Delegation to tackle housing problems
2011-09-22
THE Western Cape delegation of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) will step in to ensure that the housing problems experienced by residents of Paarl are dealt with. This was one of the decisions made after the delegation visited Paarl and surrounds on Thursday. In Mbekweni, the most pressing issues related to housing, as uncovered by the delegation during a public hearing was held at the packed Thusong Service Centre. Residents expressed their concerns over the lack of housing delivery, forcing them to resort to living in shacks and in dangerous areas such as along the railway line. They also accused housing officials of tampering with the waiting list and complained of excessively long waiting times. Deceased people being automatically removed from the waiting list while their next-of-kin also have a need for housing, was another point of discussion. Drakenstein Executive Mayor Gesie van Deventer addressed residents at the Thusong Centre, saying that these housing problems are a priority for the Municipality to tackle. She added that the situation will not change overnight, but that all these issues will be tackled as matters of the utmost importance. The NCOP’s delegate Michael de Villiers, an MP, said they would intervene to ensure that the housing problems are resolved. “The public hearing was around housing and the problems people experience. We have to have the support of local government and councillors to address these problems. “After compiling the report, we have to ask the local government, provincial minister of housing and also the national minister of housing to address all the issues around allocating houses, as well as the budget issues. We must give them a certain time period to work on these issues. “It is not members of the NCOP who can come up with solutions. We can only make recommendations. “Some people do not understand our function of exercising oversight over service delivery. We were here to gather information from the various departments and the community members to see how we can get the role players to serve the people better,” explained de Villiers. *Earlier in the day, the delegation visited the Paarl East police station, which was moved from out of town in 2009. The delegation was worried that, unlike the old police station, the new one was not easily accessible to the broader population of Paarl-East. But the station commander, Col. Bheki Maseko, said he had tabled a suggestion for the old station to be turned into a satellite station in order for the community to be served more efficiently. Maseko said challenges at the station included the need for new vehicles (with some of the current fleet having travelled up to 200 000 to 300 000 km), an insufficient number of staff members, budget constraints and outdated computers and software. Delegates then visited Mbekweni Clinic and also made a stop at the areawhere houses are built next to the railway line.
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