‘Construction mafia’ delay housing project

The Beacon Valley housing project, promising to build more than 1800 homes, has been put on ice because it would cost more than a third of the R95-million budget just to protect the construction site, a sub-council meeting heard last Thursday.

The day before at a meeting of the project steering committee, retired councillor Charlotte Williams, a member of the committee, said the City had told them that “construction mafia” were holding the project ransom, and that the project had to be mothballed for the umpteenth time.

The project, located on Highlands Drive, Morgenster and Swartklip roads, was due to provide affordable housing opportunities, but it has been stalled by violence and intimidation on site. Two years ago, it was hit by four separate shooting incidents and two petrol bombings of construction machinery (“Violence halts construction of houses,” Plainsman July 14, 2021).

“We are very upset that after all of this time, 12- 13 years now, this housing project has not yet moved off the ground,” Ms Williams said.

“Do we have to wait another 30 years? There are people on the housing waiting list for more than 30 years,” said Ms Williams.

Two years ago, the project was halted as the contractors had been “de-established” because of the “unsafe working environment”, said then mayoral committee member for human settlements Malusi Booi (“Housing project halted,” Plainsman October 27, 2021)

At Thursday’s Wolfgat Sub-council meeting, Solomon Philander, the sub-council chairman and Ward 116 councillor, said: “It is not a nice feeling talking about this, but how can you justify spending R35 million on a safety plan when it could be used to build houses for a community that is in need?”

He said potential beneficiaries should be told that their houses could not be built because of safety issues, greed and sabotage.

“It is also very sad that beneficiaries waiting for so long for a housing opportunity have to wait longer, due to safety concerns.

“Unless the community and the possible beneficiaries can protect the site, this project will only be possible in the future,” he said.

The neighbouring Highlands Drive housing project, however, would continue and would include the beneficiaries on the housing list from across Mitchell’s Plain, he said.

“This means only the beneficiaries higher on the list will get to be flagged,” he said.

DA proportional representation councillor Arlene Adams said some Mitchell’s Plain residents were “killing off opportunities for others”.

The community should protect their opportunities and help to make projects work, she said.

Africa Restoration Alliance (ARA) PR councillor Grant Classen said it was a sad day for the potential beneficiaries.

City of Cape Town housing official Benjamin van der Ross said that they could not guarantee the contractors’ safety.

He said three public meetings had been held in which pleas had been made for support to the secure the site but that had not panned out.

Mr Van der Ross said that they would communicate with the community and potential beneficiaries through the project steering committee.

He said that the City's Highlands Drive project of 400 units was in the tender stage.