Speech by the City’s Executive Mayor, Patricia de Lille
Ocean View beneficiaries receive their keys
Premier of the Western Cape, Helen Zille
Councillors
Honoured guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Good morning, goeie môre, molweni, as-salaam alaikum, shalom.
It is a great pleasure to be here at the moment we change people’s lives for
the better as part of this wonderful project.
I think that everything that can be achieved here – from drawing in the
community, to creating labour opportunities, to training people in fine
artisanal skills – is the perfect combination of design achieving change, given
that this project is part of our World Design Capital programme.
For me, the central thesis of the City of Cape Town’s approach to the World
Design Capital 2014 title is the fact that excellence in design means using
what you have to realise what you want.
It is designing the change we want to see in our city using the very building
blocks of which our city is comprised.
Indeed, design-led thinking is changing our city.
Cities face challenges that are ever more complex.
Addressing these is not ‘someone else’s job’: it is a creative, collaborative
process that draws on the energy and innovation of individuals, communities
and corporates as well as all levels of government.
Design-led thinking is an excellent way to address these complex challenges,
with the goal of improving opportunities and the quality of life for all the
citizens of Cape Town.
This thinking is best summarised by our theme: live design; transform life.
I think that this project, which is part of the World Design Capital programme,
is a remarkable example of everything that is possible when we work
together creatively to fix old problems.
In April 2012, the City appointed architects who specialise in stonemasonry
design and construction.
Their brief was to demonstrate that the construction of subsidy housing can
be visually pleasing by using the local materials sourced from the site.
In March 2013 an accredited stonemason from France joined the team and
assisted with the construction of the first two show houses.
Thirty local trainee stonemasons have undergone an intensive six-month
training course and they now form part of the construction team. This team
includes five female stonemasons.
Also at the heart of the project is a labour intensive construction method and,
to date, the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) has employed a
total of 497 workers on the site.
As such, not only are we creating work opportunities but we are up-skilling
those who are taking part in the project from the community.
But as ever with public housing, the best part of the project is the handover to
the beneficiaries.
Mrs Jane Arendse will be one of the first recipients to receive her house.
She has been living in the Mountain View informal settlement since 1986.
The second recipient, Mrs Januarie, has not had a fixed abode for the past
two years and has also been on the waiting list since 1999.
By 2015, 543 houses would have been built here at a cost of R46 million.
Not only will these houses give people dignity; they will be reminders of
everything that is possible when communities come together and work with
the city to transform the way that they live.
I think we should all be proud of these houses and the example that they set
for ‘out of the box’ thinking.
I know that we will be taking the lessons we have learned here and applying
them to human settlements projects across the city.
In conclusion, let me say to the beneficiaries that this is an important moment
for you.
But taking ownership of these homes and looking after them as your property
is your responsibility.
I assure you that in taking pride in your home and the opportunities that it
provides you for living a better life with dignity, you take ownership of your
future.
It is an example of making progress possible, together.
Thank you, baie dankie, enkosi.