The houses in Vukani are only six years old, but they are falling apart. Worth a collective R14-million, the last of the RDP houses were completed in 2003.
The houses in Vukani are only six years old, but they are falling apart. Worth a collective R14-million, the last of the RDP houses were completed in 2003.
Many of the hundreds of houses have loose cement blocks looming over doorways, and in some places cracks have caused the wall to disintegrate above the door so that the wall swings loose. Residents have been continously complaining aboout the conditions of the their homes for well over a year. A Vukani mother is particularly concerned that the loose bricks above her front door will fall down and perhaps fatally injure her young children.
Michael Whisson, a Democratic Alliance (DA) municipal councillor, says that it is the municipality’s responsibility to ensure the sustainability and safety of these homes. This was confirmed by Kaiser Nxamleko, a senior official at the housing department. However the municipal media spokesperson, Thandy Matebese, denies that the municipality is responsible, citing that the matter can only ne resolved on provincial level.
Negotiations for the Vukani housing project started around 1999, with the houses being completed in late 2003. After the most recent complaints from residents, Grocott’s Mail has identified several layers of negligence and mismanagement that has occurred over the last ten years. According to municipal officials, this ranges from flawed provincial policy, all way down to theft of building supplies by local labourers. In March 2008 the municipality gave assurance that something would be done. A year later, the situation has only worsened following the October 2008 tornado and the further degradation of these homes, neither of which has led to any substantial improvement in the living conditions for Vukani residents.
Fikiswa Maqanda lives in her broken down home with her father Thamsanqa, who is hard of hearing. She says that nothing has been done to repair the damage to the house, which includes 3cm wide cracks in a low-bearing wall, and an interior wall that actually sways in the breeze. The Maqandas have tried to stabilise the interior wall using nails and rusty wire.
Their neighbour, Adam Mosala, has also lodged complaints about his home. "The roof leaks water onto our pre-paid meter, and I’m worried that my children will be electrocuted one day," says Mosala. "I went to the municipality to ask for help, and was told that I should leave because I got the house for free."
Another problem in the area is the poor layout of the district as a whole, with the houses cutting into the hillside instead of following its contours. This means that rainwater is directed downhill into many homes, causing further damage. This is exacerbated by a lack of storm-water drains and guttering, making heavy summer rains and flooding potentially hazardous.
The national housing project has aimed to provide the many South Africans living in informal settlements with adequate housing. In the national Constitution, if a person doesn’t have anywhere to live, it is that person’s right to have access to government housing, but to the dismay of low-cost housing beneficiaries nationwide, housing departments are not even meeting the national standards.
In Tuesday’s edition of Grocott’s Mail there will be a full investigative report on housing in Grahamstown and on who’s to blame for the situation.
