The Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements has received an additional R233-million to help increase productivity on its housing projects.

The additional fund, allocated by the national Department of Human Settlements, was a result of the department changing its service delivery model and reorganising its internal functions to be service delivery oriented. 

The funding will be used to run projects and translate into value created on site.

Department spokesperson Lwandile Sicwetsha said already 8 966 houses have been completed this year and a further 3 973 houses are nearing completion.

“The department was allocated a conditional grant budget of R2.1-billion for this year, but due to overperformance on site already done, additional funding was needed to complete all the construction work currently underway across the province,” said Sicwetsha.

He said the department has managed to improve planning issues and deal with poor performing municipalities and contractors with the introduction of the “turnkey contractor” approach (business arrangement whereby a project is delivered in a completed state) in delivery.

The work is done in line with the policy priorities for 2014/15 financial year, which lifts rural housing development as a top priority for the department and the province.

Meanwhile, the North West Department of Local Government and Human Settlements continues to take a tough stance against contractors who build shoddy low cost houses.

MEC Collen Maine will today lead an exercise to demolish 28 poorly build RDP houses in Huhudi township near Vryburg and blacklist the contractor.

According to department spokesperson Ben Bole, the demolition follows the issuing of a noncompliance certificate by the National Home Builders’ Regulation Council.

The 200-housing unit project began last year in Huhudi.