MOSSEL BAY NEWS - At the Mossel Bay town council Planning and Integrated Services Committee meeting on Wednesday, 12 September, Councillor Barnie Groenewald commended the Mossel Bay Municipality for setting an example in terms of property ownership.

He was supported by Councillor Jovan Bruinders, who said property ownership adds to a sense of belonging, and that the Department of Housing should be congratulated on the number of title deeds that were handed to the owners of houses in the greater Mossel Bay area.

"I remain concerned about the number of people in D'Almeida, one of the oldest suburbs of Mossel Bay, who are waiting for title deeds. About 733 people are still waiting for title deeds for the homes they occupy," Councillor Bruinders said.

The municipal director, Carel Venter, said that several challenges hamper the transfer of properties, especially in D'Almeida, one of which is that the original beneficiary may have passed away. "The municipality now issues the title deed to the will of the original beneficiary. The department is focusing specifically on D'Almeida and Joe Slovo, to address the problems in those areas."

The provincial Department of Human Settlements has seconded an official to assist with the transfer of properties. In addition, the municipality has embarked on a door-to-door campaign to engage residents.

Councillor Groenewald urged councillors to liaise with their wards about Free Wills Week, running from Monday, 17 September to Friday, 21 September. "It is imperative that new home owners be advised on the need for and importance of a will as they now own valuable property."

Housing backlog
While he commended the department on its endeavours to hand over title deeds to occupants, effectively making the residents homeowners, Councillor Bruinders implored council to follow a concerted effort to eradicate the housing backlog of more than 10 000 people on the housing need database.

"Let us not politicise housing; we should collectively identify land and approach the national minister of housing to assist Mossel Bay to provide houses for our communities.

If we do not work on this problem now, the demand will increase; we will have communities at war with one another other over housing. We cannot play ball with people's future. We need a plan, and we need to work according to this plan," Councillor Bruinders said. Mayor Harry Levendal said the planned Louis Fourie Corridor housing project should make a marked difference to the housing need database.

"We also need to assess the housing need database, as many people listed on the database are too young. The Louis Fourie Corridor will add at least 1 300 housing opportunities."

Councillor Petrus Lechaba argued that the minimum age requirement to register on the housing need database should be scrapped.

'We bring you the latest Mossel Bay, Garden Route news'