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As irony would have it, while Joburg Mayor Herman Mashaba was releasing the findings of an investigation into substandard housing affected by a storm last December, Protea Glen Extension 20 resident Zaphanth Tshipuke was yet again cleaning up debris from his collapsed ceiling.
“This is the second time I have experienced structural damage to my home after rainfall since last December, when more than 1000 homes were damaged in the storm. We live in fear every time it rains because these homes are substandard,” Tshipuke said on Thursday morning.
Tshipuke was speaking after Mashaba released the findings of the investigation done by the City of Johannesburg’s group risk and assurance services, which found that there were discrepancies and irregularities by officials and builders of both bonded and RDP homes that were damaged by the storm.
The report has established that the majority of homes damaged were RDP homes provided to poor families by the government.
According to Mashaba, who was speaking at Sandton Fire Station in Johannesburg, with 402 damaged homes Lefhureng was the most affected township and most of the homes there were provided to poor families.
Protea Glen, where Tshipuke lives, was the second most affected suburb, with 381 homes reportedly damaged.
Most of the house owners in Protea Glen indicated that their homes are bonded houses and have insurance policies.
Tshipuke said that, at the time of the storm, he was at Protea Glen Mall.
“I received a call from my kids who were visiting with my brother from Limpopo at the time. They told me that part of the house had collapsed and water was coming in. I literally dropped what I was doing and drove home fearful of what to expect and for the safety of my family,” said Tshipuke.
Like most people in the area, his home was constructed by a company billed as the leader in the development of affordable housing, and was paid for using an Old Mutual bond.
“The work done by the company is substandard and the only time I was contacted by the company was last year to say they would assist with my insurance claim. I have since received no word from them,” said Tshipuke.
Damages incurred “include damage to roofing, ceilings, boundary walls and structural cracks”, explained Mashaba.
Between 20 and 25 houses in Protea Glen would need to be rebuilt due to the structural damage.
A number of these have been rebuilt and/or repaired by insurers already, according to the mayor.
The findings into the City’s investigation of poorly constructed homes, which were worst affected by the violent storm, also raised concerns over the fact that three families had lodged complaints about structural defects to their homes before the storm occurred.
Mashaba said these claims needed to be investigated.
More than 3000 homes were affected and two casualties were reported subsequent to the storm.
