Sweet homes upgrade project in cape town nears completion despite murders

The first phase of the project, which is nearing completion at a cost of R60 million rand, started in 2017. The City of Cape Town said its Sweet Homes informal settlement upgrade project in Philippi was subjected to extreme violence.

The first phase of the project, which is nearing completion at a cost of R60 million rand, started in 2017. However, the city said the true cost was unbearably high, especially for the Sweet Homes community.

Last week, two law enforcement officers were shot dead while protecting contract workers on the Sweet Homes site. In May, eight community members were shot and killed, six of them were members of the Sweet Homes project steering committee. A month before that, a construction worker was shot dead and in November last year two security guards were gunned down.

Human Settlements mayco member Malusi Booi said while this project was horrific, the completion of its first phase was a testament to the resilience of city staff, contractors and residents. He said there were several projects across the metro plagued by vandalism, theft, gangsterism and community unrest, but services in these areas would be delivered as promised. 

Edited by: Aneeqa du Plessis