Residents have been irritated by delays in the slightly over US$ 8.8M Macassar housing project, and have written to Premier Alan Winde, mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, and ward councilor Peter Helfrich requesting transparency and openness about the project in question.
The Macassar housing development project, which was supposed to offer state-subsidized accommodation to roughly 2 469 recipients, had been plagued by several delays, and the building had been suspended owing to lockout.
Delays on the Macassar Housing Project
Christiaan Steward, a community leader who accused the City of Cape Town of lying to the community on a regular basis, claimed the elderly were dying without suitable homes, and the number of backyard residents was rising every day.
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He stated that since 2009, people have been trying to get suitable homes and have been living in informal settlements and backyards with no proper water or sanitation. “Last year, they announced they would begin work in August but then put it out to September; now, construction has been pushed back to next year,” lamented Steward adding that this was unacceptable, given that they did not know what was causing the delays.
According to ANC PR councilor Judy Ann Stevens, the City has not communicated about the developments. She stated that the most recent community participation occurred last year when the process of authenticating beneficiaries began.
Phase 1 implementation to begin in 2023
Contrary to the many, Malusi Booi, a Mayco member for human settlements, expressed satisfaction with the Macassar Housing project site’s progress saying that housing development for Phase 1 will begin in March 2023.
Booi explained that various legal, contractual, and procurement processes must be followed due to the project’s scope, adding that the project’s complexity resulted in unanticipated delays in some of the processes.
