Parliament, Saturday, 27 August 2022 – The Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements has been urged by Ba-Phalaborwa residents to ensure that the Housing Consumer Protection Bill has built-in preventive measures against rampant corrupt engineers and building inspectors in the construction industry.
The committee concluded the first of three public hearings on the Bill in Limpopo with a critical voice from the public that these corrupt tendencies are central in the general low building standards in the country.
Some participants highlighted that building inspectors undermine building standards by approving houses that do not comply with approved building criteria. The clear evidence of this corruption, according to participants, was the general substandard RDP houses that are given to beneficiaries. Also, a number of participants emphasised their hope that the Bill will be a remedy to the general deficient RDP houses that many people in the province continue to receive, the RDP houses with leaking roofs and cracking walls.
Many participants called for the improvement and tightening of inspection processes to ensure that the poor are not undermined and given substandard and poor houses. The Department of Human Settlements told the participants that Chapter 7 of the Bill spells out clearly the role and the quality of inspection of the building inspectors to ensure the delivery of quality houses to the people.
The Bill received overwhelming support from the participants with small and medium building contractors stressing the importance of the Bill in the transformation of the industry and for affording them opportunity for empowerment and participation in the bigger construction projects. However, in spite of this expressed enthusiasm, there was a call for the alteration of the registration process with the National Home Builders Registration Council to make it less cumbersome and as an obstacle on the way of entry.
There was a strong emphasis that the Bill must have safeguards against the proliferation of substandard building materials especially in semi-urban and rural areas, a call that was made in other provinces previously visited by the committee. The concern by participants was that in some cases the problem is poor building materials which have a short lifespan and that become attributed to building contractors.
Although there was support for the Bill, some participants emphasised that the implementation and enforcement of the Bill will be critical to ensure its effectiveness. Some underscored that South Africa has good legislations but implementation of that legislation remains a concern. As a remedy, participants called for heightened monitoring and evaluation by the department and NHBRC to guarantee implementation of the Bill.
The failure to address the working relationship between various spheres of government and traditional leaders was also highlighted as a shortcoming in the Bill. This, according to participants, excluded mainly poor people as a majority of them reside on tribal land which might make implementation of the Bill impossible.
The committee appreciated the inputs made by participants and emphasised the centrality of public inputs in the process of law making. “Public consultation and participation is a constitutional requirement that Parliament is obliged to undertake as part of its decision-making processes. These hearings are in line with Section 59 (1) of the Constitution, which urges for the public involvement in the legislative making process of the Assembly. We are happy with the quality of inputs made and are confident that views expressed made qualitative inputs that will significantly improve the Bill to ensure that it addresses daily challenges,” said Ms Machwene Semenya, the Chairperson of the committee.
The committee will tomorrow hold the last leg of hearings in Groblersdal, at the Tafelkop Farmers Community Hall. The committee invites all individuals and interested organisations to come and make inputs on the Bill, to ensure that the final product is reflective of their will and aspirations.
Details of the hearings (Day 3)
Date: Sunday, 28 August 2022
Time: 10:00
Venue: Tafelkop Farmers Community Hall, Groblersdal
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS, MS MACHWENE SEMENYA.
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