Wolwedans handover 
Seven Passes Road 
Garden Route District Municipality mayors 
Graduation Ceremony - Thembalethu 
Graduation Ceremony Plettenberg Bay
Provincial Minister of Infrastructure concludes visits to the Garden Route district with a housing handover to displaced Wolwedans residents
On Tuesday, 6 August 2024, the Provincial Minister of Infrastructure, Tertuis Simmers, successfully concluded a series of impactful visits across the Garden Route District. The Minister’s itinerary included several key engagements designed to advance the department’s mission of accelerating infrastructure delivery and enhancing community development throughout the district.
Minister Simmers' visit began with a high-level meeting with district municipality mayors, aimed at fostering stronger collaboration and ensuring that local infrastructure projects are aligned with the province’s broader strategic goals. The discussions focused on unlocking new funding sources, integrating innovative building technologies, and leveraging private sector partnerships to expedite delivery and expand the scale of projects.
During his visit, Minister Simmers presided over two graduation ceremonies, of students who completed artisanship training programmes. The events celebrated a total of 43 learners from George and Bitou municipalities who have completed their training programmes, equipping them with essential skills that will enhance their employability and contribute to the growth of the infrastructure sector.
The Minister highlighted the significance of the skills development initiative and said, “This initiative underscores our dedication to building a skilled workforce and ensuring a trusted infrastructure pipeline for the future. This will equip learners with vital skills for their future and empower then to plough back into their communities, which includes Bossiegif, Kwanokuthula, Blanco and Thembalethu.”
Minister Simmers also took the opportunity to visit ongoing infrastructure projects, including the Seven Passes Road, assessing progress and engaging with project teams to ensure timely and quality delivery. These site visits highlight our focus on accelerating project timelines and adopting alternative delivery models that promise efficiency and resilience.
The Garden Route outreach concluded with a momentous housing handover at Wolwedans, where Minister Simmers delivered 6 new homes to delighted beneficiaries who had been displaced following heavy downpours in November 2021, which caused a landslip and resulted in 13 houses being declared unsafe. The construction of the remaining houses is underway and is expected to be completed soon.
Minister Simmers remarked on his visit as follows: “Our visit to the Garden Route District has been highly productive, reinforcing our priorities of speed and scale in infrastructure delivery, innovative building methods, and robust community engagement. We remain committed to driving infrastructure excellence and fostering inclusive growth across the Western Cape”.
The ministerial outreach will be extended to other district municipalities in the coming weeks.
Minister Simmers Garden Route District Municipality visit
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Media queries:
Mr. Melt Botes
Spokesperson for Provincial Minister Tertuis Simmers
Melchior.Botes@westerncape.gov.za
021 483 8067 (o)
082 431 0068 (m)
Mr. Jandré Bakker
Head of Communication
Department of Infrastructure