Update
GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - Six families affected by a landslip in Great Brak River started a new chapter of their lives when they received their new homes last week.
Mossel Bay Municipality said the first six of 13 houses were made available to the affected families on 6 August by Minister Tertuis Simmers of the Western Cape Provincial Department of Infrastructure.
The ceremony was held at the Greenhaven community hall and attended by the ward councillor, Donovan Claassen, the Mossel Bay municipal council Speaker, Alderlady Venolea Fortuin, and Alderman Niklaas Booisen, portfolio chair for Community Services, standing in for the mayor.
"These residents after a long, long wait, are getting a fresh start, a new home and home is where your story begins. We thank Minister Simmers and his department for seeing this project through and we thank the residents for their patience," said Booisen.
Simmers too commended residents for their patience and expressed his sincere relief that the project, which took several years was finally at the handover point.
Photo: Mossel Bay Municipality
"We apologise for the processes that seemed to have taken far too long. Getting to the root of the problem at the original site, was arduous as we had no idea what was in fact going on under the soil," said Simmers.
He added that the impact of climate change at the original site could not be denied.
The municipality previously shared information on a landslip in Wolwedans, which worsened since 2013. Due to a major slip in the area in 2021, 13 government-built houses had to be demolished.
It said that for their safety, the affected families were relocated to temporary structures while the provincial Department of Infrastructure and the municipality conducted investigations.
From the investigation report, it was concluded that the area was condemned for future human settlement purposes and all municipal infrastructure and services related to the area had to be adapted. This included closing off and rerouting an important access road.
Photo: Mossel Bay Municipality
The municipality said it undertook emergency work to ensure the remaining parts of Wolwedans had necessary services. It then started with the construction and installation of permanent relocated services including a sewerage network and a new access road. The total cost of installing the new access road is R7.9 million.
The department provided the necessary emergency relief grant funding of R5.5 million for the construction of service sites and 13 new houses to accommodate the affected families.
The municipality also received grant funding of R16 million from the department to do remedial work to the landslip area. This includes reshaping the surface and preventing water from entering.
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