Mfundekelwa Mkhulisi

Mfundekelwa Mkhulisi

Newly built houses in Soweto's Glen Ridge are showing signs of poor workmanship.

The houses are among the 3000 that were built for low and middle-income earners in the area.

Cracks in the walls, unfitted light switches, leaking water pipes and taps were some of the problems that the owners complained about.

They said that they had complained to the developer, Kiron Homes, but that their complaints had fallen on deaf ears.

Thembi Nyembe said: "I moved into this house on December 1, but the walls are already cracking."

She was appalled that her new toilet had been used and the faeces had been left in the bowl.

"Workers used the toilet even though there was no water to flush."

She said when she moved in, the water had not been connected and it took the developer a lengthy period to do so.

Mike Page of Kiron Homes said the company had not received any formal complaints from clients.

"If owners have problems they must lodge their complaints and we will attend to the matter," Page said.

He said the standard procedure was that once a complaint had been lodged, the builder had 14 days in which to rectify the problems.

Nomvula Vilakazi, who moved into her new house about two weeks ago, said she thought owning a own home would bring her joy, but now she feels that she threw her money away.

"This house can collapse at any time," Vilakazi said.

She said the front door did not open and Kiron Homes knew about the problem.

"I complained when they handed me the keys. They say that they would fix the problem, but they did not," Vilakazi said.

She said there is a big crack in her bedroom and the basin in her bathroom is unstable.