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The Department of Human Settlements has set aside approximately R930 million for the rectification of just over 34 000 housing units across the country. This figure was revealed in a briefing to the Portfolio Committee on the Human Settlements Development Grant Business Plan for 2012/13.
We welcome the fact that Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale seems serious about rectification. But if we are to break the cycle of inadequate workmanship followed by expensive rectification, the Minister must identify the contractors who were responsible for substandard houses being built and take steps to purge them from the system.
In February last year, Minister Sexwale promised the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements that those contractors to blame for shoddy work would be brought to book. It is time for the Minister to deliver on this promise.
Today I will be submitting parliamentary questions to the Minister to ascertain:
Which contractors were involved in building the 34 000 units identified for rectification?
To what extent are these contractors responsible for the degeneration of the housing units?
What steps will the Minister take to ensure that those underperforming contractors are blacklisted?
What steps will the Minister take to ensure that all contractors involved in broadening access to settlement opportunities perform to an acceptable standard?
In my recent visit to Braamfischerville in Gauteng and the Umlazi B10 Housing project in eThekwini Municipality I saw evidence of the urgent need for rectification. Residents showed me unstable walls, leaky structures and algae growing on interior walls, all of which are causing serious health problems.
Although the need for rectification is undeniable, it is however imperative that we start spending less money on rebuilding collapsing houses so that more funds can be allocated to broadening access to settlement opportunities.
We have to break the cycle of perpetual re-investment in the same projects, so that we can start addressing the needs of the 2.4 million South Africans who still lack housing opportunities. We have to get to a point where the key focus will be on innovative solutions like the delivery of sites and services and integrated projects with a mixture of subsidised, rental and bonded housing units.
The Minister must show the people of South Africa that he is serious about removing problematic contractors from the system.