Transit Camp resident, Nikiwe Ralo expressed shock after finding out that her approved plans for her RDP house were below standard. In response, an inspector from the Department of Human Settlements said beggars can’t be choosers.
Transit Camp resident, Nikiwe Ralo expressed shock after finding out that her approved plans for her RDP house were below standard. In response, an inspector from the Department of Human Settlements said beggars can’t be choosers.
Ralo, a mother of three children, said she believed officials simply didn’t care. The inspector approved plans for her house’s concrete foundations to be laid on top of rocks. She said there was a spring under the rocks and that this could flood her house. She said trenches should be dug.
Ralo felt the inspector had ridden roughshod over her concerns and insulted her dignity when he told her she shouldn't complain about a house she was getting for free.
“After all these years I voted, this is how the government is saying thank you to me,” she said.
Ward committee member, Nontuthuzelo Vena, confirmed that no house should be built without a foundation. Vena said the contractor had told her that a house built on rock lasted longer and there was nothing he could do.
“I see no quality on these Transit Camp houses,” said Vena, saying the Department of Human Settlement didn’t monitor its projects and that this could be the cause of poor-quality houses.
Department of Human Settlement Spokesperson, Lwandile Sicwetsha, said he was on leave and would respond to the newspaper's queries next week.
