Earlier this year the project won the Western Cape category for the best UISP, after which it automatically qualified for the National Govan Mbeki Award. The winners from all nine provinces competed for the national award.
Thys de Beer, George Municipality deputy director for Human Settlements, Land Affairs and Planning, accepted the award on 14 August in Sandton at an event hosted by Lindiwe Sisulu, the national minister of Human Settlements.
The project won the award because of the "unique way in which it was done", said George Mayor Charles Standers.
The municipality simultaneously combined two service delivery programmes: the UISP and Access to Basic Services (ABS).
According to Chantel Edwards-Klose, the George Municipality's media liaison officer, it is one of very few municipalities in the country that has fulfilled its constitutional obligations in terms of the delivering of basic services to all of its communities, as prescribed in the constitution of South Africa. "The UISP provides sites with permanent services to families and is programmed to be implemented over a period of seven years. In order to prevent those families who would only be assisted in the later phase of the UISP from living without basic services for a period of between two and seven years, a decision was taken to run the ABS programme parallel to the UISP.
"Therefore, all 4 500 families living in the various informal settlement pockets in Thembalethu now have access to basic services, water and sanitation facilities, while waiting for their turn to receive a serviced site, of which they will become the owner."
Standers congratulated the department on their success.
The Planning Committee for George Municipality proudly holds the National Govan Mbeki Award received for the Thembalethu Housing project. From left are: Portfolio Councillor Isaya Stemela (corporate services), Portfolio Councillor Henry Jones (housing), George Mayor Charles Standers, Icosa Councillor Rosina Lombaard, ANC Councillor Charlie Bob, Portfolio Councillor Johan Stander (planning), Deputy Director Support Services Charles Lubbe and Director for Human Settlements, Land Affairs and Planning Steven Erasmus.
ARTICLE: MICHELLE PIENAAR, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST
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