The provincial winners for excellence in human settlements delivery have been wished good luck today in preparation for the National Govan Mbeki Awards to be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) on the 13 August 2015.
The winners were treated to a lunch hosted by Western Cape Human Settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela, where he wished them all the best for the finals. The provincial winners will compete against winners from the other 8 provinces to determine the best human settlements deliverers in the country.
“These winners have already done us proud through contributing to excellent service delivery in the Western Cape” said MEC Madikizela. “I have no doubt that each and every one is capable of winning the national prize, but that is up the judges to decide. No matter what happens, they will walk away with their heads held high. I hope you all continue to do an excellent job for the province in the future”
In the 2014/2015 the department set a target of 17 583 housing opportunities, which was exceeded with the delivery of 18 817 housing opportunities, consisting of 10 421 housing units against a target of 10 357, 11732 service sites against a target of 6 211 and 1 164 other housing opportunities against a target of 1 015.
This delivery also ensured that the entire 2014/2015 Human Settlements Delivery Grant allocation of R1 934 billion was spent. In addition, the department received a clean audit opinion from the Auditor General for the first time since 1994, indicating that every cent spent was properly accounted for.
The exceptional performance in both service delivery numbers and financial accountability was only possible through the contributions and efforts of municipalities, contractors, developers and other stakeholders in the human settlements delivery chain, and the department acknowledged this excellence through the 2015 Provincial Govan Mbeki awards held at the Lagoon beach Hotel in Cape Town on the 23 April 2015.
The winners of the Provincial Awards were all invited to the lunch, yet unfortunately not all were able to attend.
The Western Cape will be represented at the National Awards by the following:
- Best Integrated Residential Development Programme: Kwanokuthula Project – Bitou Municipality
- Best Upgraded Informal Settlements Programme: Railton Smartie Town – Swellendam Municipality
- Best Project in Implementing Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme: Pelican Park Project – City of Cape Town
- Best Enhanced People’s Housing Process Project: Kwanonqaba – Mossel Bay Municipality
- Best Contractor in the Non-Subsidy Market: Power Group – Pelican Park
- Best Community Residential Units: Kewtown – City of Cape Town
- Best Institutional Housing Project: Harmony Village – City of Cape Town
- Best Social Housing Project: Steenberg Project – City of Cape Town and Cape Town Community Housing Company
- Best Woman Contractor: Ukhana Project – Ms Francina le Roux
The provincial representatives were in good spirits about the upcoming event and had the following to say.
Werner Jurgens, Cape Town Community Housing Company “We are fairly confident having won the provincial award and excited to see how we can make a difference in housing delivery in the province.”
Gary Power, PowerDev Construction “On behalf of the Power Group, we’re grateful for the recognition and humbled to receive this opportunity to participate in the National Awards. We are proud that Pelican Park has set the benchmark for the biggest fully integrated mixed use residential development in South Africa to date and we look forward to future projects.“
Fransina Le Roux “It’s an honour as a Woman Contractor to be able to participate in the National Awards and I hope we can continue to be able to deliver projects in the Western Cape.“
Mr Cecil Afrika, Municipal Manager Swellendam Municipality “This award has served as an indication we are on the right track. If we look at how many people sleep under shelters and on the streets, we feel good we have been able to take some steps to alleviate the housing shortage.
Informal areas have also been upgraded from human settlements delivery and now emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire trucks can also reach the people of our communities because of the roads we’ve built. I want to thank our entire team of administrators and politicians for making this possible”
The department wishes them all the best.
Enquiries:
Zalisile Mbali
Spokesperson for MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela
Tel: 021 483 4798
Cell: 078 600 7729
Email: Zalisile.Mbali@westerncape.gov.za
