MINISTRY FOR HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NO.: 978
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20 MARCH 2015
Ms J F Terblanche (DA) to ask the Minister of Human Settlements:
(1) With regard to each of the housing programmes in the North West, what
is the number of (a) substandard houses, (b) substandard houses that
have been demolished, (c) substandard houses still to be demolished,
(d) substandard houses which have been repaired and (e) substandard
houses still to be repaired;
(2) what remedial steps have been taken by her department to ensure that
substandard houses are not delivered to the housing recipients;
(3) what steps have been taken against defaulting (a) officials and (b)
contractors? NW1137E
REPLY:
(1) (a) While the North West province plans to rectify 2043 units in
2015/16 after assessments identified poor workmanship in some projects
in municipalities such as the Naledi Local Municipality, the
department has not at this stage comprehensively quantified the total
number of substandard houses per programme. Substandard houses are
classified during inspections by competent persons (engineers and
house inspectors). Should the house be deemed to be substandard,
remedial measures are recommended by the engineer. This could range
from repairing the identified defects, to the last option of
demolishing the house. Since the inspection of houses is conducted
jointly, concurrence with the NHBRC is also sought in determining the
course of action.
(b) The department has recently demolished 3 houses in Huhudi, Naledi
Local Municipality where poor workmanship was detected while 36 units
have been demolished in Boikhutso, Ditsobotla Local municipality.
(c) The department has identified 503 houses that must still be
demolished due to poor workmanship in Vryburg Ext. 5 and 8 units in
Piet Plessies, Naledi Local municipality. Other demolition work will
be carried out in Taung Ext. 6, Greater Taung Local Municipality for
30 foundations and 17 wall-plates that were exposed to elements for an
extended period of time.
(d) The number of houses that have been rectified to date due to
substandard work stands at 327. It should be noted that all
substandard houses that are repaired after payment to the contractor
has been effected, are done through the National Rectification
programme.
(e) A total of 2Â 043 houses that will be rectified in 2015/16 financial
year across the North West province.
(2) It is currently mandatory for all projects be enrolled with the NHBRC
to ensure quality control, and to provide housing consumers with
warranty cover. The department currently enrols all projects without
exception with the NHBRC.
⢠All contractors appointed by the department are registered with the
NHBRC.
⢠Joint inspections are carried out with the NHBRC.
⢠The department has increased its technical capacity through a
Programme Management Unit (PMU) which manages projects and conducts
inspections.
⢠Building materials used in the construction of houses are now
approved by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS).
The NHBRC has strengthen its inspection mandate through increasing
the inspection staff. They are involved in home building
inspections, forensic engineering investigations and assessment of
houses for rectification. The Honourable member would be pleased to
know that the NHRBC has been able to suspend some builders not
compliant with building regulations. We continue to sharpen this
instrument to ensure that we bring to an end the need to rectify
houses because of poor workmanship by contractors. Furthermore,
the NHBRC is enhancing building skills of home builders through
training.
(3) (a) None to date. Officials found guilty of defaulting will be
subjected to the normal disciplinary processes.
(b) In at least once instance, the contractor was instructed to
rectify defective units at his own cost. The department collaborates
with the NHBRC to consider de-registering and/or blacklisting
contractors found guilty of producing substandard units.
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