Parliament, Sunday, 23 October 2022 – The Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements has been urged to ensure that there are strong preventative measures in the Housing Consumer Protection Bill to prevent corrupt tendencies between building inspectors and contractors. These were sentiments that were expressed yesterday by Mahikeng residents during the second of three hearings on the Bill in North West.
Many beneficiaries of RDP houses said they were of the view that they receive deficient houses because of a perceived existence of corrupt scheme between building contractors and inspectors where houses pass the test of compliance by inspectors although they are not compliant with building standards. Also, the participants told the committee that there is a lack of visibility of building inspectors especially in rural areas.
Some residents told the committee that the houses they received in 2019 have already deteriorated. They said they were hopeful that the Bill will prevent the continuation of the building and the distribution of such substandard and hazardous houses to the people.
While the Bill was supported by a majority of participants, there was a strong call for a close monitoring of its implementation as many participants accused the officials of the Department of Human settlements for their unwillingness to oversee implementation of projects and only relying on desktop monitoring. Participants also suggested that while the Bill is impressive on paper, it is, however, going to be compromised by the department’s poor track record of implementation.
The participants also reiterated the importance of the oversight role of the provincial legislature in ensuring that passed legislation makes a notable and meaningful difference on the lives of the people. They argued that legislation is the last hope of the people for a better life.
There were participants who supported the clause on prescriptive requirements for builders to register with the National Home Builders Registration Council and considered that clause as desirable and necessary for the improvement of the quality of houses, but they also said that the same clause might exclude small and medium construction companies and independent builders.
There were participants who called for the inclusion of a clause in the Bill prescribing the quality of building materials to be used within the home building environment as building contractors exploit this gap currently and use cheap materials to reduce building cost. The use of substandard building materials is inevitably followed by the production of shoddy and undurable houses.
A view for the inclusion of traditional leaders in the Bill was expressed as they play a critical role especially in the rural and traditional communities. Also, an emphasis was made that the Bill must ensure that home owners in the rural areas also have access to the home warranty fund and that the fund should not be for only houses in urban areas.
The committee will today conclude the North West leg of the public hearings in Rusternburg at the Mogwase Orbit College, Mankwe Campus.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE ACTING CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS. MR THLOLOGELO MALATJI.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Malatswa Molepo (Mr)
Parliamentary Communication Services
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