Infrastructure
With reference to the Diazville Housing Project in Saldanha Bay:
- Whether the housing project has been completed; if so, (a) how many houses make up the housing project, (b) how many houses, if any, have been built to date and (c) what reasons, if any, have contributed to any construction delays;
- (a) when were the roads, streetlights and other infrastructure completed and (b) what progress, if any, has been made since then;
- (a) why have some residents received erf numbers to houses that have not yet been built, (b) when can these residents expect their houses to be completed and (c) why have these houses not been completed?
The housing project is not complete.
(a) The project is registered for 559 opportunities.
(b) 439 houses have been completed in phases.
(c) The project is planned in terms of the Municipality’s housing pipeline for implementation in the 2026/27 financial year. The Municipality experienced challenges with the project implementation in terms of beneficiary administration. A request was submitted to my Department for confirmation of the people who have been approved and whether they can still be considered for the project. The municipality received the requested confirmation in January 2025 and is currently in discussion with role players for the implementation of the project
(2) (a) Services were completed in the 2014/15 financial year.
(b) The municipality commenced with construction of top structures on the development in the following phases:
- 2015, Phase 1 : 102 units
- 2016, Phase 2A : 99 units
- 2017, Phase 2B : 121 units
- 2018, Phase 2C : 117 units
(3) (a) According to the records of the Saldanha Bay Municipality, there are no people who have received erf numbers to houses that have not been built. The process that the Municipality follows is that when applications are submitted “dummy plot numbers” are used on the application and the final allocated erf number is linked to an applicant when houses are allocated, and a reconciliation process is conducted to rectify the “dummy plot numbers” allocated during the application for subsidies.
(b) The Municipality is in the process of consulting with councillors and applicants who do not qualify to be assisted due to the latest directive issued by National Department of Human Settlements wherein applicants in designated vulnerable group must be prioritised. The Municipality submitted a request to my Department for confirmation that the people who were approved prior to the issuing of the national directive be considered to be assisted. The response is that the national directive must be honoured. Furthermore, there are some of the applicants who do not comply with the general qualifying criteria since their income is not less that R3500 per month.
(c) see response in 1(c).
