life on farms and informal settlements I simply cannot thank our government enough for fulfilling my lifelong dream.”
Joined by the Executive Mayor of Overstrand Municipality Dr Annelie Rabie, Simmers then proceeded to the Masakhane housing project to make more dreams come true.
Waiting for the officials was a jubilant community who will for the first time move into adequate homes. Leading them in song was the elderly beneficiary Hilda Ngqoshana.
“Though there were times when it didn’t seem as if this day would come we remained hopeful and kept our faith in God,” the 63-year-old said, “and today he has shone his grace on us. I will now spend my retirement years in the comfort of my own home.”
Speaking on the day’s proceedings Simmers said: “Today my heart is filled with joy as we brought smiles and hope into so many people’s lives. This was made possible by the collaborative efforts of the two spheres of government as well as these communities. I can truly say we have restored hope in the communities of Gansbaai.
“I commend all parties involved as we managed to deliver 250 homes within 18 months of turning sod – a display of urgency at the forefront of service delivery.”
