The Stellenbosch Municipality recently launched a new housing app, called VOIS, which increases accessibility to the housing database for all Stellenbosch residents. The App is aimed at improving future planning and housing development in Stellenbosch communities.
The Stellenbosch Municipality’s newly-launched VOIS Housing App will improve future housing delivery by updating outdated information on the housing database. PHOTO: Pixabay
In a media statement released by Stellenbosch Mayor, Gesie van Deventer, it states that “the Municipality’s Housing Waiting List goes as far back as 1987.”
While there are around 16,300 applicants registered on the Municipality’s housing database, a lot of this information is outdated. The App makes it easier for the Municipality to track down applicants and determine their specific housing needs.
“The App increases accessibility and access, but also caters to the many residents who work full time and find it difficult to travel to and queue at the housing office,” the media statement reads.
“[The App] will definitely improve the future delivery of housing stock to the communities,” Lester van Stavel, Manager for Housing Development at the Stellenbosch Municipality, says.
“The main reason why we’ve embarked on the app is for future planning. It’s to say, even if you applied twenty years ago, what is your current situation and what is your current need,” van Stavel says.
“The previous waiting list was very generic, which only said: I am in need of a house. We didn’t go into detail by saying: would you like to rent; would you like a plot and a plan; would you just like a service site; would you just like a subsidised house; would you like a gap house. It’s all of these things which determine what is actually the person’s need. It is important to prove what plans we need to do.”
A screenshot of the housing application process on the VOIS Housing App. PHOTO: Liezl Human
“The way that the national and provisional government is also moving forward is by saying: show us your need, and your particular need, for us to give you the necessary funding to do the work,” van Stavel says.
Lwando Nkamisa, Regional Chairperson at the DA Youth, says that it is important for the Municipality to purposefully plan where they intend to develop housing.
“Due to our past, we need to be deliberate where we build these houses. They must be closer to schools, work, recreational facilities, and they must be conducive for children to develop,” Nkamisa says.
He further mentions that the Municipality should “fight the disease, not the symptoms.”
“We need to carter also for those who can’t afford to buy or rent houses,” Nkamisa says. “But our priority has to be creating a conducive environment for people to learn how to fish, and will then not be robbed of their fish after they have successfully learned how to fish. We need a multi-dimensional approach.”
“The municipality is also looking into expanding the app into Afrikaans and isiXhosa and hope to further develop a two-way communication channel between residents and the municipality,” Leon Schreiber, DA Shadow Minister for Public Service and Administration, says.
“As with many other municipalities in the Western Cape, housing is an important and emotive issue in Stellenbosch. Our local governments, in collaboration with the provincial government, work hard to ensure that those who qualify for housing assistance are able to own a home,” Schreiber says.
According to van Stavel, the app will not use a lot of data. It will only use data when you download it and when you submit your information to the database.
The App uses approximately 10 MB of data to download on the Google Play Store. An iPhone version of the App is currently in development.