As part of the Local Government Week, the NCOP delegation paid an oversight visit to a human settlement development project in Dunoon in Killarney Gardens and Doornbach, in the Western Cape, to assess its challenges and progress achieved thus far.
According to the NCOP research document, the Killarney Gardens Project was initially designed as an integrated and sustainable human settlement project to relieve high densities in Doornbach, Dunoon and Atlantis Railway Reserve: Soweto and Siyahlala informal settlements. But has now been redesigned as temporary residential area to allow the Western Cape Department of Infrastructure to upgrade the informal settlements in Dunoon until proper human settlements are developed with appropriate housing infrastructure, explained the Acting Director of Project Management, Western Cape Department of Infrastructure, Ms Ilani Heynes.
According to the province’s plan, the communities of Soweto and Siyahlala will be relocated first to the new development, followed by the communities of Doornbach.
The Councillor of Doornbach, Mr Thando Dedezane, cautioned that the communities he serves and those from Soweto and Siyahlala informal settlements hold a different view. “The latter communities are of the view that this project is entirely meant for them. On the other hand, the Doornbach communities are also of the same view.”
When asked why the province has prioritised the relocation of the Atlantis Railway Reserve: Soweto and Siyahlala informal settlements over those that live in Doornbach, which is adjacent to this housing project, Ms Heyns explained. “These are communities that are currently blocking the Atlantis Railway line, which is part of the economic corridor that services industries and economic activities in Atlantis and surrounding areas,” she explained.
Mr Dedezane cautioned that there is a need to clarify this matter to both communities to avert any misunderstanding that could lead to an undesirable outcome.
The NCOP delegation further learnt that the stipulated budget for the planning, design and site preparation phase, including installation of bulk services, for this project is R39 212 341, of which R23 841 547 (61%) has been spent. However, this project has been dormant since its inception in 2023. The NCOP delegation wanted to know why.
According to the Acting Director, this project was initially a provincial project, but due to the changes and new stipulations of the equitable share, provincial governments no longer have access to human settlement development grants. The building of houses has now been devolved to the local government, she said.
Given that, they have handed the project to the City, because it can access the human settlement development emergency grant and other human development funding. “We are currently engaged with the City to take over the project and the land and to continue with this housing development,” she said.
The members of the NCOP delegation were displeased by the delay due to bureaucratic processes that could have been sorted out long ago while the people of Dunoon and its surrounding areas continue to endure horrible living conditions.
Giving a contextual background of the NCOP delegation’s visit in Dunoon and the impression they got on the above-mentioned project, the Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, Mr Les Govender, stated that they embarked on this oversight visit to Dunoon to get first-hand experience of challenges hampering the completion of the Killarney Garden Housing Project meant to alleviate overcrowding and the living conditions of these communities.
“Today, we are here as part of the NCOP Local Government Week oversight site visit . . . This year, we have decided to come to this side of Cape Town to see the service delivery challenges and to assess the issues related to spatial planning as well as housing,” he said.
He put the blame for the lack of progress on the project squarely on the lack of concurrence between different spheres of the Western Cape government. “This project started in 2023, but up to now it has not been completed, and we were given various reasons as to why. However, we observed that there was no concurrence between the different spheres of government in the province. That is why the project has stalled,” he claimed.
He further added that his concerns were also shared by the NCOP delegation and representatives of South African Local Government Association who also wondered why this project has not been completed after such a long time.
Another serious concern, he pointed out, is the reduction of the number of houses that were initially projected from 1 500 to some 480 houses. “We couldn’t get a satisfactory reason why because the officials from the City of Cape Town were not present to explain why and why such a delay when this project has been transferred to them.”
The lack of representation of officials from both Western Cape local and provincial government was another area of dissatisfaction for the NCOP delegates. “The province and the City knew that we were going to visit this project to assess its challenges, but they never came to explain to us its challenges and its delays. That was a source a source of great discontent among the members of the delegation,” Mr Govender maintained.
Abel Mputing
17 September 2025
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