Vandalism and theft are hampering a housing development in Sibongile which desperate residents have long hoped for.
Mazcon, a Vryheid-based construction company which has strived to use local sub-contractors and general assistants, is building a total of 741 houses in three phases.
However, site agent, Alex Kirstein, says phase one has been hit by vandalism.
Window frames, window handles and air vents have been either stolen or damaged. “This slows down our operation and drives up costs as we have to stop and replace the damages,” he told the Courier. Witnesses say children are mainly to blame. The construction area is vast with no streetlights; security guards fight a losing battle to safe-guard the houses.
“We cannot fence off the entire area as there are roads in between. All we can do is appeal to parents, community leaders and teachers to please urge children not to come here and damage these houses. These houses are meant for people who have been waiting for many years for decent homes.”

Mr Kirstein hopes to hand over 130 homes by the end of March. His challenge is to finish the entire contract by the end of November. Seven local sub contractors are currently on site to supplement the 52 Mazcon employees.

While some of the sub contractors’ workmanship is not always up to scratch, Mr Kirstein and his team do their best to do ‘on the job training’ to assist them where possible.
Quality control is done by Mazcon, the KZN Department of Human Settlements and the National Home Builders Registration Council, NHBRC.

“Any workmanship that is below par is scrapped and the sub contractor has to start again at his own cost. The Department is very clear about that and Mazcon wants to ensure that the end product is one we and the beneficiary will be proud of.”

Asked about allegations from at least one sub-contractor that ‘there is no material to continue the project’, Mr Kirstein said this was completely untrue.
“The only hold up was when everyone returned to work after the December break. Some of the suppliers were not yet open and we had to wait. But the project is going at full steam and I intend to ensure that we do not meet deadline but beat the deadline.”
Payments to sub contractors are done by the 20th of every month and Mr Kirstein has been working well with the co-operation of the Human Settlements Department and NHBRC.
The two-bedroom houses are neatly turned out and have a choice of five colours of wall paint and two choices of roof paint, making the project aesthetically pleasing.
“With the co-operation of the community this housing project will certainly do much to uplift the entire area,” Mr Kirstein concluded.