Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign

Unscrupulous construction companies involved in public housing projects could be blacklisted for shoddy workmanship by the provincial government.

Housing MEC Whitey Jacobs and Premier Lynne Brown are set for a showdown tomorrow with the companies in a bid to force them to comply or face blacklisting and de-registration.
The Department of Housing said on Wednesday there were more than 20 People’s Housing Projects that had been abandoned mid-way by contractors.

Jacobs said in some areas developers disappeared, leaving incomplete homes.

“The notion of construction companies profiteering from government contracts at the expense of the poor is appalling.

If government is to incur the expense of building homes for the people, the least those benefiting from the contracts can do is ensure that homes are of a decent standard.

“It is unacceptable that poor people are asked to accept poor quality homes.

“We would like the construction companies to work with us to address these issues urgently. Where they don’t work with us, I am afraid, tough love will apply.”

The department said that where sloppy workmanship was encountered, the construction company involved would be expected to rectify the situation immediately.

It has vowed to strengthen protocols to withhold portions of the costs from the contractors for a period following completion of projects, to allow sufficient time for snag lists to be drawn up and addressed.

Mncedisi Twalo, chairperson of the Gugulethu Anti-Eviction Campaign, welcomed the government’s stance, but said he hoped it was not just going to be “another talk show”.

Twalo said government housing projects in communities such as Hanover Park, Delft, Gugulethu, Mfuleni and Khayelitsha and the N2 Gateway were facing “serious structural defects”, putting the lives of many on the line.

Some projects had been left half-baked, with beneficiaries struggling to finish the work, despite a large number of them being unemployed.

francis.hweshe@inl.co.za