Days of low-quality houses over, says MEC
Yolandé Hayward HERALD REPORTER
THE days of building low-quality RDP houses in the Eastern Cape are over and those guilty of this will suffer the consequences, Safety and Liaison MEC Thobile Mhlahlo said in Port Elizabeth yesterday.
Mhlahlo visited Port Elizabeth to find out from contractors what challenges they faced and to discuss a way forward.
He did make it clear, however, that contractors who did not deliver would not be tolerated. “We will not compromise on quality. We want to make sure our people receive the best quality houses.”
He said his department was investigating various contractors in the province who had not delivered high-quality houses and was also attempting to recover the money paid to these contractors.
After the investigation was concluded a report would be compiled and thereafter the culprits “will be dealt with. At the same time, we are also fixing the houses that are falling apart because of these problems”.
About R75-million has been allocated to accomplish this.
Challenges the contractors raised at the meeting yesterday included difficulties with the approval of environmental impact assessments and VAT claims.
Mhlahlo said his office would interact with the relevant people to sort out these issues. He committed himself to opening up communication channels with contractors and his department.
He also touched on the issue of spending, saying that by the end of the current financial year his department needed to spend R750-million to build about 15000 houses and urged everyone concerned to support him in accomplishing this goal.