A roof of one's own - Mail & Guardian Online: The smart news source
construction faults are at last being repaired or demolished and rebuilt. This rectification process is under way in two provinces and is being planned for the rest of the country. "Where we find that there's a fault and that it's due to the contractor we force him to go back," Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu told the Mail & Guardian this month. In a wide-ranging interview she reviewed progress on housing delivery since she took office in 2004, commenting on overall delivery as well as on specific flashpoints such as the N2 Gateway project in the Western Cape. The government has provided 2,6-million houses since 1994, but complaints about poor quality have been prolific. Sisulu said she felt comforted by the progress she saw in housing delivery, but that the challenges her ministry faces "have been particularly bruising. It's not nice to wake up and think 'I'm doing this for the people' and the feedback you get is the protesters."Since 2006 the housing department has worked with the Special Investigating Unit to trace unscrupulous contractors who, if found guilty of shoddy construction, are required either to repair faults or to return government money. If a construction company refuses to rectify its sub-standard work, it is blacklisted and denied any further government contracts, Sisulu said.About 60% of low-cost houses in the Western Cape had serious defects. The defects included severe cracks in walls and foundations, leaking roofs and windows and doors that did not function properly. Dampness was found in nearly half the houses audited.Sisulu noted that many houses found to be faulty were built between 1994 and 2002 -- before the introduction of the National Home Builders Registration Council building standards. Since 2002 the council has been responsible for ensuring the quality of government-built houses. The rectification process is under way in Khahlamba, Ugie and Zanemvula in the Eastern Cape. In the Western Cape it includes the Delft part of the N2 Gateway project as well the N2 Gateway's phase 1 project next to the Joe Slovo settlement. Prince Xhanti Sigcawu, general manager of Thubelisha Homes -- which is responsible for houses in both provinces -- confirmed that the rectification process involves several construction companies subcontracted by Thubelisha. He said the faults being addressed included poor workmanship, roofs that are easily blown away by wind and walls built with an inappropriate mixture of cement and sand.
Tax payer monies being wasted by giving contracts to unscrupulous contractors. What is the cost going to be to rectify these units? South African tax payer's monies, so not to worry! Why has moladi not being used and this would never happened?
construction faults are at last being repaired or demolished and rebuilt. This rectification process is under way in two provinces and is being planned for the rest of the country. "Where we find that there's a fault and that it's due to the contractor we force him to go back," Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu told the Mail & Guardian this month. In a wide-ranging interview she reviewed progress on housing delivery since she took office in 2004, commenting on overall delivery as well as on specific flashpoints such as the N2 Gateway project in the Western Cape. The government has provided 2,6-million houses since 1994, but complaints about poor quality have been prolific. Sisulu said she felt comforted by the progress she saw in housing delivery, but that the challenges her ministry faces "have been particularly bruising. It's not nice to wake up and think 'I'm doing this for the people' and the feedback you get is the protesters."Since 2006 the housing department has worked with the Special Investigating Unit to trace unscrupulous contractors who, if found guilty of shoddy construction, are required either to repair faults or to return government money. If a construction company refuses to rectify its sub-standard work, it is blacklisted and denied any further government contracts, Sisulu said.About 60% of low-cost houses in the Western Cape had serious defects. The defects included severe cracks in walls and foundations, leaking roofs and windows and doors that did not function properly. Dampness was found in nearly half the houses audited.Sisulu noted that many houses found to be faulty were built between 1994 and 2002 -- before the introduction of the National Home Builders Registration Council building standards. Since 2002 the council has been responsible for ensuring the quality of government-built houses. The rectification process is under way in Khahlamba, Ugie and Zanemvula in the Eastern Cape. In the Western Cape it includes the Delft part of the N2 Gateway project as well the N2 Gateway's phase 1 project next to the Joe Slovo settlement. Prince Xhanti Sigcawu, general manager of Thubelisha Homes -- which is responsible for houses in both provinces -- confirmed that the rectification process involves several construction companies subcontracted by Thubelisha. He said the faults being addressed included poor workmanship, roofs that are easily blown away by wind and walls built with an inappropriate mixture of cement and sand.
Tax payer monies being wasted by giving contracts to unscrupulous contractors. What is the cost going to be to rectify these units? South African tax payer's monies, so not to worry! Why has moladi not being used and this would never happened?