All in a Day’s Work

On Thursday, 24 July 2025, Western Cape Minister of Infrastructure Tertuis Simmers visited the Overberg District to conduct a site visit at the Malgas road re-graveling project; open the newly tarred Buffeljagsbaai road; and hand over houses and title deeds in Gansbaai.

The R17 million Malgas road project consists of the re-graveling of the 25km gravel road between Malgas and the N2 near Swellendam. This road (DR1277) is a major economic driver in the area as it is a primary tourism route that provides access to the Pont, Witsand, Malgas and De Hoop Nature Reserve. The project is expected to be completed in March 2026.

Joined by the Executive Mayor of the Overberg District, Sakkie Franken, and Swellendam Executive Mayor, Francois du Rand, Minister Simmers also officially opened the newly tarred DR1206 road between the R317 and Buffeljagsbaai. This R70 million project was completed in March this year. The road serves as a critical link between the rural community of Buffeljagsbaai and two abalone farms to key provincial road routes and is, therefore, another key economic driver in the area that contributes to job creation.

Minister Simmers said, “Maintenance and upgrading of roads near Malgas, Buffeljagsbaai and many other places in the province are more than just standard maintenance projects, they are economic enablers. For the 2025/26 financial year alone, the Western Cape Government has budgeted over R4.6 billion towards transport infrastructure, which includes the upgrading and improvement of 50% of our gravel road network. And with the new Provincial Roads Delivery Model, which will come into effect next year April, my department takes back the road agency function to improve and accelerate the delivery of transport infrastructure. And the reason for this new approach and the substantial investment we make into roads is simple – it creates jobs for our people.”

In Gansbaai, Minister Simmers and Overstrand Executive Mayor, Archie Klaas, handed over title deeds to 15 beneficiaries of the Masakhane Breaking New Ground (BNG) housing project. This R58 million project has yielded 295 units, all of which were handed over to beneficiaries.

While in Gansbaai, Minister Simmers and the delegation of the Overstrand Local Municipality proceeded to hand over 16 BNG housing units to beneficiaries of the Blompark housing project. At a total budget of over R143 million, this project consists of 544 erven, of which 539 are zoned for residential purposes. To date, 400 units have been built and handed over to beneficiaries, while the remaining 139 are expected to be completed by December this year.

At the occasion, Minister Simmers said, “It was a pleasure to conclude our visit in the Overberg today by handing over houses and title deeds in Blompark and Masakhane. The need for housing opportunities across the country is forever growing, but in the Western Cape we are accelerating human settlements delivery. From Cape Town to our non-metro areas, such as Gansbaai, the Western Cape Government is delivering dignified housing where it is needed most. And we are doing it faster than ever before.”