Housing subsidy exceeded to give Kwana residents ‘dignity’

BITOU Municipality has been warned that its average over-expenditure of R40,000 per RDP house built in KwaNokuthula could become an R80-million debt.

In a report to the town council, consultant Stewart Scott said the provincial subsidy of R74,000 was being exceeded by R40,000 per RDP house across Bitou’s 2000-unit housing project in KwaNokuthula, “meaning that Bitou Municipality should provide approximately R80-million top-up funding”.

Scott said if the municipality was not in a position to contribute the R80-million, cost cutting measures on the civil engineering aspects of the project could be implemented, such as narrowing the township roads and tarring only major roads, leaving the minor roads gravel.

To cut costs back to the R74,000 per unit subsidy provided by the Western Cape housing department, a number of “nice to haves” could also be omitted from the KwaNokuthula RDP houses, including roof tiles, painted inside walls and covered patios.

The builders could also revert to construction of square houses, such as the RDP units put up in Qolweni. “The more square the house, the more cost efficient it will be,” Scott said.

Mayor Lulama Mvimbi however said local government’s commitment should be to provide residents with a decent quality of life, while at the same time remaining mindful that council had to watch its spending.

“Consultant reports can be misleading. We must remember that people live in these houses and need to feel like human beings.”

Mvimbi said in KwaNokuthula, couples who moved into their new houses could for the first time in their life sleep in a room separate from their children. “It has given them dignity,” he said.

Bitou has taken the lead in building low-cost houses that exceed RDP standards, which provides for a top structure with only one bedroom, a basin and a kitchen sink.

Municipal housing head Mark Fourie said the RDP standards were “terrible”, and pointed out that the provincial government subsidy had not been increased in two years while building costs continued to climb.

Community Services manager Monde Stratu said Scott’s report painted a bleak picture, but while the municipality had no intention of bankrupting itself or being reckless with town funds, it also wanted to exceed the poor RDP standards.

DA councillor Johann Brummer said the over expenditure was apparently the result of accepting tenders way in excess of the subsidy amounts, even though contractors had proved that “top class units” could be provided “well within the subsidy amount”.

Brummer proposed that council investigate how the “unauthorised expenditure” had been approved and who was responsible, but Mvimbi complained that council “does not have time to listen to all his (Brummer’s) rubbish”, and the DA proposal was rejected by the ANC majority.

Council did resolve to use an increased provincial allocation of R28-million for 288 houses in KwaNokuthula and to service 230 erven in Kurland. Council would “augment the shortfall on the housing subsidies as and when required”.

By contrast, about R5.5-million was saved on the RDP housing project in Bossiesgif/Qolweni, which could be used to fence the homes and plant fruit trees.

Council also resolved that small, medium and micro enterprises should be given opportunities to participate in large housing contracts.

- CXpress