Cape Town mayor Dan Plato has taken a swipe at residents of new housing developments in Mitchells Plain, saying his own inspection found that their complaints that their houses were "falling apart", were false.
Urging the residents of Eastridge and Tafelsig to help themselves rather than depending entirely on the government, Plato told them to tile their floors and erect covers over their outside doors.
Plato visited the areas yesterday to follow up on complaints made by residents at a recent meeting.
When he arrived on Monday, community members reiterated their complaints about the houses, saying nothing was being done to rectify the faults.
But Plato said the problems were not as bad as described.
"I received complaints about the structure of the houses and that they are falling apart. I promised the community that I would come out to see for myself, but what I found was something different.
"Mainly, I haven't seen a house yet with major structural mistakes, faults or damage, although there are minor mistakes," he said.
Plato appealed to the home owners to tile their floors to stop the cement from being eroded, and to erect covers above their doors to prevent rain from dripping through.
"As government, I expect them to do something for themselves and not to be so dependant on government alone," Plato said.
In cases where people chose to make improvements themselves, the quality of houses were also improved, he said.
Michael Page, the project manager for both developments, said problems were being repaired, but that the process would take some time.
"We are working from one end to the other, so they are still waiting because we haven't reached them yet," he said.
"It's not a case of nothing being done. It's just that the teams haven't yet got to where they are."
Page added that vandalism of incomplete houses also posed a major problem.
A former community leader, who refused to be named, also complained that some owners were renting out their houses to people who use them to illegally sell alcohol.
Plato promised to launch an inquiry. - Cape Argus
Urging the residents of Eastridge and Tafelsig to help themselves rather than depending entirely on the government, Plato told them to tile their floors and erect covers over their outside doors.
Plato visited the areas yesterday to follow up on complaints made by residents at a recent meeting.
| 'I haven't seen a house yet with major structural mistakes' |
When he arrived on Monday, community members reiterated their complaints about the houses, saying nothing was being done to rectify the faults.
But Plato said the problems were not as bad as described.
"I received complaints about the structure of the houses and that they are falling apart. I promised the community that I would come out to see for myself, but what I found was something different.
"Mainly, I haven't seen a house yet with major structural mistakes, faults or damage, although there are minor mistakes," he said.
Plato appealed to the home owners to tile their floors to stop the cement from being eroded, and to erect covers above their doors to prevent rain from dripping through.
| 'As government, I expect them to do something for themselves' |
"As government, I expect them to do something for themselves and not to be so dependant on government alone," Plato said.
In cases where people chose to make improvements themselves, the quality of houses were also improved, he said.
Michael Page, the project manager for both developments, said problems were being repaired, but that the process would take some time.
"We are working from one end to the other, so they are still waiting because we haven't reached them yet," he said.
"It's not a case of nothing being done. It's just that the teams haven't yet got to where they are."
Page added that vandalism of incomplete houses also posed a major problem.
A former community leader, who refused to be named, also complained that some owners were renting out their houses to people who use them to illegally sell alcohol.
Plato promised to launch an inquiry. - Cape Argus
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