BHC to destroy 16 housing units
Chakalisa Dube | Tuesday September 26, 2017 16:09
Recently the corporation noted that it has started the process of repairing 63 houses at Mophane, which have developed structural defects.
The defects came after the contractor at Mophane failed to comply with some engineering designs during the construction stages. Senior authorities at BHC said repairs would cost approximately P26 million.
According to the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Nonofho Molefhi, the corporation will on top of the 63 houses destroy then rebuild 16 houses that have been irreparable.
Molefhi was addressing Francistown councillors during a special full council recently. Molefhi did not indicate the amount of money that would be availed for the reconstruction of the 16 houses.
“The houses will be demolished soon because they were built on top of black cotton soil. The damage on the houses is very severe. We will have to remove the black cotton soil and put gravel before we can start reconstructing the houses,” the minister said.
Black cotton soil is known to be the major source of wide cracks in buildings.
Although BHC officials last month said that the structural defects did not have anything to do with the cotton soil, Molefhi’s explanation to the councillors was in the contrary.
Molefhi who indicated that government was working a comprehensive plan to ensure that government project are effectively completed, maintained his stance that the Mophane contractor was careless and built the houses on top of black cotton soil.
The BHC Mophane project was completed in July 2010 after Molefhi commissioned it in 2008. It involved the construction of 318 low-income houses, 165 medium income houses as well 62 high-income houses.
Initially, the project was allocated P200 million but cost escalated owing to varying factors.
At one point during the construction stage, 30 houses had to be destroyed owing to poor workmanship by the contractor. The contractor will not be held accountable for the costs as the government only identified the problems long after the project was completed.