The Master Builders Association of the Western Cape (MBAWC) supports the majority of the statements made by Minister of Human Settlements, Tokyo Sexwale, in his address to the National Assembly regarding the Human Settlements Budget Vote.
Rob Johnson, executive director of the MBAWC, says Sexwale's address contained a number of elements which have their full support but there are a few which they oppose.
Among the items which received the MBAWC's backing, were Sexwale's description of the current context in which this year's Human Settlements Budget Vote occurs. "Inflation, which has a direct impact upon construction materials, is according to the Reserve Bank around 6.3%. The Bureau for Economic Research (BER) reported that the building costs are increasing at an alarming rate.
BER found that in the fourth quarter of 2011 the Building Cost Index increased by 14.1% compared to the 6.4% recorded for the second quarter of 2011.
"The essential building materials for housing construction have recorded price increases of above inflation (PPI). For example reinforcing steel recorded a price increase of 38.9%, ceiling material increased by 10.8%, hinges by 9% and bricks by 8.6%. The result is that it will cost more to build the same size of a house today than it did a year ago."
State body will be inefficient
Johnson and the MBAWC strongly disagree with Sexwale's proposal to establish a state-owned construction company. "Having a state body take on construction of housing or anything else will only result in more inefficiency and wasted cost as the state has a very poor record when it comes to appointing competent staff and producing efficient delivery. Delivery is more likely to prevail in the private sector as it is profit driven.
"The key to delivery is the state remaining the client and properly screening its bidding contractors. Smaller contractors can still be part of the system if well thought out mentorship programmes are introduced into tender documentation. What this would entail is emerging contractors working alongside established contractors and being mentored to enable them to take on their own appropriately sized contracts in future. This would also benefit larger contractors in that it could form part of their Enterprise Development Programmes," Johnson says.
"A state body could also raise the level of corruption and political interference rather than reduce it as more state employees will be involved in the process. On the whole the Minister made a number of excellent points and we hope that our members will be involved in helping to change the residential landscape of our country," he concludes.
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