BY REGINALD KANYANE
LOCAL government and human settlements department held Bokone Bophirima Govan Mbeki Awards 2016 in Ganyesa village, near Vryburg on Thursday.
MEC for local government and human settlements department, Fenny Gaolaolwe said the purpose of these awards was to promote and re-enforce a culture of excellence within the housing sector. She said the delivery of integrated human settlements restore the dignity of all South Africans.
“The awards are also intended to encourage all stakeholders in the sector to respond systematically and foster a culture of producing quality housing and service delivery for all. We remain proud as the province and we appreciate the good work done by contractors in building quality houses for our people.
“We will continue to sustain the quality work through Saamwerk-Saamtrek philosophy. The department will also continue to take this prestigious occasion to our Villages, Township and Small Dorpies (VTSD) to boost local village economy as pronounced by North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo,” Gaolaolwe said.
Andisa Consulting Company co-founder, Tumelo Mokone, 32 won the Best Youth Contractor of the year award. Mokone also came second in the Best Community Residential Unit category.
“We are happy that also this year we managed to register another win which puts us in housing construction map. This is the reaffirmation that young black contractors are able to tap into the market and make it like any other housing developer. We are in charge and we are here to stay,” Mokone said.
The Best Woman Contractor, Lettie of Motheo Consulting said: “If we could build in Marikana where we experienced a lot of challenges in the community, we can build anywhere in the country. We were able to resolve all the community issues which stalled our project several times. Involving local contractors especially women also assisted to the completion of the project.”
Winners of different categories will compete at the National Govan Mbeki Awards to be held Durban around November later this year.
The following are categories and contractors that won the awards:
Youth contractor – Andisa Consulting
Informal settlements – Marabella Project
Best rural housing project – Tawana Business Project
Best woman contractor – Motheo Construction
Best CRU – Motheo Construction
Best farm Resident Housing Programme – Urban Dynamics
Beautified, Clean and Enhanced Neighbourhood Project – Agisanang Township Developers
Best Performing Region – Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati
The Guardian 