Residents of Bronville and Hani Park in Welkom, who have not received RDP houses and those whose houses are incomplete, will finally have their wishes granted, the executive mayor of the Matjhabeng Local Municipality, Sebenzile Ngangeliswe promised during his budget speech.

“There are several problems that we as a government have been facing with contractors and tenders. Therefore this term our goal is not to seek service providers who when a tender is awarded, the first thing they think of is to buy a luxury car and forget about the project. We need people who are serious about service,” said Ngangelizwe.

Jannie Oosthuizen, managing director of Quick Leap Investments and main contractor of the R130-million project to build 6 000 houses in Hani Park and Bronville, promised that the unfinished houses will eventually be finished now.

“The Hani Park and Bronville project is my passion because it is the first of its kind in South Africa. We would like to assure both the provincial and local governments that we are fully on board with the project, and we want to produce a good product at the end of the day.

“We have applied for this project, so if my company does not complete all these houses, it would be a loss for us,” said Oosthuizen.

He attributed the sluggish pace of the project to delays by manufacturers to deliver supplies.

“Everything we order today is only delivered to us after six months. For example, we have had to stop our work because we are still waiting for the roofing material that we recently ordered.

“As you can see, these are not ordinary RDP houses; they have solar water heaters and a plaster ceiling that keeps the house cool so the occupants do not have to pay to have their lights on,” explained Oosthuizen.

Carrie Jansen of Bronville is part of those whose homes will be completed. She said so far things that need to be completed in her house are the roof, windows and door.

“We moved into the house officially and made temporary provision for a roof and windows and hung curtains for doors. We know it will take a long time, but my family and I are willing to wait to have a complete home,” said Jansen.