The provincial Department of Housing has allocated R24-million for the construction of RDP houses in Grahamstown and Fort Beaufort.
The provincial Department of Housing has allocated R24-million for the construction of RDP houses in Grahamstown and Fort Beaufort.
A huge chunk of the budget will be spent in Makana Municipality where a total of 430 houses will be built in Transit Camp by local emerging contractors and 17 other contractors who have been trained under the department’s Construction Management training course.
The department’s spokesperson, Lwandile Sicwetsha said: “The department identified Transit Camp as one of the areas that needed urgent attention. The construction will begin some time this month. Each of the contractors will be allocated 25 units to build.” He said the contractors have been given a period of five months to complete the project.
But despite these good intentions a large number of RDP house in Makana Municipality and the rest of South Africa are falling apart due to shoddy workmanship. The Minister of Human Settlements, Tokyo Sexwale revealed earlier this week that government will spend R300-million rectifying poorly built RDP houses in the province.
When asked whether the department had any penalties in place for unstable structures Sicwetsha said: “The department has hired inspectors to monitor the contractors. We want to avoid having to demolish newly built houses as a result of poor quality. Before the houses are handed over the National Home Builders Registration Council has to send site inspectors to ensure that the houses are of good quality.”
Transit Camp residents interviewed by Grocott’s Mail have expressed their joy and concern about the project. Zimisele Twani said: “I heard about this a few days ago, I am glad the department is finally assisting us with proper housing. I am concerned however about the state of RDP houses in other areas. I hope ours will be better than the houses in Extension 9. The last thing we want is to move into houses that will have cracks developing within weeks of completion.”
Another resident Jane Ngqoshana who lives in a four-roomed mud house said: “I hope we will receive houses of good quality. All we want is to have shelter, our shacks and mud houses are often ripped apart by strong winds. This project gives us hope.”
