The day Johannes Buys and his family received the keys to their recent house from President Cyril Ramaphosa will be a day they will never forget.
President Ramaphosa on Friday visited the Vlakkeland human settlement project in the Cape Winelands where he handed over the keys to housing beneficiaries.
The 84-year-old Buys will now appreciate the warmth of a recent house with his with family. Prior to moving into the house, he was sharing a spot in Willington with his daughter.
Buys told SAnews that they had been waiting for their very own house since 1991.
“Am proud to be a homeowner. It is very necessary to acquire a roof over your head, it is splendid that government can assist give people houses.”
The President had earlier on Friday arrived at the Cape Winelands District Municipality in Paarl amid applause from the local communities who had been waiting for his arrival. He was welcomed by the Western Cape senior government officials and politicians who briefed him about the developments in the province.
Paarl is situated northeast of Cape Town and is known for its scenic environment and viticulture and fruit-growing heritage.
The streets of Dal Josaphat were abuzz with both young and used seen waving to President Ramaphosa’s motorcade.
A local resident, Koos Stuurman, told SAnews he was pleased the President was visiting his area.
“Our government needs to approach see what people need on a daily basis. In this area there is a high unemployment rate and people need houses,” Stuurman said.
He said the President’s visit to the area brought hope to the local people that their needs were going to be addressed.
Ephraim Zobe said government must inspect after its people, especially the children who are finding it hard to procure employment after school.
To date, R248 million has been spent on the Vlakkeland catalytic human settlement project, where 432 houses maintain been completed and construction is underway on a further 323. More than 180 local workers are employed at this site.
After conducting the walkabout at the construction site, the President engaged with citizens, community-based organisations and businesses in the area – an indispensable centre of South Africa’s agricultural sector and export economy.
The area also features academic and innovation infrastructure, including the University of Stellenbosch.
During the second leg of the programme at the Dal Josaphat Athletics stadium, community members and stakeholder groups will be afforded an opportunity to establish questions to the President and leaders from the national, provincial and local spheres of government.
Today’s Presidential Imbizo is the sixth of its kind since President Ramaphosa gave an undertaking in his February 2022 State of the Nation Address that he will interact with communities in all provinces.
The Imbizo series is themed: “Leave No-One Behind” is in line with government’s collaboration with all sectors of society to transform the country through a sustainable, equitable and inclusive economy.
A number of government departments and services are showcasing their services and exhibit ting and allowing residents to enroll for any public services they may need. – SAnews.gov.za
Tweety Bun Bun
Boet – brother. This term is usually used in reference to a male friend or companion.Example: “Hey my boet, see you at the game tonight!”
Twisty Freesia
A British man on safari walks into a bar far out in the reaches of a game reserve in Southern Africa, he stays at the bar for a while shooting the shit with the bartender and drinking like a fish, he offer to buy the barkeep a round and since no one else is within 2km of their small oasis of liquor the barkeep obliges. The englishman goes off to the bathroom to have a good old go at the porcelain, he\’s back and ready for a few more whiskeys. He\’s just sat down when suddenly in the distance he hears a scream. He looks over his shoulder and dismisses it as nothing, he turns to the barkeep and orders a drink, takes a sip and hears the scream again. He looks at the barkeep who just shrugs it off. A minute or two later he and the barman hear it again and go outside to take a look. They see a lone figure running towards them screaming, he spots them and lets out a cry, RUN!!!!! HE\”S COMING!!!!!
The barkeep and the Englishman both look at the terrified bedraggled sight before them, and try to calm him down, but he\’s completely inconsolable. They give him water and finally manage to get a word out of him but he struggles free from their grasp and run away screaming.
A few minutes later the same thing happens with a whole group of men running in and screaming, he\’s coming, he\’s coming the barkeep grabs hold of one of the men as he tries to sprint past the bar and tries to get information out of him, again no response other than terrified gibberish.
The barkeep and his customer are starting to get worried, they start to pack up before another group of horrified natives run up to the bar most of them flee but one tries to hide behind the bar, the barkeep pulls out a shotgun and points it at the terrified man\’s face, finally managing to coax some words out of him. \”He\’s coming for us, Vernon Koekemoer is coming for us, we have to hide!!! We have to get out of here.\” He gets up and tries to run but the barkeep grabs him, feeling trapped in a panic he grabs the barkeeps shotgun and blows his own head off. The Englishman and the barkeep look at each other starting to really panic now.
They look out of the window and off in the distance they see a tornado coming towards the bar, at the bottom of the tornado they see the hugest beast of a man they have ever seen, as he gets closer they spot that he is riding a rhinocerous and using a crocodile as a riding whip, with each smack of the crocodile across the back of the rhino the louder is screams and the faster it runs, the tornado following it getting ever larger.
The 2 look at each other and start to fortify their position, they\’ve got a gun and they\’re waaay to drunk to run, so they start piling bar stool and tables and anything they can get their hands on to make sure they\’ll be safe when he arrives. They\’re not gonna make it, they can see the man slowing down his rhino, by now the crocodile is nothing but reptile paste on the bruised rump of the half dead rhino, the rhino drops down dead from exhaustion and crashes to the ground right outside the bar the tornado loses it\’s last breath in a cloud of dust as the huge man crashes his way through the make shift barricade and charges up towards the bar where the 2 men have taken shelter, he grabs a bottle of the hardest liquor on the shelf and down the entire litre in 1 gulp, he peers over the bar sobbing and sees the 2 defenders cowering down behind the crates of beer, they look up at the mans\’ face and he stares at them with a look of complete and utter hopelessness, he stares at them for a half second and half screams, half sobs, \”Oh my god what are you still doing here!!! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!!!! Vernon Koekemoer is coming!!!!\”