Another workshop, as part of a series of workshops, was held for the BLC’s of Asla Park C and E, Transand and Emfuleni on the 17/10/2020 at the Kwanonqaba Community Hall to prepare beneficiaries each step of the way toward the implementation of Phase 1 of the UISP. 

The topic of the workshop was the “Preparation of Household Verification and Surveys for Phase 1 of the Mossel Bay UISP Project.”

The workshop was well attended by the BLC volunteers of all four areas of Phase 1.

Anne Timms (Zutari) facilitated the process, Rudolf Schroder (Zutari), Ian Booi (Zutari), Brian Adams (DAG) provided support, guidance and insight at the focus groups sessions. Three Councilors from the Phase 1 area attended the workshop, Lucky Nonyathi (Mossel Bay Municipality) checked in briefly during the process. The BLC’s asked questions and sought clarity that was provided by Zutari’s project manager. The series of workshops engage Phase 1 BLC’s who are representing the beneficiary communities, in a participatory manner.

The verification and survey of the beneficiary households are an important step towards the relocation strategy to determine the real number of households to be relocated per area in Phase 1. Due to the constant influx in the informal areas, the numbers that were determined in a survey in 2016 is outdated. Once the numbers are confirmed the relocation strategy can be planned and executed. This will be done on a phase per phase basis with the verification process for phase 1 areas to commence soon. The beneficiaries will be relocated to a Temporary Relocation Area (TRA) while the Enhanced Service Sites are being built. The beneficiaries will receive the security of tenure, an enhanced service site and a material package when they move back to a serviced site. 

All of this will happen through a fully participatory process in the form of a series of workshops to prepare the BLC’s (they will report back to the beneficiary community) every step of the way, area per area, phase per phase. 

The first part of the workshop was dedicated to focusing groups discussions per areas. In the focus groups, they worked through the verification process, discussed it in a participatory manner, made suggestions and amendments where applicable.

The second part of the workshop consists of working with aerial maps to show the borders (development footprint) of each of the areas in Phase 1. The BLC members of each area were given a list of previously surveyed beneficiaries to roughly match up with the houses in their area and to discuss the potential pitfalls and risk areas and dynamics that might hamper the process of verification.

The definition of a household as stated by the Mossel Bay Municipality for the Mossel Bay UISP was also explained to the BLCs and it was confirmed that this will form the basis of the new survey and verification process. For the Mossel Bay UISP project, 1 structure = 1 household, irrespective of the number of people living together and sharing that structure, unless the structure is divided into separate units with separate entrances, then they can be captured as separate households

The third part of the workshop was working through the questions that will be asked to the beneficiary households during the verification process.

The following feedback was received from the focus groups at the end of the workshop:

Asla C:

Verification and Survey questionnaires should include the following questions:

1. Who is the owner of the house?
2. How long are you staying in the house?
3. Do you have a South African ID?
4. Are you married?
5. How many of you are staying in the house?
6. Give your contact details?
7. Have you owned a property before?

Emfuleni

1. Need to have a community meeting with Growing Hope
2. Need to finish verification before beginning December, because lots of people going away over December
3. Some people away for work, then someone else is staying temporarily in their structure. How to make sure the right beneficiary is captured?
4. Count everybody (also Growing Hope) to see everyone can be relocated.
5. Will churches buy church plot from Municipality?
6. Play areas for kids
7. Have a concern with people that build shacks and yet captured still sell shack and move to the next area and get captured again.
8. Praying area.

 Asla E 

1. Bright Star Educare does not have a house number
2. APE3 is the Lithalethu Day Care Centre 
3. An introduction letter for the Verification and Survey process should accompany the BLC’s and fieldworkers during the verification process.

Transact

Requests from Transand :

1. Who qualifies for Enhanced Service Sites (ESS)?
2. Change the name of Transand to Zubuhle Village, the meaning is “becoming a place of brightness/beautifulness” 
3. The beneficiary community wants to be part of the naming of the streets.
4. Wish list for Transand
   1. Playground for Children
   1. Kraal
   1. Alpha Lights
   1. Creche / Educare / Day Care
   1. Soup Kitchen
   1. Business Hub
   1. Fence surrounding Transand
   1. Vegetable gardens
   1. Training Centre for skills
   1. Unemployed community members to be offered employment from the building contractor’s appointment

5. If someone has an RDP house before and live in Transand, will they get an ESS?
6. Are the foreign national’s (refugees) part of the project?
7. What about people that do not have ID’s?
8. They are worried about the fumes of the gas, the tyre’s burning at the scrapyard next to their informal homes.
9. When will the verification start?
10. Will the roads be gravel roads? The community request tarred roads with streetlights and paving.

1. Questions for the beneficiary verification and survey process: Beneficiary’s name, surname and ID
   1. How many children do you have?
   1. How many people in the house?
   1. Are you working?
   1. How long are you staying in this house?
   1. Is this your house or are you renting?
   1. How many years are you renting?

Rudolf Schröder emphasised the importance of surveying the whole informal beneficiary area, as everyone in this area must move to the TRA to clear the area for the contractor to start with construction in that area. This includes all micro-businesses, Edu-care centres, churches, NGO’s and farmers. 

He also emphasised that the tender for the whole of Phase 1 is currently being evaluated by the Municipality’s supply chain department and will hopefully be awarded soon. Construction will commence after all the processes of the appointment are finalised. The hope is to start with the construction of the TRA as soon as possible.

Zutari undertakes to compile a FAQ list and will upload the list to the project website and provide a copy to the BLC’s to assist with discussions at beneficiary community meetings. This will be a working document to be populated and updated frequently throughout the processes.

The next Zutari workshop will be on the 14th of November and the focus will be on starting the actual household verification and surveys.

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