Cracking RDP house in eMbalenhle still not fixed after 12 years
According to the report from the department of Human Settlement, Complaints were reported in 2015 financial year, and that when followed-up on the request that was made to the department, the municipality did not revisit the sites to check the status of those houses.
The Khumalo family wants the Human Settlement MEC, Speedy Mashilo, to intervene in their collapsing RDP house that was built in 2011.
According to Thulane Khumalo, the house in Ext 20 began to show cracks after three months of its completion.
The family reported this to the Govan Mbeki Municipality housing section but nothing has yet been done.
Khumalo said municipal officials brought inspectors who inspected the RDP houses in that area.
According to a report from the Department of Human Settlement, the inspectors found that the contractor left six of the units at wall plate level.
The municipality was told to urgently submit a letter of request for those beneficiaries to be moved to a housing project which was running at the time in the area.
It is stated in this investigation report that when the department again received complaints in 2015, they followed up on this request and discovered that the municipality did not revisit the sites to check the status of those houses.
Three units out of five that were reported to have defects were fixed by the beneficiaries themselves, and according to the report, another beneficiary confirmed that her house doesn’t have defects and she did not report it to the municipality.
The fifth unit was reported to have movement joints which cannot be classified as severe cracks and therefore the house was classified as sound safe and habitable.
The last house (Khumalo’s) showed severe and measured cracks that need to be urgently fixed.
The municipality was supposed to seek donations from private donors (mainly from service providers appointed by different government departments in its jurisdiction) to assist in fixing the house.
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“We have questions about the municipality and the Human Settlement Department’s housing inspectors.
“Where were they when these contractors were building our houses in 2011? We didn’t see them coming to check if the contractor was doing credible work. They only came after we complained.
“Now, years later, they find that the contractor had done bad work. Why do they not demand back the taxpayers’ money from the incompetent contractor?” asked Khumalo.
He feels that no one wants to take the blame.
“They keep promising that they will come and fix our house, but nothing has happened.”
Khumalo said the house must be demolished before it falls in on top of his family.
“We will rather stay in the shack than put our lives in danger. Perhaps they want to come when we are dead,” said a frustrated Khumalo.
Khumalo also said the house is leaking when it rains.
The National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) also compiled its technical investigation report on RDP houses reported to be cracking in eMbalenhle.
The NHBRC found that Khumalo’s house and three others are the result of a contractor’s shoddy work and needed to be rebuilt by a new service provider.
Donald Green, the acting communications manager for the municipality, said they are aware of Khumalo’s cracking RDP house in eMbalenhle.
Green said the matter was reported to the municipality in 2015, and a formal report was sent to the Department of Human Settlement.
“The inspectors from the department assessed the house and took pictures. However, the department never returned to rectify the problem.
“The municipality then again wrote another report and attached pictures but still did not receive a response from the Department of Human Settlement.
“The municipality will engage with the department again to ensure that the Khumalo family’s living condition improves. This is their basic human right,” said Green.
