Give me shelter: the global housing crisis
The problem of inadequate or nonexistent housing has reached crisis proportions globally. The world population passed 6.1 billion in 2001 and is expected to reach 7.9-10.9 billion by 2050, according to the United Nations (UN) Population Fund. This sheer volume alone exerts enormous pressure to improve existing housing and create new homes. As the global population grows, rural areas around the world are emptying and megacities springing up, usually as unregulated districts circling an older, more organized core. According to the Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group Population Action International, as of 1996 (the latest figures available), approximately 52% of the total housing in Caracas, Venezuela, consisted of squatter settlements; in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the figure was 49%, and in Karachi, Pakistan, 40%.
Housing affects health in many different ways. Deficient housing can compromise the most basic needs of water, sanitation, and safe food preparation and storage, allowing the rapid spread of communicable and foodborne diseases. Other problems, such as poor temperature and humidity regulation, can lead to respiratory disease. Overcrowding brings both physical and psychological dangers. And living in nonresidential settings such as factory grounds often exposes people to toxic chemicals that can cause both acute and chronic health effects.
A Multifactorial Epidemic
The UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) estimates that 600 million urban residents and 1 billion rural dwellers in developing countries live in overcrowded housing with poor water quality, lack of sanitation, and no garbage collection. People live in old buses, shipping containers, cardboard boxes, and aluminum shacks, and under staircases and plastic sheeting, among other forms of inadequate housing. In both the developed and developing worlds, industrial sites have become attractive settlements for displaced populations, partly because settlers can sometimes appropriate building materials and tap into water and electricity systems.
Inadequate housing can be considered a multifactorial epidemic--rapid urbanization, economic restructuring, natural disasters, and political events such as regime changes and wars all have contributed to the crisis. In China, where the economy is modernizing rapidly, increasing urbanization in the next few decades will create a need for more than 200 million new housing units, almost twice the total number of existing housing units in the United States, says John Spengler, a professor of environmental health at the Harvard School of Public Health. According to A Report on Worst Case Housing Needs in 1999: New Opportunity Amid Continuing Challenges, published in January 2001 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), more than 5 million American families live in housing that is substandard, yet barely affordable.
A 2000 report by the Special Rapporteur to the UN Commission on Human Rights, The Realization of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, noted that regional housing crises are increasingly being triggered by forced evictions stemming from ethnic cleansing and civil wars. For example, as many as 1.5 million people may have been displaced in southeast Turkey during a civil conflict from 1984 to 1999 between the government and the Kurdish Workers' Party, according to Displaced and Disregarded: Turkey's Failing Village Return Program, an October 2002 report published by the nonprofit Human Rights Watch. This report also says many villagers are still waiting in cities for the chance to reclaim their lands. In the city of Van, one refugee reported his family living in stables, 13 to a room, with 100 people sharing one water tap and one toilet.
Consequences of the Crisis
Not surprisingly, such conditions of overcrowding have fostered physical health problems such as typhoid fever and bronchitis, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, according to the Human Rights Watch report. In developing countries, overcrowding and poor ventilation can encourage the growth of disease vectors such as mosquitoes, parasites, bacteria, and viruses. Noise and sheer physical safety, including vulnerability to violent crime, contribute to anxiety and depression in both developed and developing countries. Some of the worst environmental health problems associated with housing, especially in developing countries, are unsafe water supplies, lead exposure, and poor indoor air quality (along with related dust and moisture problems).
Unsafe water. The developing world suffers 98% of the deaths resulting from unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities, according to the World Health Organization's (WHO) World Health Report 2002. The report identifies infectious diarrhea as the largest single contributor to ill health associated with water, sanitation, and hygiene inadequacies. In some countries schistosomiasis, trachoma, and other parasitic diseases arise from contaminated water systems. Schistosomiasis is caused by a blood fluke and causes fever, diarrhea, and enlargement of the liver and spleen. Trachoma is caused by a Chlamydia parasite and causes inflamed eyelids, corneal abrasion, and eventually blindness. According to the WHO, 6 million people worldwide are blind due to trachoma, and more than 150 million are threatened with blindness because of trachoma infection.
Low cost houses For The People
Houses For The People
Shelter is a basic necessity of life. Indeed, apart from food and water, shelter is ranked as the next in the list of needs of man that qualifies to be classified as a human right.Thus the right to shelter, which is universally recognised as a basic social right and enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), is accorded pride of place in many jurisdictions, especially in progressive societies where the principles of quality and the well-being of the masses hold sway.It is no wonder, therefore, that in such progressive societies, homelessness, which is a denial of this important right, is a rare phenomenon, whereas in more affluent, laissez-faire nations, there are more homeless and destitute people.In developing nations such as ours, the issue of rapid and unplanned urbanisation, coupled with underdevelopment and poverty, has brought to the fore the acute housing problem the people have to contend with.In the urban centres where this problem is prevalent and acute, this problem is sometimes masked in the form of squatter settlements or shanty towns at the centre or prime areas of cities.Many working class people and others who have thronged the cities to make a living, because of the absence of alternative means of livelihood in the rural and semi-urban areas, simply cannot afford the prohibitive rents that are charged for the regular and modest houses available for accommodation.It is common in our urban centres for landlords to demand rent advances ranging between two and 10 years at exorbitant rates and completely out of reach of the majority of the people.This, in part, arises from the fact that the demand for houses or homes far outstrips supply and, therefore, there is a big deficit.Over the years, this gap has grown in width and depth into a gulf and with it the housing crisis in many urban centres of the country has aggravated.Governments, over the years, have, through a number of interventions, put up some housing units, mostly dubbed affordable housing, for workers in urban centres.Even though these facilities have provided substantial relief for many workers and their families, many more are still left out in the open. The few private sector housing initiatives for workers have also not gone far to adequately address the problem.It is, therefore, gratifying to note that the government, recognising the housing issue as a human right, has already launched an initiative, in partnership with the private sector, to construct 100,000 housing units across the country over the next eight years.Additionally, 200,000 low-income housing units are to be constructed.We are happy to note that these, in addition to the pledge by the government to complete the various affordable housing projects left hanging from the previous government, will help make a significant dent on the huge housing deficit and bring relief to more working people and their families.We urge the government to ensure that working and low-income people for whom those houses are meant are the ones who get them.We recall with sadness and regret the situation where ministers, party functionaries, wealthy businessmen and women and their cronies were those who rather scrambled for and got these affordable and low-cost housing units, some even before the buildings were completed, leaving out those for whom they were meant.We wish to urge the government and the private sector to join hands to work urgently on bringing down or at least check the escalating prices of building materials such as cement, iron rods, wood and others, as these are responsible for the high cost of houses.
Shelter is a basic necessity of life. Indeed, apart from food and water, shelter is ranked as the next in the list of needs of man that qualifies to be classified as a human right.Thus the right to shelter, which is universally recognised as a basic social right and enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), is accorded pride of place in many jurisdictions, especially in progressive societies where the principles of quality and the well-being of the masses hold sway.It is no wonder, therefore, that in such progressive societies, homelessness, which is a denial of this important right, is a rare phenomenon, whereas in more affluent, laissez-faire nations, there are more homeless and destitute people.In developing nations such as ours, the issue of rapid and unplanned urbanisation, coupled with underdevelopment and poverty, has brought to the fore the acute housing problem the people have to contend with.In the urban centres where this problem is prevalent and acute, this problem is sometimes masked in the form of squatter settlements or shanty towns at the centre or prime areas of cities.Many working class people and others who have thronged the cities to make a living, because of the absence of alternative means of livelihood in the rural and semi-urban areas, simply cannot afford the prohibitive rents that are charged for the regular and modest houses available for accommodation.It is common in our urban centres for landlords to demand rent advances ranging between two and 10 years at exorbitant rates and completely out of reach of the majority of the people.This, in part, arises from the fact that the demand for houses or homes far outstrips supply and, therefore, there is a big deficit.Over the years, this gap has grown in width and depth into a gulf and with it the housing crisis in many urban centres of the country has aggravated.Governments, over the years, have, through a number of interventions, put up some housing units, mostly dubbed affordable housing, for workers in urban centres.Even though these facilities have provided substantial relief for many workers and their families, many more are still left out in the open. The few private sector housing initiatives for workers have also not gone far to adequately address the problem.It is, therefore, gratifying to note that the government, recognising the housing issue as a human right, has already launched an initiative, in partnership with the private sector, to construct 100,000 housing units across the country over the next eight years.Additionally, 200,000 low-income housing units are to be constructed.We are happy to note that these, in addition to the pledge by the government to complete the various affordable housing projects left hanging from the previous government, will help make a significant dent on the huge housing deficit and bring relief to more working people and their families.We urge the government to ensure that working and low-income people for whom those houses are meant are the ones who get them.We recall with sadness and regret the situation where ministers, party functionaries, wealthy businessmen and women and their cronies were those who rather scrambled for and got these affordable and low-cost housing units, some even before the buildings were completed, leaving out those for whom they were meant.We wish to urge the government and the private sector to join hands to work urgently on bringing down or at least check the escalating prices of building materials such as cement, iron rods, wood and others, as these are responsible for the high cost of houses.
Affordable housing South Africa gets boost from French finance institution
Affordable housing South Africa gets boost from French finance institution: "NHFC"
Affordable housing received a boost when Agence Française de Développement (AfD) entered into a loan agreement with the National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) on Thursday.The loan agreement is worth 20 million euros (R225 million), the NGFC and AfD said in a joint statement."The funding is intended for social and private rental projects supported by the NHFC," they said.Speaking at the signing ceremony, NHFC chief executive officer Samson Moraba said his organisation would continue to look to partnerships with the private and public sectors to deliver on its mandate."The demand for housing, in the affordable target market supported by the NHFC, continues to be far greater than the supply thereof and the Corporation continues to seek out opportunities to enhance delivery," he said.The project aimed to partly or fully finance activities that had been pre-identified by the AfD."The projects meet the NHFC criteria for social mix; close proximity to areas of employment and transport; and high urban density," the NGFC said AfD said.AfD chief executive officer Jean-Michel Severino said that until recently, downtown Johannesburg had experienced a period of disinvestment and deterioration."We believe the implementation of renovation policies and projects, such as the social housing initiative by NHFC, will attract residents, tourists, businesses and investors to revitalise this urban area," Severino said.The AfD credit line to NHFC would support the rehabilitation of central Johannesburg by, for example, funding corporate programmes such as the Affordable Housing Company (Afhco).
Afhco has been funded by the NHFC for its provision of low-cost housing and urban renewal in Johannesburg.The NHFC said it continued to be a funder of social housing institutions and in the current year had provided funding to projects in all provinces where such projects were being built."AfD as an institution is not new to us as we have enjoyed a healthy and vibrant relationship with them," Moraba said."Together, we have in the past together organised a very successful seminar that attracted influential stakeholders in low-income housing, both national and international."According to Severino, addressing the urgent need for affordable housing in South Africa was one of the imperatives of the AfD."Our funding to public and non-banking bodies such as the NHFC aims to fulfil this," he said.The NHFC was established by the government in 1996 as a development finance institution with the principal mandate of broadening and deepening access to affordable housing finance for the low- to middle-income households.It provides funding support for the residential property market, particularly when finance is not readily available.The funding commitment announced by AfD during its four-day visit to South Africa amounted to R3.5 billion."This was towards socio-economic initiatives by the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, Global Rating, Central Energy Fund, Transnet and the Development Bank of Southern Africa," it said in the statement.The AfD also met Capitec Bank and the Airports Company of South Africa. - Sapa
Affordable housing received a boost when Agence Française de Développement (AfD) entered into a loan agreement with the National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) on Thursday.The loan agreement is worth 20 million euros (R225 million), the NGFC and AfD said in a joint statement."The funding is intended for social and private rental projects supported by the NHFC," they said.Speaking at the signing ceremony, NHFC chief executive officer Samson Moraba said his organisation would continue to look to partnerships with the private and public sectors to deliver on its mandate."The demand for housing, in the affordable target market supported by the NHFC, continues to be far greater than the supply thereof and the Corporation continues to seek out opportunities to enhance delivery," he said.The project aimed to partly or fully finance activities that had been pre-identified by the AfD."The projects meet the NHFC criteria for social mix; close proximity to areas of employment and transport; and high urban density," the NGFC said AfD said.AfD chief executive officer Jean-Michel Severino said that until recently, downtown Johannesburg had experienced a period of disinvestment and deterioration."We believe the implementation of renovation policies and projects, such as the social housing initiative by NHFC, will attract residents, tourists, businesses and investors to revitalise this urban area," Severino said.The AfD credit line to NHFC would support the rehabilitation of central Johannesburg by, for example, funding corporate programmes such as the Affordable Housing Company (Afhco).
Afhco has been funded by the NHFC for its provision of low-cost housing and urban renewal in Johannesburg.The NHFC said it continued to be a funder of social housing institutions and in the current year had provided funding to projects in all provinces where such projects were being built."AfD as an institution is not new to us as we have enjoyed a healthy and vibrant relationship with them," Moraba said."Together, we have in the past together organised a very successful seminar that attracted influential stakeholders in low-income housing, both national and international."According to Severino, addressing the urgent need for affordable housing in South Africa was one of the imperatives of the AfD."Our funding to public and non-banking bodies such as the NHFC aims to fulfil this," he said.The NHFC was established by the government in 1996 as a development finance institution with the principal mandate of broadening and deepening access to affordable housing finance for the low- to middle-income households.It provides funding support for the residential property market, particularly when finance is not readily available.The funding commitment announced by AfD during its four-day visit to South Africa amounted to R3.5 billion."This was towards socio-economic initiatives by the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, Global Rating, Central Energy Fund, Transnet and the Development Bank of Southern Africa," it said in the statement.The AfD also met Capitec Bank and the Airports Company of South Africa. - Sapa
moladi wins housing competition in Ghana
120 square meter – 3 bedrooms – 2 bathrooms – lounge – dining room – kitchen
Thank you moladiGHANA, you make us PROUD!
Another country, another moladi launch, another successful transfer of South African technology, this time in Accra, Ghana
A competition was called for by Data Bank in Accra, Ghana to allow competing building technologies to showcase their ability and product on the basis of – Speed, Quality, Cost, Social Acceptability and Creating Employment for the Unskilled. The winner will qualify to construct 100 units for the Ghanaian market funded by Data Bank.
The building technologies qualified to participate was Hydraform, Panel Form and moladi
We are very PROUD to announce - moladi was judged the WINNER! Now we are able implement our moladiVILLAGE approach to assist the rural communities.
Low cost housing - RDP homes demolished
Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements welcomes demolishing of RDP houses
Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements has recommended that all government subsidy-houses should comply with the Human Settlements Breaking New Ground’s (BNG) principles and policy which states that all houses built must have access to water, adequate sanitation and electricity as these form the basic rights of all citizens.
BNG also states that Human Settlements must be closer to all social and economic amenities. This is one of the recommendations found in the Committee’s report on its oversight visit to housing projects in the Eastern Cape.
During the oversight visit, the committee observed that there was totally not compliance with the BNG policy in some areas and people were living under life-threatening conditions.
“When the committee assessed the quality of these houses, it was found that the walls were full of defects of which some would be beyond repairs. People living in those houses reported that they feared that the houses might fall at any time,” said the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements, Ms Nomhle Dambuza.
The Committee also fully support the decision taken by the Minister to demolish some of the houses. This decision must be understood in a context that previous Parliaments took a decision that as a result of poor quality, an audit should be conducted in all houses built post 1994 to 2004.
Thereafter houses found with structural defects be rectified and those with defects beyond repairs should be demolished and reconstructed to safeguard the lives of the people. In addition to the oversight visit, the committee has also learnt that the architecture of some houses does not take into account the privacy and the dignity of the people.
House design should take into account the current needs and restoration of people’s dignity and integrity, and if this is done at the planning stage, efficiencies should be increased and costs reduced, the Committee has recommended. Although the rectification programme is up and running, it has been noticed that the houses claimed to have been fixed require further work.
Despite these challenges mentioned above, says the committee, there were genuine problems facing the Province such as lack of suitable located land for human settlement development; lack of intergovernmental co-ordination and lack of capacity in emerging contractors. Spiralling costs of building material were also found to have a negative impact on the projects.
Another challenge identified in some municipalities, such as the Cacadu District Municipality, was that the area is too dry and water is so scarce thus impacting negatively on the service delivery. The current departmental budget does not cater for the provision of bulk water infrastructure. The committee believes that the next medium term expenditure budget will be able to accommodate such provisions.
The committee appreciates the commitment and enthusiasm shown by the provincial Human Settlements MEC in trying to fix these problems.
Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements has recommended that all government subsidy-houses should comply with the Human Settlements Breaking New Ground’s (BNG) principles and policy which states that all houses built must have access to water, adequate sanitation and electricity as these form the basic rights of all citizens.
BNG also states that Human Settlements must be closer to all social and economic amenities. This is one of the recommendations found in the Committee’s report on its oversight visit to housing projects in the Eastern Cape.
During the oversight visit, the committee observed that there was totally not compliance with the BNG policy in some areas and people were living under life-threatening conditions.
“When the committee assessed the quality of these houses, it was found that the walls were full of defects of which some would be beyond repairs. People living in those houses reported that they feared that the houses might fall at any time,” said the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements, Ms Nomhle Dambuza.
The Committee also fully support the decision taken by the Minister to demolish some of the houses. This decision must be understood in a context that previous Parliaments took a decision that as a result of poor quality, an audit should be conducted in all houses built post 1994 to 2004.
Thereafter houses found with structural defects be rectified and those with defects beyond repairs should be demolished and reconstructed to safeguard the lives of the people. In addition to the oversight visit, the committee has also learnt that the architecture of some houses does not take into account the privacy and the dignity of the people.
House design should take into account the current needs and restoration of people’s dignity and integrity, and if this is done at the planning stage, efficiencies should be increased and costs reduced, the Committee has recommended. Although the rectification programme is up and running, it has been noticed that the houses claimed to have been fixed require further work.
Despite these challenges mentioned above, says the committee, there were genuine problems facing the Province such as lack of suitable located land for human settlement development; lack of intergovernmental co-ordination and lack of capacity in emerging contractors. Spiralling costs of building material were also found to have a negative impact on the projects.
Another challenge identified in some municipalities, such as the Cacadu District Municipality, was that the area is too dry and water is so scarce thus impacting negatively on the service delivery. The current departmental budget does not cater for the provision of bulk water infrastructure. The committee believes that the next medium term expenditure budget will be able to accommodate such provisions.
The committee appreciates the commitment and enthusiasm shown by the provincial Human Settlements MEC in trying to fix these problems.
Low cost housing - moladi - Building communities
Moladi has launched it' s formwork construction technology in Botswana with huge success. Present at the show house was members from the Botswana Defense Force (BDF) including Major General Masire, commander of the armed forces, who was amazed at the speed at which the 54 square meter, two bedroom home, was completed.
The unit constructed at Sir Seretse Khama Barracks in Mogoditshae in Botswana was also visited by a delegation form Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) including the General Manager, Mr Reginald Motswaiso.
Due to the speed and quality of construction of the Moladi construction technology various Government department have indicated their requirements to address the backlog they face. Namely: - Prisons Department, Botswana Police Service, Central District Council, Botswana Power Corporation, Botswana Housing Authority and Department of Housing.
Moladi, based in Port Elizabeth, has been developed over the past 23 years and has grown into a global supplier of housing construction technology. The aim of moladi is reduce the cost of homes, by speeding up the construction process, employing local labour, using local materials. Moladi has received numerous awards for it's holistic delivery approach, creating employment for the unemployed by constructing housing the poor.
RDP houses - Officials attack defective low cost houses with gusto
ARMED with crowbars, hammers and a bulldozer, housing officials yesterday demolished the first of about 20000 shoddy RDP houses in the Eastern Cape.
A total of 40000 houses will be flattened nationally and rebuilt in the coming months at a cost of R1,3- billion – about 10% of the national Housing Department’s annual budget. The Eastern Cape will need R359-million. In Nelson Mandela Bay, the government will spend more than R33-million rebuilding and repairing 1852 houses.
These include RDP homes in Mathew Goniwe township, Soweto-on-Sea, Veeplaas, Motherwell and Walmer.
Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale told a group of about 100 East Bank residents in East London, where the programme kicked off with the demolition of 330 houses, that the defective houses were a “national shame”.
Sexwale was accompanied by Special Investigations Unit (SIU) head Willie Hofmeyer and senior government officials.
During the rebuilding, which will take a month to complete, occupants of the houses will stay in temporary structures on the property.
Sexwale said the SIU had already charged 800 government employees who had received housing subsidies illegally.
Last week, he said his department would carry out a national audit of all government housing.
The audit followed an assessment of the ministry, which showed problems like inferior construction and workmanship on low-cost housing, hiring of incompetent contractors and the illegal occupation of RDP houses, among other things.
Speaking during an inspection of one of the houses to be demolished, Sexwale sympathised with 73-year- old Nomfundo Ntwanana, the owner.
“Look what they did to our mother. A crook was involved here. How can you do this to this woman? Look how defenceless she is. It’s a shame,” Sexwale said.
Ntwanana said she had moved into the house in 2003. “We left early last year because of rain,” she said.
Her neighbour, Maureen Jordan, said her house also needed to be fixed.
“The windows don’t open and the roof is leaking. There are cracks in the house and the toilet doesn’t flush,” she said. .
Sexwale said at the beginning of the month that a national audit would be done.
“We are investigating. The SIU has charged 800 government people. I’m not talking about those crooks out there who must also be dealt with. I’m talking about people we trust and to whom we give government jobs.”
He said the R1,3-billion was money “down the drain” because the government could have used it to build new houses.
Eastern Cape Human Settlements MEC Nombulelo Mabandla said her department had already created an anti-corruption unit that would look at all the defective houses.
Eastern Cape Housing Department head Nandipha Sishuba said the rebuilding of the houses would be closely watched. – Daily Dispatch
A total of 40000 houses will be flattened nationally and rebuilt in the coming months at a cost of R1,3- billion – about 10% of the national Housing Department’s annual budget. The Eastern Cape will need R359-million. In Nelson Mandela Bay, the government will spend more than R33-million rebuilding and repairing 1852 houses.
These include RDP homes in Mathew Goniwe township, Soweto-on-Sea, Veeplaas, Motherwell and Walmer.
Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale told a group of about 100 East Bank residents in East London, where the programme kicked off with the demolition of 330 houses, that the defective houses were a “national shame”.
Sexwale was accompanied by Special Investigations Unit (SIU) head Willie Hofmeyer and senior government officials.
During the rebuilding, which will take a month to complete, occupants of the houses will stay in temporary structures on the property.
Sexwale said the SIU had already charged 800 government employees who had received housing subsidies illegally.
Last week, he said his department would carry out a national audit of all government housing.
The audit followed an assessment of the ministry, which showed problems like inferior construction and workmanship on low-cost housing, hiring of incompetent contractors and the illegal occupation of RDP houses, among other things.
Speaking during an inspection of one of the houses to be demolished, Sexwale sympathised with 73-year- old Nomfundo Ntwanana, the owner.
“Look what they did to our mother. A crook was involved here. How can you do this to this woman? Look how defenceless she is. It’s a shame,” Sexwale said.
Ntwanana said she had moved into the house in 2003. “We left early last year because of rain,” she said.
Her neighbour, Maureen Jordan, said her house also needed to be fixed.
“The windows don’t open and the roof is leaking. There are cracks in the house and the toilet doesn’t flush,” she said. .
Sexwale said at the beginning of the month that a national audit would be done.
“We are investigating. The SIU has charged 800 government people. I’m not talking about those crooks out there who must also be dealt with. I’m talking about people we trust and to whom we give government jobs.”
He said the R1,3-billion was money “down the drain” because the government could have used it to build new houses.
Eastern Cape Human Settlements MEC Nombulelo Mabandla said her department had already created an anti-corruption unit that would look at all the defective houses.
Eastern Cape Housing Department head Nandipha Sishuba said the rebuilding of the houses would be closely watched. – Daily Dispatch
low-cost homes - top politicians and businessmen building hundreds of shoddy RDP homes
Low-cost homes - Top politicians and businessmen building hundreds of shoddy RDP homes
Badly constructed poor quality RDP homes
SEVERAL top politicians and businessmen in Nelson Mandela Bay have been implicated in building hundreds of shoddy, low-cost homes in the 1990s that will now have to be demolished and rebuilt at a cost of millions.
Among them are businessman and top city Cope member Mkhuseli Jack, former ANC council chief whip Mike Nzotoyi’s wife, Karen, and Eastern Cape Nafcoc construction sector president Welcome Gawu.
While Jack and Nzotoyi denied building any sub-standard houses, Gawu openly admitted to building shoddy RDP houses in Motherwell, Soweto-on-Sea, Veeplaas and Zinyoka (Govan Mbeki).
Gawu, owner of Old Man Construction, says that many sub-contractors at that time were forced to build poor quality homes because they only received R15000 a house.
“Out of that money, about half had to pay for services and land, while the other half was used for building material,” he said. “We mixed a lot of building sand with little cement in order to complete the houses.”
While government earlier this month vowed to blacklist unscrupulous contractors, Gawu said he was surprised the government wanted to punish them now as “they knew about the problem at the time the houses were built and did nothing about it”.
“It would have cost more than R20000 to build one house in those days, but, because they pressured us to build houses so that they would gain votes, we tried to deliver.”
Gawu told The Herald that some of the contractors who had built shoddy RDP houses in the region had not been qualified and it had been easy to get a building contract in those days as no background checks were made.
Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale said earlier this month his department would have to put aside R800-million for the reconstruction of badly built, free low-cost houses in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal.
About 60 housing projects – a total of almost 20000 homes – in all the municipalities and districts in the province are now under the rectification programme in the Eastern Cape.
In Nelson Mandela Bay, the government will spent more than R33-million rebuilding and repairing 1852 houses. These include RDP homes in Mathew Goniwe township, Soweto-on-Sea, Veeplaas, Motherwell and Walmer.
“These are houses that either have no roofs or were built incorrectly and pose a danger to the beneficiaries,” said Housing Department spokesman Lwandile Sicwetsha.
People whose houses needed to be demolished or rectified would be allocated temporary structures.
Stocks and Stocks sub-contracted Ilinge Development Service – chaired by Jack – to build RDP houses in Mathew Goniwe township in 1999.
When The Herald team inspected houses there, some were falling apart and residents say their homes leak during wet weather.
One beneficiary, Zola Msisi, said the contractor did not finish building the toilet, while the bricks at the front door of the house were loose.
“I’m scared that one day this house will fall while I’m inside,” he said. He had tried to patch up some of the cracks but they kept developing as the bricks were loose.
Jack said his company had hired professionals to build the houses 10 years ago.
“I’ve never been in those houses myself. We built them 10 years ago and, if they are not properly maintained, they will fall apart,” he said.
Jack said his company received a certificate of completion and no one had complained about the condition of the houses when they were built.
Abafazi Contractors, owned by former ANC city council chief whip Mike Nzotoyi’s wife, Karen, built houses in Langa in Uitenhage and Wesley Estate in Motherwell.
She said the company was the first to build RDP houses in Walmer, and was still building low-cost houses in Nelson Mandela Bay.
A team from The Herald visited some of the first RDP houses built in Walmer township. Many had no ceilings, others bore cracks and residents said most of them leaked.
Karen Nzotoyi refused to discuss the issue when asked for comment.
Several residents told how their badly constructed homes quickly deteriorated.
Govan Mbeki resident Khonzile Thweyi said his house had collapsed 10 years after it was built.
“A few years after it was built in 1996, the house kept cracking and the windows fell down without anyone putting pressure on them.
“I patched some of the holes, but three years ago when I was closing the door, my house fell down, damaging all my furniture.”
He now lives in a shack nearby.
When a Herald team visited Govan Mbeki this week, almost all the houses had huge holes in the walls and no windows.
Resident Twayile Masumpa’s house has developed huge cracks and he has had to use wood to try and cover them.
The home is less than 15 years old, but half of it is now a shack, with only a few bricks left to show that it was once a brick-and-mortar house.
“It was not built according to standard,” Masumpa said.
“Even inspectors did not come to monitor if everything was right. A year after it was built, my house starting falling brick by brick.”
Another Govan Mbeki resident, Toby Tolo, said his uncle had to move out after his RDP house became too dangerous to live in.
“The house kept falling apart. Even when he tried to fix it, it kept on falling,” Tolo said.
“He was scared that one day the house would fall down and hurt him and his family, so he moved out.”
Municipal spokesman Luncedo Njezula said the current municipality had not built any of the houses that had to be demolished.
He said most of the houses that needed rectification had been built under contract by the previous interim city administration before the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality came into existence.
Since its formulation, housing officials had a responsibility to monitor certain phases in the construction of homes and “no councillor is involved in the procurement processes of the municipality”, said Njezula.
The official said that any builder that was not performing according to prescribed standards was not awarded new contracts by the municipality. In addition, no builder was re-issued work once they had been removed from a job, Njezula said.
Keywords - shoddy, low-cost homes, RDP housing, Mkhuseli Jack, Mike Nzotoyi, Karen Nzotoyi, Motherwell, Gawu, Old Man Construction, reconstruction , waste, tax payer, Lwandile Sicwetsha, Abafazi Contractors, Njezula
Badly constructed poor quality RDP homes
SEVERAL top politicians and businessmen in Nelson Mandela Bay have been implicated in building hundreds of shoddy, low-cost homes in the 1990s that will now have to be demolished and rebuilt at a cost of millions.
Among them are businessman and top city Cope member Mkhuseli Jack, former ANC council chief whip Mike Nzotoyi’s wife, Karen, and Eastern Cape Nafcoc construction sector president Welcome Gawu.
While Jack and Nzotoyi denied building any sub-standard houses, Gawu openly admitted to building shoddy RDP houses in Motherwell, Soweto-on-Sea, Veeplaas and Zinyoka (Govan Mbeki).
Gawu, owner of Old Man Construction, says that many sub-contractors at that time were forced to build poor quality homes because they only received R15000 a house.
“Out of that money, about half had to pay for services and land, while the other half was used for building material,” he said. “We mixed a lot of building sand with little cement in order to complete the houses.”
While government earlier this month vowed to blacklist unscrupulous contractors, Gawu said he was surprised the government wanted to punish them now as “they knew about the problem at the time the houses were built and did nothing about it”.
“It would have cost more than R20000 to build one house in those days, but, because they pressured us to build houses so that they would gain votes, we tried to deliver.”
Gawu told The Herald that some of the contractors who had built shoddy RDP houses in the region had not been qualified and it had been easy to get a building contract in those days as no background checks were made.
Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale said earlier this month his department would have to put aside R800-million for the reconstruction of badly built, free low-cost houses in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal.
About 60 housing projects – a total of almost 20000 homes – in all the municipalities and districts in the province are now under the rectification programme in the Eastern Cape.
In Nelson Mandela Bay, the government will spent more than R33-million rebuilding and repairing 1852 houses. These include RDP homes in Mathew Goniwe township, Soweto-on-Sea, Veeplaas, Motherwell and Walmer.
“These are houses that either have no roofs or were built incorrectly and pose a danger to the beneficiaries,” said Housing Department spokesman Lwandile Sicwetsha.
People whose houses needed to be demolished or rectified would be allocated temporary structures.
Stocks and Stocks sub-contracted Ilinge Development Service – chaired by Jack – to build RDP houses in Mathew Goniwe township in 1999.
When The Herald team inspected houses there, some were falling apart and residents say their homes leak during wet weather.
One beneficiary, Zola Msisi, said the contractor did not finish building the toilet, while the bricks at the front door of the house were loose.
“I’m scared that one day this house will fall while I’m inside,” he said. He had tried to patch up some of the cracks but they kept developing as the bricks were loose.
Jack said his company had hired professionals to build the houses 10 years ago.
“I’ve never been in those houses myself. We built them 10 years ago and, if they are not properly maintained, they will fall apart,” he said.
Jack said his company received a certificate of completion and no one had complained about the condition of the houses when they were built.
Abafazi Contractors, owned by former ANC city council chief whip Mike Nzotoyi’s wife, Karen, built houses in Langa in Uitenhage and Wesley Estate in Motherwell.
She said the company was the first to build RDP houses in Walmer, and was still building low-cost houses in Nelson Mandela Bay.
A team from The Herald visited some of the first RDP houses built in Walmer township. Many had no ceilings, others bore cracks and residents said most of them leaked.
Karen Nzotoyi refused to discuss the issue when asked for comment.
Several residents told how their badly constructed homes quickly deteriorated.
Govan Mbeki resident Khonzile Thweyi said his house had collapsed 10 years after it was built.
“A few years after it was built in 1996, the house kept cracking and the windows fell down without anyone putting pressure on them.
“I patched some of the holes, but three years ago when I was closing the door, my house fell down, damaging all my furniture.”
He now lives in a shack nearby.
When a Herald team visited Govan Mbeki this week, almost all the houses had huge holes in the walls and no windows.
Resident Twayile Masumpa’s house has developed huge cracks and he has had to use wood to try and cover them.
The home is less than 15 years old, but half of it is now a shack, with only a few bricks left to show that it was once a brick-and-mortar house.
“It was not built according to standard,” Masumpa said.
“Even inspectors did not come to monitor if everything was right. A year after it was built, my house starting falling brick by brick.”
Another Govan Mbeki resident, Toby Tolo, said his uncle had to move out after his RDP house became too dangerous to live in.
“The house kept falling apart. Even when he tried to fix it, it kept on falling,” Tolo said.
“He was scared that one day the house would fall down and hurt him and his family, so he moved out.”
Municipal spokesman Luncedo Njezula said the current municipality had not built any of the houses that had to be demolished.
He said most of the houses that needed rectification had been built under contract by the previous interim city administration before the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality came into existence.
Since its formulation, housing officials had a responsibility to monitor certain phases in the construction of homes and “no councillor is involved in the procurement processes of the municipality”, said Njezula.
The official said that any builder that was not performing according to prescribed standards was not awarded new contracts by the municipality. In addition, no builder was re-issued work once they had been removed from a job, Njezula said.
Keywords - shoddy, low-cost homes, RDP housing, Mkhuseli Jack, Mike Nzotoyi, Karen Nzotoyi, Motherwell, Gawu, Old Man Construction, reconstruction , waste, tax payer, Lwandile Sicwetsha, Abafazi Contractors, Njezula
Tokyo's hefty settlement - R72000 a day over 103 days on wining, dining and hotels
Tokyo Sexwale minister of human settlements
Tokyo Sexwale's ministry of human settlements spent an average of R72000 a day over 103 days on wining, dining and hotels.
In the past seven months Sexwale, his deputy Zoliswa Kota-Fredericks, the director-general, Itumeleng Kotsoane, and his deputy spent more than R7.4-million on hotel accommodation, restaurants and travel.
Between April 2008 and October 20 this year, R59-million was spent by the department.
This emerged in a written parliamentary response to questions posed by the DA.
In the past seven months, Kotsoane splurged close to R30000 in restaurants and more than R1-million on travel, while his deputy spent R800000 on travel.
The department of public works spent R132-million in one financial year on travel, hotel accommodation and restaurants.
Spokesman Lucky Mochalibane said the department had "remained within the budget under goods and services".
Between April and October this year, more than R8-million was spent on hotel accommodation and restaurants, while R24-million was spent on travel.
Keywords - Tokyo Sexwale, wining, dining and hotels, Zoliswa Kota-Fredericks, da, Lucky Mochalibane, Kotsoane, hotel accommodation, restaurants and travel
In the past seven months Sexwale, his deputy Zoliswa Kota-Fredericks, the director-general, Itumeleng Kotsoane, and his deputy spent more than R7.4-million on hotel accommodation, restaurants and travel.
Between April 2008 and October 20 this year, R59-million was spent by the department.
This emerged in a written parliamentary response to questions posed by the DA.
In the past seven months, Kotsoane splurged close to R30000 in restaurants and more than R1-million on travel, while his deputy spent R800000 on travel.
The department of public works spent R132-million in one financial year on travel, hotel accommodation and restaurants.
Spokesman Lucky Mochalibane said the department had "remained within the budget under goods and services".
Between April and October this year, more than R8-million was spent on hotel accommodation and restaurants, while R24-million was spent on travel.
Keywords - Tokyo Sexwale, wining, dining and hotels, Zoliswa Kota-Fredericks, da, Lucky Mochalibane, Kotsoane, hotel accommodation, restaurants and travel
Low cost housing developer - Seakay may go bust
Low cost housing developer - Seakay may go bust
Johannesburg - Seakay, the country's largest developer of low-cost housing, is edging towards liquidation after government failed to pay it R218m for contract work - an amount for which the construction firm is preparing to sue.
Gerry Holtzhausen, executive director for Seakay, told Fin24.com the company had delivered two summonses for amounts totalling R218m to government's department of human settlements, led by Tokyo Sexwale, for the non-payment of contracts for the last two years.
"At this stage we have our hands tied behind our backs. We can't get an overdraft facility and the NHFC [National Housing Finance Corporation] is also threatening to foreclose us and liquidate us," said Holtzhausen. The NHFC is a government created financing institution.
Seakay is unable to apply for another loan owing to existing debt of R128m from the NHFC. Seakay ceded its entire debtors' book as security and has none left to give other banks.
"Government is not paying at all - and I mean at all," said Holtzhausen in an interview.
"It is more committed to 2010 [than to housing and health] and it has had to 'top slice' departments [to fund and accelerate 2010-related works] so that they can't sit with egg on their face. All the money is going to 2010-related work," he said.
Seakay's summonses relate to construction work on the N2 gateway project in Cape Town worth R133m, and an R85m sum for the Gauteng department, even though the actual contract value is R100m. "Contracts signed with government say [it will] pay in 47 days," said Holtzhausen.
More than 80% of Seakay's business is exposed to government-funded work. About 10 000 jobs related to Seakay's contract work are at risk.
Sexwale may help
"We've worked our way through the ranks and gone very high up; we've now asked for a meeting with Sexwale," said Holtzhausen.
Government asked Seakay in 2008 to support its own expenses until after the 2009 April general election, whereafter repayment would be made.
According to Holtzhausen, about R2.2bn in funds was transferred from Gauteng's treasury and handed to the Gautrain development, a high-speed rail public transport system. "All departments in Gauteng are cash-strapped."
Seakay's growing debtors' book has also heightened employee stress levels. Holtzhausen has reported site vandalism as well as the kidnapping of a contract manager.
He said it was a Catch 22 situation: the group did not wish to antagonise government as it would need it as a future source of work, but it was a listed company with shareholders. "Many smaller construction companies have closed doors because of non-payment by government."
Sexwale may look kindly on Seakay's proposals, which include a one-bar (lump sum) payment a year instead of rolling money coming in every month. "If we get cash flow stream on 90 days, we can build twice as many houses in one year.
"Tokyo [Sexwale] is going to make an announcement on housing in the next 60 days. Hopefully he's taken our bait, and if that happens it'll turn housing delivery and Seakay around."
Keywords - Seakay, Tokyo Sexwale, bust, bankrupt, low cost housing, developer, Human settlements, liquidation, nhfc, National Housing Finance Corporation, forclose, Gerry Holtzhausen, non-payment, N2 gateway
Johannesburg - Seakay, the country's largest developer of low-cost housing, is edging towards liquidation after government failed to pay it R218m for contract work - an amount for which the construction firm is preparing to sue.
Gerry Holtzhausen, executive director for Seakay, told Fin24.com the company had delivered two summonses for amounts totalling R218m to government's department of human settlements, led by Tokyo Sexwale, for the non-payment of contracts for the last two years.
"At this stage we have our hands tied behind our backs. We can't get an overdraft facility and the NHFC [National Housing Finance Corporation] is also threatening to foreclose us and liquidate us," said Holtzhausen. The NHFC is a government created financing institution.
Seakay is unable to apply for another loan owing to existing debt of R128m from the NHFC. Seakay ceded its entire debtors' book as security and has none left to give other banks.
"Government is not paying at all - and I mean at all," said Holtzhausen in an interview.
"It is more committed to 2010 [than to housing and health] and it has had to 'top slice' departments [to fund and accelerate 2010-related works] so that they can't sit with egg on their face. All the money is going to 2010-related work," he said.
Seakay's summonses relate to construction work on the N2 gateway project in Cape Town worth R133m, and an R85m sum for the Gauteng department, even though the actual contract value is R100m. "Contracts signed with government say [it will] pay in 47 days," said Holtzhausen.
More than 80% of Seakay's business is exposed to government-funded work. About 10 000 jobs related to Seakay's contract work are at risk.
Sexwale may help
"We've worked our way through the ranks and gone very high up; we've now asked for a meeting with Sexwale," said Holtzhausen.
Government asked Seakay in 2008 to support its own expenses until after the 2009 April general election, whereafter repayment would be made.
According to Holtzhausen, about R2.2bn in funds was transferred from Gauteng's treasury and handed to the Gautrain development, a high-speed rail public transport system. "All departments in Gauteng are cash-strapped."
Seakay's growing debtors' book has also heightened employee stress levels. Holtzhausen has reported site vandalism as well as the kidnapping of a contract manager.
He said it was a Catch 22 situation: the group did not wish to antagonise government as it would need it as a future source of work, but it was a listed company with shareholders. "Many smaller construction companies have closed doors because of non-payment by government."
Sexwale may look kindly on Seakay's proposals, which include a one-bar (lump sum) payment a year instead of rolling money coming in every month. "If we get cash flow stream on 90 days, we can build twice as many houses in one year.
"Tokyo [Sexwale] is going to make an announcement on housing in the next 60 days. Hopefully he's taken our bait, and if that happens it'll turn housing delivery and Seakay around."
Keywords - Seakay, Tokyo Sexwale, bust, bankrupt, low cost housing, developer, Human settlements, liquidation, nhfc, National Housing Finance Corporation, forclose, Gerry Holtzhausen, non-payment, N2 gateway
Houses for the poor - defrauded the state by building shoddy houses
A major crackdown on fraud and corruption in government's housing programme is imminent. The Human Settlements Minister, Tokyo Sexwale, says he wants to prosecute contractors and public officials who have defrauded the state by building shoddy houses for the poor.A total of 2.8 million houses have been built in the country since 1994. But the housing reconstruction programme has been compromised largely by corruption, nepotism and greed. Sexwale says there are 1500 houses that must be destroyed in the North West and a similar amount of houses in the Eastern Cape.Sexwale also says that the Eastern Cape has budgeted R300 million while KwaZulu-Natal has budgeted R500 million to fix the shoddy houses. Sexwale says the aim of the crackdown is to blacklist incompetent contractors with a history of inferior workmanship.It has also emerged that a staggering number of housing department officials have colluded with these contractors. An estimated amount of R20 million has already been recouped from 800 civil servants who benefited unlawfully from housing delivery programmes.The probe will include complicit estate agents and lawyers. It will be spear-headed by the Special Investigations Unit and the office of the Auditor-General. Sexwale says the outcomes of the probe will include facilitation of criminal action, institution of civil action, forcing contractors to finish their work, claims against contractors, blacklisting of repeat offenders and naming and shaming of people.
The Minister's uncompromising stance comes just a week after Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan announced a shortfall in state revenue during his medium term budget speech. This means more borrowing to sustain service delivery. Gordhan also vowed to stem out corruption and the fleecing of the public purse - brazen theft which has cost hundreds of millions of tax rands.
Well done Minister Sexwale!!!!
Shoddy houses for the poor
Sexwale takes aim at housing corruption
HUMAN Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale is “sharpening his pencil” to root out corrupt contractors and officials who build shoddy houses for the poor. A National Housing Audit headed by the Special Investigations Unit had been instituted to find the culprits who had caused “chronic” and “massive” problems in housing, he told journalists in Pretoria. “The audit deals with issues where the law had been broken.” Sexwale said recent visits to all provinces, where he heard the concerns of those on the receiving end of low cost housing, and of those on waiting lists, had highlighted the need for an audit. In the Northern and Eastern Cape alone 3000 houses would have to be destroyed as a result of “shoddy” and corrupt workmanship. “In response to the situation we face, we have decided we need to take a rigorous look at housing delivery, from top to bottom. “We need to focus on issues we know are specific impediments: fraud, delays, corruption, absentee contractors, ghost houses, shoddy workmanship again and corruption around waiting lists.” Sexwale said those found guilty would face civil or criminal action. For those found within the government ranks, suspension with pay was not an option, he said.
Minister Tokyo Sexwale - You have the support of the moladi TEAM!!!
HUMAN Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale is “sharpening his pencil” to root out corrupt contractors and officials who build shoddy houses for the poor. A National Housing Audit headed by the Special Investigations Unit had been instituted to find the culprits who had caused “chronic” and “massive” problems in housing, he told journalists in Pretoria. “The audit deals with issues where the law had been broken.” Sexwale said recent visits to all provinces, where he heard the concerns of those on the receiving end of low cost housing, and of those on waiting lists, had highlighted the need for an audit. In the Northern and Eastern Cape alone 3000 houses would have to be destroyed as a result of “shoddy” and corrupt workmanship. “In response to the situation we face, we have decided we need to take a rigorous look at housing delivery, from top to bottom. “We need to focus on issues we know are specific impediments: fraud, delays, corruption, absentee contractors, ghost houses, shoddy workmanship again and corruption around waiting lists.” Sexwale said those found guilty would face civil or criminal action. For those found within the government ranks, suspension with pay was not an option, he said.
Minister Tokyo Sexwale - You have the support of the moladi TEAM!!!
Presidential hotline just smoke and mirrors - Athol Trollip
Politicsweb - FEATURES - Presidential hotline just smoke and mirrors - Athol Trollip
Presidential Hotline: Week 7 - False information and poor service
In successfully registering three new complaints with the Presidential Hotline this week, a number of problems with the quality of service the hotline provides have come to light. They are as follows:
False information
In response to one of our complaints, that since 2006 no houses had been built on the concrete slabs cast in Motwaneng Village, in Limpopo, we received an e-mail from the Department of Human Settlements, to say the problem had been resolved (see Annexure 1, below). I visited the village last week, as part of my Parliament for the People tour (see pictures and report here).
The e-mail states: "Your reported Incident has been resolved with the following resolution:"
But it stops there. There is no resolution.
Even if there was, the department seems to be claiming that, in just two days since we registered our complaint, it has built houses for the whole village.
Quite patently, this is not possible.
When we phoned the hotline to get more clarity on the matter the operator informed us that that the department had not informed the hotline that they had dealt with the issue and that it was still recorded as "under investigation" on the system.
It is evident that there is a serious breakdown in communication between the hotline and government departments. The left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. The Department thinks it has built houses it hasn't touched in three years, in two days. The system cannot function if the government itself doesn't know what's going on.
Poorly recorded information
After we registered our complaints with the operators, we were sent emails that contained the reference number for each complaint as well as a short report summarising the nature of the complaint (see Annexure 2, below). However, the two e-mails were so garbled and poorly written that the actual integrity of the complaints was compromised.
For example, in registering a complaint about the poor quality of an RDP housing project in Mokopane (Limpopo), also uncovered on my recent visit, we made the point to the Hotline that those people who now occupy the houses never signed ‘happy letters'. Happy letters are those documents which a person is required to sign on receiving a house, which, by signing, the person is agreeing that they are satisfied with the house. Not signing them, means they were either not consulted about this, or weren't happy. Either way it's a problem.
The e-mail confirmation reads: "Caller says she was visiting Limpompo when she came accross an RDP project that was running,she said people who are living in those houses didn't sign happily and that there is no water and electricty."
It misses the point of the complaint entirely. Several other, important points were omitted from the confirmation entirely. Despite being friendly and enthusiastic, the people manning the helpline are not able to properly capture or understand the nature of complaints being registered, which defeats the very purpose of the Hotline.
General procedural flaws
It is apparent, from following up on an earlier complaint, that all the Hotline does is refer those complaints received to the relevant department. However, it has no power to enforce deadlines or sanctions on that department. So complaints are just left up to the discretion of the relevant department and, in the DA's experience - certainly with regard to the particular complaint we were enquiring about - just ignored.
The entire process seems to be all smoke and mirrors. No substance. No outcomes. The hotline appears to be just a process designed to give people the impression that it is concerned with outcomes but, ultimately just a R7.6 million intermediary step to refer people to another process, which achieves next to nothing.
These problems fly in the face of Minister Collins Chabane's recent response to a parliamentary question posed by the DA that "Neither the President's Hotline nor the system itself is dysfunctional in any way" and "the call logging system is also fully functional and all calls can be accessed and tracked via the system."
Conclusion
There has been a marked increase in the number of times the DA gets through to an operator at the Presidential Hotline, and successfully registers a complaint. However, we have spent just under 15 hours (894 minutes) trying to reach the Presidential Hotline in the seven weeks since its inception. The average number of minutes we have been put on hold during the past week, before an operator answers our call is around 15 minutes, which means registering a complaint remains a time-consuming and costly exercise for the ordinary South African.
Presidential Hotline: Week 7 - False information and poor service
In successfully registering three new complaints with the Presidential Hotline this week, a number of problems with the quality of service the hotline provides have come to light. They are as follows:
False information
In response to one of our complaints, that since 2006 no houses had been built on the concrete slabs cast in Motwaneng Village, in Limpopo, we received an e-mail from the Department of Human Settlements, to say the problem had been resolved (see Annexure 1, below). I visited the village last week, as part of my Parliament for the People tour (see pictures and report here).
The e-mail states: "Your reported Incident has been resolved with the following resolution:"
But it stops there. There is no resolution.
Even if there was, the department seems to be claiming that, in just two days since we registered our complaint, it has built houses for the whole village.
Quite patently, this is not possible.
When we phoned the hotline to get more clarity on the matter the operator informed us that that the department had not informed the hotline that they had dealt with the issue and that it was still recorded as "under investigation" on the system.
It is evident that there is a serious breakdown in communication between the hotline and government departments. The left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. The Department thinks it has built houses it hasn't touched in three years, in two days. The system cannot function if the government itself doesn't know what's going on.
Poorly recorded information
After we registered our complaints with the operators, we were sent emails that contained the reference number for each complaint as well as a short report summarising the nature of the complaint (see Annexure 2, below). However, the two e-mails were so garbled and poorly written that the actual integrity of the complaints was compromised.
For example, in registering a complaint about the poor quality of an RDP housing project in Mokopane (Limpopo), also uncovered on my recent visit, we made the point to the Hotline that those people who now occupy the houses never signed ‘happy letters'. Happy letters are those documents which a person is required to sign on receiving a house, which, by signing, the person is agreeing that they are satisfied with the house. Not signing them, means they were either not consulted about this, or weren't happy. Either way it's a problem.
The e-mail confirmation reads: "Caller says she was visiting Limpompo when she came accross an RDP project that was running,she said people who are living in those houses didn't sign happily and that there is no water and electricty."
It misses the point of the complaint entirely. Several other, important points were omitted from the confirmation entirely. Despite being friendly and enthusiastic, the people manning the helpline are not able to properly capture or understand the nature of complaints being registered, which defeats the very purpose of the Hotline.
General procedural flaws
It is apparent, from following up on an earlier complaint, that all the Hotline does is refer those complaints received to the relevant department. However, it has no power to enforce deadlines or sanctions on that department. So complaints are just left up to the discretion of the relevant department and, in the DA's experience - certainly with regard to the particular complaint we were enquiring about - just ignored.
The entire process seems to be all smoke and mirrors. No substance. No outcomes. The hotline appears to be just a process designed to give people the impression that it is concerned with outcomes but, ultimately just a R7.6 million intermediary step to refer people to another process, which achieves next to nothing.
These problems fly in the face of Minister Collins Chabane's recent response to a parliamentary question posed by the DA that "Neither the President's Hotline nor the system itself is dysfunctional in any way" and "the call logging system is also fully functional and all calls can be accessed and tracked via the system."
Conclusion
There has been a marked increase in the number of times the DA gets through to an operator at the Presidential Hotline, and successfully registers a complaint. However, we have spent just under 15 hours (894 minutes) trying to reach the Presidential Hotline in the seven weeks since its inception. The average number of minutes we have been put on hold during the past week, before an operator answers our call is around 15 minutes, which means registering a complaint remains a time-consuming and costly exercise for the ordinary South African.
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