/ 4 August 2008

Hundreds of RDP houses in Ekurhuleni to be revamped

More than 126 RDP houses in Ekurhuleni's Thintwa village will receive a major facelift, the Gauteng housing department said on Monday.

More than 126 Reconstruction and Development Programme houses in Ekurhuleni’s Thintwa village will receive a major facelift, the Gauteng housing department said on Monday.

Gauteng housing minister Nomvula Mokonyane took a decision last year after the ”vigorous” inspection of the one bedroom houses with an intention to extend them, the department said.

A budget of more than R2-million was allocated for the project.

The department found the houses to be in poor structural condition and ”arguably the smallest RDP houses in the province”.

”This was due to the fact that the houses were built in 1997 before the introduction of the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) and the departmental norms and standards.

”It was recommended that all 126 houses should be extended from 16 square metres to 36 square metres with two bedrooms,” the department said.

It also emerged that some of the houses had been illegally occupied.

A beneficiary, Augistino Mohoboko, said: ”The house was very small and my children were forced to stay at a family’s house. Now they can join us because there is enough space for all of us.”

The department appointed the NHBRC to inspect the new houses for structural defects.

Meanwhile, some of the old houses were demolished and empty stands were built with new houses for other beneficiaries, the department said. – Sapa