Residents slam govt houses

2007-04-16 09:09

Millicent Merton

Cape Town - It will cost millions of rand to repair structural damage caused by poor workmanship to the N2 Gateway housing project.

Richard Dyantyi, provincial minister of housing, said it was shocking that problems were being experienced at rental units in phase 1 less than a year after construction.

The development was supposed to be the government's flagship housing project.

Disintegrating floors, cracked walls, leaking toilets and waterpipes were some of the problems residents complained about during a meeting with Dyantyi.

One resident, Nosiviwe Mqweba, said one of the rooms in her flat stood empty because water leaking from the toilet of the flat above hers streamed down the walls. She paid R1 100 rent and felt she was not getting value for her money.

Another resident said she doubted whether the complex would remain standing for 10 years, as cracks were already visible in the walls. "It's not even winter, but our homes are cold and wet."

Angry residents said they were not willing to pay rent for homes of such poor quality. They were initially told the rent would be about R650 and were battling to pay the increased amount.

More than 500 complaints about poor construction work have already been lodged with the local residents' association. Thando Ndabambi, the chairperson, said poor craftmanship was evident in most of the 705 units.

Dyanti said there was already a plan to repair the poor craftmanship. The initial building cost for one rental unit was more than R80 000. Although he was not certain exactly how much the repairs to the complex would cost, it could run into millions.

"Drastic measures will have to be taken to solve the problems. Phase 1 is giving us a lot of problems, but we must learn from it in order to prevent a repeat."

Thulani Zulu, a representative for Thubelisha Homes, the project manager for the N2 Gateway housing project, said the cost for the repairs must be recovered from the main contractor. A cost survey was being done at present.

- Die Burger