Storm destroys homes in Mbizana

In two thousand nineteen, heavy winds and rain destroyed homes across Mbizana in rural Eastern Cape.

Government promises to rebuild

The government told Mboyi it would rebuild her home. In two thousand twenty-three, the Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements appointed ZIBSIPRO to replace two hundred storm-damaged houses for about thirty-four million rand, roughly one…

Mboyi builds her own house instead

Rather than wait, Mboyi used her old-age grant to buy materials and pay for labour to build her own two-room mud house.She spent months saving enough money to continue construction while the government project stalled.

“When the contractor came here last year to start the foundation, I was already starting the walls of my two-room house.”

No government houses completed

Three years after the appointment, not one of the two hundred houses has been completed. The brick-and-mortar house the government is building for Mboyi only has a foundation and partially completed walls.

Residents told to wait for answers

In February two thousand twenty-six, residents offered to finish the houses themselves during a meeting with the Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Local Municipality but were told to wait.

“Since then, there has been no further explanation. We are just waiting.”

Department terminates contractor

Department spokesperson Yanga Funani said ZIBSIPRO's contract was terminated during the two thousand twenty-five twenty-six financial year because of poor performance. The department planned to reinstate the project, prioritising houses where construction had already started.

Contractor disputes termination claim

ZIBSIPRO director Palesa Phara said she was not aware the contract had been terminated. She claimed the department owed the company payment for a year, making it financially impossible to continue, and that changed payment…

“All I know is that the department has owed us payment for a year, which is why I stopped working with them.”

Mboyi's house nearly ready

Mboyi's mud house just needs plastering outside and final touch-ups before she moves in in December. She said Eskom cannot install electricity because the house is not waterproof, while the government's house remains incomplete.