Over 250 protesters have gathered outside the municipal offices in Villiersdorp on Friday.
Protesters gathered outside the municipal offices in Villiersdorp on 31 March 2023. Picture: Supplied
CAPE TOWN – The Theewaterskloof Municipality in the Overberg region of the Western Cape said that it would not tolerate protests that disrupted the progress of its housing project.
Over 250 protesters gathered outside the municipal offices in Villiersdorp on Friday.
The municipality said that the demonstrators were demanding to be allocated houses from a housing project that was under way in the area.
Municipal spokesperson, Wilfred Solomons-Johannes, said that the beneficiaries had raised concerns about the people who were forcefully trying to invade the land.
“These actions are delaying the implementation of the completion of the first phase of the project and this will result that the 1,400 yielded opportunities will not be achieved. The Theewaterskloof has deployed security to protect the land at huge cost and disruptions will not be tolerated.”
Solomons-Johannes added that there had been attempts to illegally occupy the land reserved for the project through the erection of informal structures.
“It’s a significant project for the municipality to unlock housing opportunities for the people living in the informal settlement. The housing project is under way, phase one has been implemented, and our civil contractors are on site installing electricity, water, sanitation and building roads.”
He further added that the demonstrators would be formally addressed by the municipality next Monday.
