Title Deeds
Ms Anna van Wyk and Mayor van Deventer. Photo Credit: Supplied

48 people living at the Mooiwater Housing Project received their title deeds, just in time for Human Rights Day, including several pensioners.

 

Mooiwater, Francshoek (18 March 2021) – The Stellenbosch Municipality handed over title deeds to several pensioners, giving them their first sense of security since moving into the Mooiwater Housing Project just over a decade ago.

The municipality completed the Mooiwater Housing Project in 2010, and in early 2011, 231 families moved into their newly built homes. Part of moving into the homes would include them becoming homeowners for the first time in their lives. In a statement from the municipality, they expressed their joy of finally handing over the title deeds to their rightful owners.

‘In our continuous efforts to promote dignity, opportunity and security, Stellenbosch Municipality handed over another 48 title deeds to beneficiaries in Mooiwater, Franschhoek today. The Executive Mayor, Gesie van Deventer, was joined by members of the Mayoral Committee to hand over these title deeds.

Mayor van Deventer’s first visits were to the oldest beneficiaries in the project including Gert Hector (69), Christina Hendricks (68), Rachel Solomons (66), Anna van Wyk (64). These title deeds form part of the Mooiwater Housing Project that was completed in 2010. A total of 231 houses were built and residents started moving in during April 2011.’

‘This handover demonstrates our commitment and serious effort to speed up the transfer of title deeds to beneficiaries of projects that have been completed some time ago. Since taking office in 2016, Mayor van Deventer has made a concerted effort to speed up the process of transferring title deeds to the rightful beneficiaries. Since then, 1932 title deeds (including today’s 48) were handed over to the rightful beneficiaries. Of these title deeds, 65% were for newly built projects and 35% were for historical projects.

The handover forms part of our commitment as a local government to ensure dignified living conditions for all our residents. A title deed gives a resident ownership of their property. With this ownership comes financial security and a passport to economic participation.’

The handover was done to celebrate human rights day and honour the fundamental right to own a property. For many of these families, this title deed will be a first in generations. It means security and adds dignity to an entire community.

“It is truly an honour for me to give these residents the gift of owning their home. Ownership of your house creates a peace of mind that no money can buy. As a municipality, we will continue our efforts to clear the backlog of title deeds, particularly historical title deeds. It is an important step for us in addressing historical inequality and empowering our community.” – Gesie van Deventer, Executive Mayor of Stellenbosch.


Sources: Stellenbosch Municipality
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Tyler Leigh Vivier is a writer for Good Things Guy.

Her passion is to spread good news across South Africa with a big focus on environmental issues, animal welfare and social upliftment. Outside of Good Things Guy, she is an avid reader and lover of tea.

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