LOW COST HOUSING - moladi plastic shutter formwork building system

Men's Health - Best Man Awards 2009

2009-06-14T00:21:00.000+02:00

MENS’S HEALTH SOUTH AFRICA’S BEST MAN AWARDS 2009

Leading the Pack Best Man was first established by Men’s Health in 2003 with the objective of recognising South African men who are making a difference in society today. These men are leaders in their fields; they inspire us in our daily lives and create unique opportunities for all South Africans to reach their goals and develop themselves. Finalists were selected after a public call for nominations and direction from a panel comprised of specialists in the respective categories and finalists from previous years. These finalists were considered based on the iconic status achieved in their area of expertise, as well as the difference made in everyday life for the good of society. Winners were selected by Men's Health readers via the website and the magazine. It is once again that time of the year where we acknowledge these men - the leaders in sport, business, science and technology, arts and culture, media and public service. This year’s gala event will take place in Johannesburg on 11 June 2009.” http://www.menshealthsa.co.za/static/bestman2009

Science and Technology Catogory

“A true leader and innovator in the field of science and technology, this is a man who is forging a new path, finding new answers and breaking ground.”

Science and Technology Catogory Best Man- Hennie Botes – “…founder of moladi and the inventor of patented moulds that allow the rapid erection of low-cost, labour-intensive quality houses.” Creating the much talked about employment

Hennie Botes - Best Man Awards 2009

Ghana Property Mall

2009-06-10T07:48:00.000+02:00

Ghana Property Mall:

"MOLADI HOUSING TECHNOLOGY, THE WAY FORWARD"

A dreamer dreamt…of an automated home production line…of a home – building process without the subjective elements that comes with involving divers artisans – masons, plumbers, electricians, carpentars, etc…of a house construction process that can be arranged or put together more or less like a lego…of eliminating the non – standardization in the home - building process that leads to cost differentials, high building fees and shoddy work…of a mass production building model that ‘manufactures’ several homogenous housing units ‘at once’ without sacrificing quality not unlike a car manufacturing plant.The dream became a reality in the form of the Moladi housing technology. The model was developed by South African Henni Botes and is present in several countries. Moladi Ghana, as the franchise is known in Ghana is jointly owned by Moladi and Margins Real Estate Group. Speaking to us at the site of the model moladi house located on the premises of the Margins Showroom, Mr Moses Baiden, CEO of Moladi Ghana said the period between assembling the plastic moulds and construction of the house to the current level (seen above) was just 13 days. He added that 6th March, which was the date on which the project was started, was significant since ‘moladi’ means ‘birth’ in Swahili. Further expanding on the technology, Mr Baiden said it takes about a month to prepare the foundation, then a further one week to put together the rest of the house. A dreamer dreamt…of an automated home production line…of a home – building process without the subjective elements that comes with involving divers artisans – masons, plumbers, electricians, carpentars, etc…of a house construction process that can be arranged or put together more or less like a lego…of eliminating the non – standardization in the home - building process that leads to cost differentials, high building fees and shoddy work…of a mass production building model that ‘manufactures’ several homogenous housing units ‘at once’ without sacrificing quality not unlike a car manufacturing plant.The dream became a reality in the form of the Moladi housing technology. The model was developed by South African Henni Botes and is present in several countries. Moladi Ghana, as the franchise is known in Ghana is jointly owned by Moladi and Margins Real Estate Group. Speaking to us at the site of the model moladi house located on the premises of the Margins Showroom, Mr Moses Baiden, CEO of Moladi Ghana said the period between assembling the plastic moulds and construction of the house to the current level (seen above) was just 13 days. He added that 6th March, which was the date on which the project was started, was significant since ‘moladi’ means ‘birth’ in Swahili. Further expanding on the technology, Mr Baiden said it takes about a week to prepare the foundation, then a further one week to put together the rest of the house.

By Kojo Graham

US unveils $4bn plan to upgrade public housing as part of green jobs project | Environment | guardian.co.uk

2009-05-29T00:32:00.000+02:00

US unveils $4bn plan to upgrade public housing as part of green jobs project Environment guardian.co.uk

The Obama administration unveiled a $4bn (£2.5bn) plan to upgrade public housing for low-income Americans today, as part of an ambitious green job-creation project.
Obama sent the vice-president, Joe Biden, and other senior officials to Denver for a formal announcement of the renovation scheme, which will replace windows, insulation and even light bulbs in ageing and neglected housing stock.
The labour secretary, Hilda Solis, was also expected to announce $500m to train up workers for the new jobs. Of those funds, $50m will be directed to regions that have been hardest hit by the recession – such as the rustbelt state of Michigan where the unemployment rate is now 12%.
The funds mark the first phase of the green job creation plan envisaged in Obama's $787bn economic recovery plan. Officials said that attempts would be made to train local people for the work.
"This president is committed to literally millions of jobs in this sector over the course of his term," Van Jones, the White House adviser on green jobs, said. Jones was also expected at the meeting in Denver. He said the renovations of public housing stock would account for about 40% of the funds set aside by Obama to improve energy use in government buildings.
"This is not some abstract, theoretical thing. By the end of the year you are going to see people who have no jobs, high-energy bills and no hope get jobs and see opportunity," he said.
The administration envisages a plan where home owners will arrange to have their homes retrofitted for greater energy efficiency simply by ticking a box on their utility bill, and then have the cost of the renovations factored into their bills.
The plan's high-visibility roll-out is part of a strategy by the Obama administration to put green job creation at the heart of its economic recovery plan, and to broaden support for its economic and green agenda. America has gone farther than Europe to bring its strategy for economic recovery in line with longer-range plans to build a cleaner energy future and address global warming. A report by the HSBC estimates that $94bn of Obama's $787bn is devoted to green measures, spread across building energy efficiency, low-polluting vehicles, water and electricity systems, mass transit and renewables.
As with the public housing renovation announced in Denver, much of that spending is just beginning to be spent. However, the administration has already allocated $3.3bn for the smart grid.
Officials repeatedly have claimed that the new jobs will be on par with the so-called "legacy" jobs of the vanishing auto industry and manufacturing sector, in paying union scale wages and benefits.

moladi is there to assist...

Gov't says $250M in grants going to tribal housing

2009-05-29T00:10:00.000+02:00

Gov't says $250M in grants going to tribal housing

Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan says the government will offer more than $250 million in housing grants to American Indians and native Alaskans as part of the federal stimulus package.
The competitive grants can be used to purchase land, build new homes and retrofit existing homes to make them more energy efficient.
The money comes from the $787 billion stimulus plan signed into law Feb. 17 by President Obama.
Donovan said Wednesday the money could reduce crowding on reservations and improve living conditions for Native Americans across the country.

The solution to low cost housing for American Indians and native Alaskans is moladi construction system - www.moladi.net

Tatas propose low-cost housing in Mumbai - The Financial Express

2009-05-24T08:48:00.000+02:00

Tatas propose low-cost housing in Mumbai - The Financial Express

"Our study shows that 48 per cent of the people in the lower segment are currently staying in rented accommodation.

As a real estate company, we are sensitive to the need of providing this segment with their own home along with community life," he said, however, adding that local people would also be eligible to own homes in these projects.
Banerjee said in the Boisar project, a one BHK flat with a total salable area of 465 sq ft would be available at Rs 6.7 lakhs.
Tata Housing would sell 1,200 homes in the low-cost segment and 2,000 units in the affordable housing segment. Value homes would be sold through a lottery for which forms would be available at some select State Bank of India branches from coming Saturday.
Banerjee said Tata Housing has tied-up with HDFC and SBI for financing and is in talks with other lenders as well for this purpose.
The company is also looking for government support to start such projects under the public-private-partnership model, which according to Banerjee, could, in some extent, solve the staggering 24.7 million housing shortage in the country.

Again this proves that the supply of shelter is a basic need and over many decades this market segment has been neglected. moladi has been preparing for this "awakening" more than 20 years ago... http://www.moladi.net/

Hennie Botes: Obdachlosigkeit adieu! - Le Port

2009-05-23T07:26:00.000+02:00

Hennie Botes: Obdachlosigkeit adieu! - Le Port

Hennie Botes heißt der Mann, der eine Revolution im Hausbau von Entwicklungsländern plant. Mit seiner Firma Moladi hat der Selfmade-Mann über zwei Jahrzehnte seine Vorstellung vom preisgünstigen, aber stabilen Hausbau perfektioniert, was dann heute beispielhaft so aussieht:
Hausgröße: 40 qmGesamte Bauzeit: 2 WochenBenötigte Helfer: 25-30 (Nachbarschaftshilfe erwünscht!)Benötigte Fachkräfte: 0Kosten: ca. 4.250 €
Das Geheimnis sind Plastikverschalungen, die wie Lego-Steine zusammengesteckt werden. Steht schließlich das Plastikhaus in der gewünschten Form, so muss der Hausbesitzer lediglich noch Beton einfüllen und auf das Aushärten warten.
Hier gefunden.
Hier geht es zur Firmenwebsite.
Hier trommelt Botes für sein Projekt.
Le Port: Klingt in jedem Fall besser als das US-amerikanische “Häuser für alle”-Programm.Tags: Botes, Hausbau, Moladi, Poverty, Revolution

Plastic formwork

2009-05-15T21:11:00.000+02:00

“Habitat for Humanity International is organizing the 2nd Asia Pacific Housing Forum to be held at the Asian Institute of Management Conference Centre, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines on September 7-9, 2009. The first APHF was held in Singapore in 2007 and was attended by 230 participants representing 28 countries.

The 2nd Asia Pacific Housing Forum promises to be a bigger event. It will look at both alternative approaches and scalable models where government, business and social organizations can work together and build on each other’s strengths to provide urban housing solutions particularly the elimination of slums.

We are fully aware of your expertise and dedication to the cause of the needy particularly the homeless poor. It is therefore our honor to cordially invite you to speak at the 2nd Asia Pacific Housing Forum on the topic “The Moladi Approach to Affordable Housing Delivery”.

moladi, a world leader in its field, produces a plastic formwork system for the use of casting lightweight concrete structures, homes and houses. A one stop housing shop for all your mass housing needs

The Next 4 Billion

2009-05-10T22:12:00.000+02:00

The Next 4 Billion: "Nancy Sedmak-Weiss"

moladi

The Next 4 Billion — The Housing Market

Allen Hammond, William J. Kramer, Rob Katz, Julia Tran, Courtland Walker

Housing is one of the larger base of the pyramid (BOP) markets—larger than transportation, smaller than energy. The market encompasses major spending items—rent, mortgage payments (or imputed rents), and repairs and other services. But the BOP housing market is perhaps uniquely handicapped by informality. Both lack of legal title to housing in squatter settlements—Hernando De Soto’s “dead capital”—and lack of access to mortgage financing for the BOP limit its potential size.

Despite these barriers, both private sector approaches and policy reforms—sometimes catalyzed by NGOs—are showing how to tap this market in ways that provide significant benefits for BOP households. In Asia especially, where mortgage markets are undeveloped and land prices high relative to income, the market potential—and the need—is huge (Bestani and Klein 2006).

How large is the market?

The measured BOP market for housing in Africa (12 countries), Asia (9), Eastern Europe (6), and Latin America and the Caribbean (9) is $187.5 billion. This represents recorded annual household spending on housing in the 36 low- and middle-income countries for which standardized data exist, covering 2.1 billion of the world’s BOP population. The total BOP housing market in these four regions, including 3.96 billion people in all surveyed countries, is estimated to be $331.8 billion. Because imputed rent is a major part of household spending on housing and cannot be determined precisely, these numbers should be regarded as setting a lower bound for such spending.

Asia has the largest measured regional BOP market for housing, $86.6 billion, reflecting a significant BOP population of 1.49 billion. The total BOP housing market in Asia (including the Middle East) is estimated to be $171.4 billion, representing the spending of 2.9 billion people. Latin America has the next largest measured market, $47.4 billion (276 million people), and an estimated total market of $56.7 billion (360 million people).

In Eastern Europe the measured BOP housing market is $34.2 billion (148 million people), and the estimated total market $60.8 billion (254 million people). In Africa the measured BOP market is $19.3 billion (258 million people), and the estimated total BOP market is $42.9 billion (486 million people).

The average BOP share of measured national housing markets varies across regions. In Asia and Africa that share is 63%. In other regions it is much smaller: 39% in Latin America, 35% in Eastern Europe. Latin America has the greatest disparity between the BOP share of the population (71%) and the average BOP share of housing spending (39%).

The BOP share of housing spending also varies across countries. These differences in part reflect the prevalence of a landed middle class in some developing countries, such as South Africa and throughout Latin America. Between mid-market landowners and disenfranchised BOP communities, the BOP share of a country’s housing market is on average half that of its weight in population. Nonetheless, in countries such as Pakistan and Sierra Leone, the BOP accounts for more than 95% of the measured housing market.

In Asia one extreme is represented by Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, where the BOP accounts for more than 90% of the spending on housing—the other by Thailand and India, where despite the substantial BOP population, the recorded BOP share is only 47% and 48%, respectively. In Africa the extremes are Nigeria (99% BOP) and South Africa (31%). In Eastern Europe the extremes are represented by Uzbekistan (92%) and FYR Macedonia (13%).

How is the market segmented?

Many African BOP markets for housing are relatively bottom heavy, with spending concentrated in the bottom three of the six BOP income segments. The remainder are flat, with spending distributed relatively evenly across all BOP income segments. In Asia too, most BOP housing markets are either bottom heavy or flat.

In Eastern Europe, in contrast, almost all countries have a top-heavy BOP market, with the top three segments accounting for more than half of BOP housing spending. The lone exception is Uzbekistan, where the bottom three BOP income segments account for 77% of spending. In Latin America spending tends to flatten out at the BOP1500 segment. In Brazil, for example, the top four segments each account for 19–23% of BOP housing spending.

In Latin America and the Caribbean some large national housing markets are dominated by the wealthier mid-market segment; in Colombia the BOP accounts for only 27% of the total. In Peru, however, the BOP segment accounts for nearly three-quarters of the total market (73%). Jamaica represents the extreme, with 88% of the national housing market in the BOP.

In contrast, the BOP dominates Asian markets, with only Thailand and India having slightly more than half of total housing spending in the mid market. Africa too is predominantly a BOP market: in only one country, South Africa, does spending in the mid-market segment exceed that in the BOP.

What do households spend?

BOP spending on housing reflects consistently strong demand: people are willing to spend a fairly constant share of their income on their home.

India has the largest measured BOP housing market in Asia, $62.1 billion; BOP spending accounts for 48% of the national housing market and averages $164 per household a year. In other regions the BOP market leaders are Mexico ($45.6 billion, 44% of the total market), with average annual spending of $1,280 per BOP household; Russia ($94.7 billion, 34% of the total market), with average spending of $1,268; and South Africa ($14.4 billion, 31% of the total market), with average spending of $652.

These expenditures by BOP households may not be large. But in Mexico they are large enough to fuel two significant and growing corporate efforts to tap BOP housing markets.

Where is the market?

In 24 of the 36 measured countries, BOP housing markets are predominately urban. However, it is often difficult for national surveys to accurately measure housing expenditure in poor rural areas—often rents must be imputed.

In Asian and African countries, housing markets are often predominantly rural. The Ugandan BOP housing market, for example, is 71% rural. Most Asian BOP housing markets also are predominantly rural. In Sri Lanka, for example, 77% of the BOP housing market is rural. Rural housing markets can be substantial—$9 billion in Thailand, for example. An exception to the pattern of rural dominance is Pakistan, where urban squatter settlements account for much of the imputed BOP rent and the BOP housing market is only 36% rural.

In Eastern Europe, where countries were so heavily urbanized under Soviet rule, much of the housing is in cities. In Russia just 19% of the BOP market is rural. Only two countries have BOP markets in which at least a quarter of the spending takes place in rural areas—FYR Macedonia (31%) and Belarus (25%).

In many Latin American countries reported spending on housing also occurs mostly in urban areas. In Colombia, for example, urban spending is 92% of the total for BOP housing. In Guatemala, however, the BOP housing market is 52% rural and 48% urban.

Large urban BOP communities represent huge untapped market opportunities. Mexico’s urban BOP housing market is nearly $16 billion annually. Brazil and Colombia each report urban BOP housing spending of more than $8 billion a year.

Is there evidence of a BOP penalty?

Household surveys seek to capture all sources of income, but they do not measure the “dead capital” trapped in the informal economy. For many BOP households, their dwelling and the land it sits on is their primary capital. When they lack formal title to that asset, or when they must contend with ineffective land markets or barriers to transferring title, housing becomes dead capital. Under these circumstances BOP households face a significant BOP penalty—one that artificially curbs their potential purchasing power and often their access to services.

The problem extends to the multitude of enterprises in the informal economy. These businesses, operating outside the formal legal system, cannot easily leverage their assets into working capital. The dead capital trapped in houses and businesses together is enormous: a recent study showed that informal properties and businesses in just 12 Latin American countries are worth as much as US$1.2 trillion (ILD 2006; IDB 2006). Worldwide, the figure is estimated to be at least US$9.3 trillion, and is probably much larger (De Soto 2004).

Informal home ownership also poses a barrier to service delivery. Many governments require proof of title before a household can receive social benefits. And municipalities often are unwilling to connect undocumented homes to water, sewer, and electricity networks, since they have no legal recourse to collect un-paid fees from a home that—in the eyes of the government—does not exist.

Economist Hernando De Soto (2003) has suggested that one way out of this informality trap is to make extralegal ownership more formal—for example, by offering home owners official title to their home. A different strategy, in Pakistan, has focused on providing lowcost mortgages that enable low-income families to buy new homes with secure titles.

Allen Hammond is a member of Ashoka’s Leadership Group and Full Economic Citizenship initiative. Recently he was Vice President for Innovation and Special Projects at the World Resources Institute. William J. Kramer is founder and president of The Global Challenge Network, and previously was Director of Education and Training for the Markets & Enterprise Program at the World Resources Institute. Rob Katz is a Knowledge & Communications Associate with Acumen Fund, and previously he was an Associate with the Markets and Enterprise Program of the World Resources Institute. Julia Tran was a Research Analyst with the Development Through Enterprise project of the World Resources Institute. Courtland Walker was a Research Assistant with the Development Through Enterprise project of the World Resources Institute. Reprinted with permission from the World Resources Institute. The Next 4 Billion: Market Size and Business Strategy at the Base of the Pyramid. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute and International Finance Corporation, 2007.

News - South Africa: Report slams running of N2 Gateway project

2009-05-04T12:11:00.000+02:00

News - South Africa: Report slams running of N2 Gateway project: "Ella Smook"

By Ella Smook

A damning audit report of the N2 Gateway housing project reveals costly and widespread deficiencies in the planning, accounting, design and execution of the government's flagship low-cost housing development.

The report, completed in June 2008 but tabled in parliament only last week, backs up complaints that have surrounded the project since its inception.

The national Department of Housing, which has responsibility for the project, commissioned the Auditor General's report, which confirmed the N2 Gateway Project had not been managed "economically, efficiently and effectively".

The Auditor General ordered corrective action, which will include training, as well as the recovery of possible fruitless and wasteful expenditure, and possible disciplinary action.
The N2 Gateway project was launched in the Western Cape in March 2005 as a pilot to test the government's new low-cost housing policy called Breaking New Ground.

The policy sought to roll out integrated human settlements, rather than build row upon row of RDP houses in new communities that had no infrastructure or recreational facilities.

N2 Gateway houses would be bigger than RDP houses, and would be available as fully subsidised free homes, affordably bonded units and rental houses.

But in the past years positive reports of home handovers have been overshadowed by the negative press the development has attracted.

The problems have included housing lists, land invasions, politicking, illegal occupations, evictions, skills shortages and allegations of tender irregularities and shoddy workmanship on half-completed homes.

In June 2006, the Cape Argus reported on the "costly bungling" revealed at a mayco meeting.

Although the scope of the Auditor General's report did not extend to all the issues highlighted, it identified 10 areas of concern.

These included the fact that the necessary legislation and policies were not in place when construction started, and the roles and functions allocated to the different spheres of government had not been adhered to. This had resulted in uncertainties over who should take responsibility for specific functions.

In addition, the Auditor General found that construction started before funding had been secured or the business plan finalised

Sufficient land had also not yet been identified and secured, geotechnical surveys which would have revealed the seriousness of the soil problems had not been done, and the selection of beneficiaries had not been finalised.

Qualifying criteria in respect of monthly household income had also not been consistent with policy, and had been inconsistently communicated to different communities.

Because of the consequences of time-frame and affordability miscalculations, legal claims for abortive work and standing time, totalling R43 million, were lodged against the City of Cape Town.

Further fruitless and wasteful expenditure of R20m was incurred due to design changes which resulted from the failure to exercise "reasonable care" during the planning phase.

And because of irregularities in the appointment of initial project manager Cyberia, which "lacked (the) sufficient in-house and specialist expertise" to perform the job it had tendered for, payments of R12m made to Cyberia were found to have been irregular.

Some R72m in irregular expenditure was also incurred as a result of tender processes not being followed in the appointment of implementing consortia.

The appointment of Thubelisha Homes as project manager in 2006, after the new multi-party coalition-led City of Cape Town administration was removed from the project, was also done without proper procurement processes being followed.

Since the completion of the Auditor General's report, the government's Housing Development Agency has taken over from Thubelisha, which has since reportedly become insolvent.

All Thubelisha employees have transferred to the new government agency.

In response to the report, the Department of Housing said it would ensure "all corrective and necessary control measures are put in place as a matter of urgency".

It added that the "lessons learnt from the successful implementation of the (project) would be shared with other state-funded projects nationally".

How is it that an NGO sponsered by Government to the tune off R760, 000, 000 (that is R760 million) to perform the duty of implementor/Project Manager is closed because of NON DELIVERY, be re-employed in the Housing Development Agency (HDA) when they did not fulfill their mandate????

The special advisor to Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, Mr Sath Moodley headed this project. He was ousted from the Mpumalanga Housing Department because of allegations...and reemployed as advisor?

I pray that more of this is exposed and the culprits charged and exposed.

Mr. Moodley, why have you not implemented moladi as you promised when we met you in Parliament AND after winning the ABSA NHBRC Award in 2006???

www.mmoladi.net

The Manila Times Internet Edition | BUSINESS >Mass housing projects surge in 1Q

2009-05-04T11:41:00.000+02:00

The Manila Times Internet Edition | BUSINESS >Mass housing projects surge in 1Q

Monday, May 04, 2009

Mass housing projects surge in 1Q

By Ben Arnold O. De Vera, Reporter

AMID higher cancelations among mid- to high-end projects, mass-housing investments registered with the Board of Investments (BOI), however, nearly doubled in the first quarter this year, according to the incentives-giving agency.

Preliminary data gathered by The Manila Times showed that 15 low-cost, mass housing projects have been registered with the BOI at end-March this year, up from 12 in the same three-month period last year.

Moreover, the total investments this year ballooned by almost 90 percent to P3.498 billion compared with P1.842 billion in first three months of last year.

Low-cost housing ventures awarded incentives by the BOI have risen continuously since the incentive-giving agency included mass housing under infrastructure activities in the annual Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) beginning 2003.

According to BOI data, the incentive-giving agency registered three low-cost mass housing projects totaling P268.482 million in 2003; seven worth a combined P260.644 million in 2004; 22 worth a total of P1.408 billion in 2005; 16 costing a combined P1.433 billion in 2006; and 51 worth P9.416 billion in 2007.

Last year, low-cost mass housing investments registered with the BOI reached P38.261 billion for a total of 98 projects.

The BOI last week said it granted tax incentives and other perks to another low-cost housing project, Citihomes Builder and Development Inc.’s P120.9-million housing venture named Residencia de Muzon.

The agency said Citihomes Builder and Development would construct 594 units in an 8.1-hectare tract of land in San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan. Commercial operations would start this month, and the company would take in 200 workers, the BOI said.

Trade Undersecretary Elmer Hernandez, who is also BOI managing head, earlier said the agency is mulling an expansion of the perks for investments with huge multiplier effects and job-generation potentials, such as mass housing projects, in light of the current global economic slowdown.

President Gloria Arroyo has yet to sign this year’s IPP, but Trade Secretary Peter Favila told reporters last week that the draft list went through another round of consultations after Malacañang went over the document.

Hernandez had said the BOI was aiming for the first-quarter approval of the IPP, adding the agency is expediting work on the plan’s guidelines.

The 2009 IPP includes a “contingency list,” unique to this year’s plan, which would provide incentives to firms and existing projects and activities that would retain investments and maintain workers, retain investments and increase the number of workers, increase investments and maintain their number of workers, or increase both investments and number of workers.

What does this say or mean:

moladi has been prepared to play a major roll in the supply of technology to this market - low cost housing

The BoP (Bottom of the Pyramid)in housing is the sector where there is phenomenal growth opportunities in a global market irrespective of a "Global rececion".

The Base of the pyramid is the most stable if you have a product that caters for it's needs - moladi is the technology and low cost housing and affordable housing is the product.

Construction companies and contractors alike need to change the way they do business, otherwise they will not survive the change in the market.

This trend is not unique to the Philippines but is a Global Trend. This is happening in Mexico, Brazil, India, Africa, middle East, etc...

Read more about moladi construction solution at www.moladi.net

Low cost housing

2009-04-27T20:12:00.004+02:00

Low cost housing - Global mass housing projects

We have read numerous editorials regarding the massive developments in the high income bracket in Dubai, Houses, Apartments, Hotels, and Business Parks etc over the last few years. This unbalanced “high end” development, simply creates a massive backlog and need for affordable housing, as the staff to operate, clean, service these facilities are not catered for.

This is the market moladi focuses on - the bottom two thirds of the pyramid. We have developed an International recognized construction technology that reduces the cost to construct, capturing an untapped market.

With our experience and product we are able to help provide housing to any country.

You are welcome to visit www.moladi.net

Plastic formwork

2009-04-27T20:03:00.002+02:00

Build more quality homes better faster for less with moladi modular plastic shutter formwork system

Clich here for more - www.plasticformwork.co.za

Habitat for Humanity International invitation - “The Moladi Approach to Affordable Housing Delivery”

2009-04-16T03:30:00.001+02:00

We are very proud and honoured to accept the following invitation received from Habitat for Humanity International to speak about the moladi approach to affordable housing delivery.

“Habitat for Humanity International is organizing the 2nd Asia Pacific Housing Forum to be held at the Asian Institute of Management Conference Centre, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines on September 7-9, 2009. The first APHF was held in Singapore in 2007 and was attended by 230 participants representing 28 countries.

The 2nd Asia Pacific Housing Forum promises to be a bigger event. It will look at both alternative approaches and scalable models where government, business and social organizations can work together and build on each other’s strengths to provide urban housing solutions particularly the elimination of slums.

We are fully aware of your expertise and dedication to the cause of the needy particularly the homeless poor. It is therefore our honor to cordially invite you to speak at the 2nd Asia Pacific Housing Forum on the topic “The Moladi Approach to Affordable Housing Delivery”.”

See you there…

www.moladi.net

Be PROACTIVE – YOU can make the difference

R100m for 1000 houses: South Africa: Politics: News24

2009-04-11T16:09:00.001+02:00

R100m for 1000 houses: South Africa: Politics: News24

Johannesburg - About R100m is to be spent on repairing over a thousand defective RDP houses, the Eastern Cape housing department said on Tuesday.

Spokesperson Lwandile Sicwetsha said work had resumed on fixing the defective houses in the Alfred Nzo and OR Tambo district municipalities, which were built after 1994.

Construction was stopped in 2000 because of poor workmanship and non-availability of services.

"The rectification of these housing projects costs over a hundred million rand," Sicwetsha said.

He said the money came from the R552m remaining in the department's budget for flagship projects, existing projects and new projects.

New contractor

The remaining money was also to be spent on land acquisition, emergency housing and rectification.

"A new contractor is already working on site fixing the defective houses and rebuilding completely damaged structures in Mount Alyiff, Mount Frere and Flagstaff," Sicwetsha said.

Houses damaged by storms would also be repaired and residents would be moved to a temporary shelter in cases where there was a need.

About 700 houses in Mount Alyiff, 503 in Flagstaff and 303 in Mount Frere were being rectified.

Sicwetsha said some of the houses were demolished and had to be rebuilt.

Repair work in Chris Hani, Buffalo, Cacadu and other areas in the province began last year.

- SAPA

And moladi is based in the Eastern Cape. If the DoH used us this would never have hapened!!!

UN signs deal with 6 nations to fund pro-poor housing | Home >> Other Sections >> Breaking News

2009-04-05T10:27:00.000+02:00

UN signs deal with 6 nations to fund pro-poor housing | Home >> Other Sections >> Breaking News

NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- The UN housing agency has signed six agreements with project partners from Argentina, Bangladesh, Kenya, Nepal, Tanzania and Uganda to provide funds for affordable housing and infrastructure.

Executive Director of UN-HABITAT Anna Tibaijuka said the Experimental Reimbursable Seeding Operations (ERSO) initiative operates on the basic premise of providing loans, rather than giving grants or donations, as has been the norm in the past for the UN.

The loans are provided to local financial institutions, rather than to end users, and these institutions will pass on the loans to the urban poor for house building, improvements and infrastructure upgrading.

Funded by Spain, Bahrain and the Rockefeller Foundation, the 5 million U.S. dollars under the Experimental Reimbursable Seeding Operations project will go to local banks which will in turn lend to the urban poor.

"It is designed for the poor with due diligence," Tibaijuka said in a news release received here on Friday. "UN-Habitat is partnering with banks to ensure people don't fall into poverty."

She said the scheme would provide low interest loans in local currencies to guard against foreign exchange exposure.

New housing will be built in eight slums in Nepal under the project, which is expected to help at least 6,700 people there.

"If we can help people take the first step, they will complete the process themselves," said UN-Habitat for Humanity's Nepal spokesman Aruna Paul Simittrarachchi.

As of 2008, it was estimated that more than half the world's population (3.3 billion people) lived in urban areas. Over one billion of these lived in slums and squatter settlements.

The future of cities in developing countries depends on how the problem of slum upgrading and housing is addressed.

The chair of the Committee of Permanent Representatives Jacqueline Mendoza thanked Spain, Bahrain and Rockefeller for the initiative, saying it would contribute towards availing affordable housing for the poor.

"The launch of the experimental operations marks a key step towards reviving the United Nations Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation, which was established in 1974 by the General Assembly to assist member states to mobilize resources for their shelter and infrastructure programs through technical assistance and seed capital," Tibaijuka said.

"Yet the full potential of the Foundation was never realized because the lending function was never implemented." the official added.

In Kenya the partner is Housing Finance Kenya, a finance institution with over 40 years of experience in providing construction and mortgage loans to middle and high-income market segments.

With ERSO seed capital, the bank will now lend for construction of about 100 houses near Athi River and for mortgages to members of housing cooperatives.

"The target beneficiaries of the first 100 housing units are members of a cooperative society and our engagement with UN-HABITAT has so far been very fruitful," the firm's Managing Director Frank Ireri said during the ceremony.

In Tanzania, ERSO is supporting Azania Bank to loan to Mwanza City Council so that the municipality can implement a comprehensive resettlement plan using participatory urban planning processes benefiting over 600 low-income individuals.

"UN-HABITAT has been very supportive and we promise to deliver on our side," said Charles Singli, the managing director of Azania Bank.

The DFCU Bank is being helped to set up a loan facility of approximately 1.5 million dollars for local developers and low-income households belonging to the Kasoli Housing Association.

Managing Director of DFCU Juma Kissame said, "One of our biggest challenges has been where to get the funding for low cost housing and now we are very grateful for the help we have received from UN-HABITAT."

moladi reduces the cost of construction producing quality low cost homes globally

Brazil to Spend $15.1 Bln on Anti-Crisis Housing Plan (Update2) - Bloomberg.com

2009-03-30T07:21:00.000+02:00

Brazil to Spend $15.1 Bln on Anti-Crisis Housing Plan (Update2) - Bloomberg.com

Brazil to Spend $15.1 Bln on Anti-Crisis Housing Plan

By Andre Soliani and Joshua Goodman

March 25 (Bloomberg) -- Brazil will spend 34 billion reais ($15.1 billion) to build a million homes for low-income workers as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva seeks to spark growth in a slumping economy.

Finance Minister Guido Mantega said the homebuilding drive, which depends on government-subsidized credit lines, would inject 60 billion reais into the economy and increase economic growth by 2 percentage points. The plan would also create 1.5 million new jobs, he said.

Lula is trying to spark economic growth and boost employment as companies cut output to weather the first global recession since World War II. Brazil’s economy, Latin America’s biggest, may contract by the most in at least 61 years, Morgan Stanley said in a March 16 report.

“This is an emergency response, on the one hand to the global economic crisis, and on the other to the housing problems faced by some Brazilians,” Lula said in a speech to businessmen gathered in Brasilia to hear details of the plan.

The government’s ability to jumpstart economic growth through a countercyclical fiscal stimulus is constrained by falling tax collection and a commitment to prevent debt levels from rising.

Budget Minister Paulo Bernardo said today the housing plan would cost the government 6.5 billion reais this year, spending that will be diverted from other unidentified areas.

Credit, Eligibility

Brazil’s underserved housing market was ripe for growth, Mantega told business leaders. Housing credit comprises just 2 percent of gross domestic product, compared with 10 percent Mexico and 30 percent in Spain, he added.

“There is no doubt this is a bold program which will have a significant impact in the Brazilian economy,” Mantega told business leaders. “This will be certainly one of the main anti- crisis programs the government will carry out.”

Under the program, families earning less than 1,395 reais a month will have to make only symbolic payments, as little as 50 reais per month, in exchange for home ownership. Those making less than 2,790 reais will be eligible for subsidies.

Gafisa SA and its low-income unit Construtora Tenda SA led gains among Brazilian homebuilders after the government announced its housing program for low-income families.

Tenda rose 3.4 percent to 1.85 reais at of 1:11 p.m. New York time, the biggest increase among real estate companies traded at the Sao Paulo stock exchange.

Gafisa, the country’s second-largest real estate company, rose 1.5 percent to 11.45 reais. Cyrela Brazil Realty SA Empreendimentos & Participacoes, Brazil’s largest real-estate developer, gained 1.4 percent to 8.80 reais.

Slumping Economy

Gross domestic product fell 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous three-month period, the biggest contraction on record.

Economists lowered their 2009 GDP growth forecast to 0.01 percent from 1.5 percent four weeks ago, according to the median of about 100 estimates in a weekly central bank survey. Morgan Stanley in a March 16 research report said Brazil’s GDP may shrink 4.5 percent.

The central bank has already injected about $90 billion into money and currency markets to lessen the impact of the global credit crunch.

Policy makers will probably slash the benchmark interest rate for a third consecutive time in April to a record low 10.25 percent, according to the median forecast in a central bank survey of 100 economists published March 23.

Brazil’s economy shed a record 788,336 government- registered jobs since November, according to the Labor Ministry.

The unemployment rate in the country’s six largest metropolitan areas is likely to jump in February to the highest in 18 months, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 26 economists.

The Times - You can build a house in a day

2009-03-29T08:53:00.001+02:00

The Times - You can build a house in a day

Government shows no interest in innovative and cheap solution for SA’s millions of homeless.

His first attempt at building a boundary wall ended up as a duck pond. Two decades on, Hennie Botes has perfected his building technology and is now exporting houses that can be built in a day.

The Port Elizabeth-based entrepreneur spent many late nights during the 1980s experimenting with moulds, cement and water and his perseverance has paid off.

Today he exports his housing units consisting of plastic moulds and mortar to 16 countries around the world.

“Close to 95% of our production to date has been for exporting, but that is changing,” said Botes.

He said he has yet to persuade the government to use his invention for its RDP housing programme, because there was still some reluctance in South Africa to deviate from conventional bricks and mortar structures.

The simple design requires minimal skill and has earned him several awards, including the SABS Design for Development Award. Plastic moulds are pegged together and mortar is poured in. Later the moulds are taken apart and the roof is fitted.

The entire process of building a standard 40m² house — from laying the foundation to installing plumbing and putting up the roof — takes only two weeks.

The houses cost about R1000 a square metre, which means a 40m², three-bedroom house with kitchen and toilet can be built for as little as R50000. An RDP house of between 18m² and 23m² (one bedroom and a combined lounge, kitchenette and toilet) is said to cost the government up to R53000.

“We look at the home as little boxes and then we put those boxes together,” said Botes.

It needs at least 30 people to build the house, but women can do it as easily as men — or even better. “ Women are more meticulous and conform to repetition easier than men,” said Botes.

He said his company had built about 250 units, mainly show houses, around South Africa, but that they had exported “thousands” to other countries including Mexico, India, Iraq and Nigeria.

Originally from Durban, Botes created his first invention in 1980 when his wife complained about carrying bath water for their baby.

Botes came up with a simple baby bath that hooked inside the traditional bath — and that kicked off his obsession with innovations to make life simpler.

Several other ideas followed, but the one which has paid off the most is the technology behind his houses. It began to take shape when Botes decided to build a wall around his property.

“It was difficult work to lay one brick on top of the other, and then to go and plaster that wall was an impossibility because it kept falling off,” he said.

“Then I thought there must be a different way of doing this, and that is where I started working on casting a wall. My first wall formwork didn’t work and it ended up as a duck pond.”

But he did not give up.

He had his mortar formula tested at several universities to ensure that it would withstand pressure when used in construction.

In 1991, Botes set up shop, calling his company Moladi, which means to give birth.

Earlier this month, Moladi completed a show house in Ghana, and Botes said officials there have already ordered 3000 units.

He hopes to open plants in Ghana and India within the next year.

Locally, he aims to train other entrepreneurs to use the Moladi technology so they too can go out and build more cost-effective, less labour-intensive quality houses.

“I don’t do this for the money, I do this for the love of housing people, that emotion that goes with when a person moves into a house,” he said.

“That’s emotion that money cannot buy. That granny that kissed me on the hand, a guy that hugs me. All life-changing, and that is what motivates me.”

News - Eastern Cape: Defective RDP houses to be repaired

2009-03-26T20:22:00.000+02:00

News - Eastern Cape: Defective RDP houses to be repaired

Johannesburg - About R100 million is to be spent on repairing over a thousand defective RDP houses, the Eastern Cape housing department said on Tuesday.

Spokesman Lwandile Sicwetsha said work had resumed on fixing the defective houses in the Alfred Nzo and OR Tambo district municipalities, which were built after 1994.

Construction was stopped in 2000 as a result of poor workmanship, and non-availability of services.

"The rectification of these housing projects costs over a hundred million rand," Sicwetsha said.

Budget

He said the money came from the R552 million remaining in the department's budget for flagship projects, current running projects and new projects.

The remaining money was also to be spent on land acquisition, emergency housing and rectification.

"A new contractor is already working on site fixing the defective houses and rebuilding completely damaged structures in Mount Alyiff, Mount Frere and Flagstaff," Sicwetsha said.

Other damage

Houses damaged by storms would also be repaired and residents would be moved to a temporary shelter in cases where there was a need.

About 700 houses in Mount Alyiff, 503 in Flagstaff and 303 in Mount Frere were being rectified.

Sicwetsha said some of the houses were demolished and had to be rebuilt.

Repair work in Chris Hani, Buffalo, Cacadu and other areas in the province began last year. - Sapa

You should have used moladi and saved millions of rands of tax payers in South Africa!!!

Industrialized Building Systems for Housing - The MIT Press

2009-03-25T23:29:00.000+02:00

Industrialized Building Systems for Housing - The MIT Press

The editors of this informative volume assert that "The United States today—at a time when more housing is needed than ever—does not exploit existing building technologies to the fullest. The tools are available, but the constraints are an obstacle. The latter can only be overcome by a determined, concerted effort by all elements of the building industry."

The increasing importance of industrialized building, as the demand for housing accelerates and outstrips the capacity of traditional construction methods to provide it, is highlighted by this book, whose very publication should give new impetus to the indus- trialized building trend. Based on two special summer programs held at M.I.T., it contains contributions from experts in areas ranging from urban politics to systems analysis and materials technology. It offers a strict examination of the underlying principles involved in industrialization and the types of building systems now evolving, particularly in housing. Building by such methods demands the total integration of all subsystems and components into an overall process utilizing industrialized production, transportation, and assembly techniques. The principles uncovered are applied to the development and use of specific systems and techniques both in the United States and abroad. These include monolithic systems (boxes), panels, frames, mobile homes, mechanical units and components, and such special construction techniques as the use of lift slabs and slipforms.

In addition to the developing technology, the book also examines the "morphology of systems and urbanization." Basic policies are proposed which need to be set at a national level if the supply of housing is to keep effectively abreast of local needs. An effort is made to face the problem in its totality and to suggest integrated solutions that recognize such diverse factors as the principles of design, performance standards, the effect of building codes, volume production, building modules, the problems of evaluation, the introduction of innovation, governmental policy, labor, and finally, the necessary organization for production. Examples of existing industrialized systems are discussed in relation to these factors in some detail and are illustrated with numerous photographs.

About the Editors

Albert G. H. Dietz is Professor Emeritus of Building Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

moladi Industrialized Building Systems = IBS solution for the construction of houses and homes or structures

Government considers paying low cost home developers

2009-03-16T08:33:00.000+02:00

Government considers paying low cost home developers

Government considers paying low cost home developers
KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 — The Housing and Local Government Ministry is mulling over giving subsidy to housing developers to enable them to built better quality and affordable homes in prime locations.

Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan said the move was to assist the housing industry to sustain growth amid the global economic slowdown, and also as part of the government’s obligation to provide quality homes for the people.

“This is a ‘win-win situation’ and our ultimate intention is to keep the industry active,” he told reporters after opening the Klang Valley Mapex 2009 property exhibition here today.

Ong said he had discussed the plan with the treasury and was awaiting cabinet approval.

The government would also subsidise developers who were willing to build more spacious low cost homes in strategic location and provide the area with better amenities.

Currently the price of a basic 650 square metres of low cost house is RM42,000 per unit, much lower than the estimated construction cost of about RM60,000.

Ong said the ministry would also develop a mechanism to vet applicants to ensure that only those from the hardcore poor, single parents and the handicapped would get to enjoy the facility.

Currently there are about 500,000 low cost house applicants, he said.

He said the ministry would also discuss with the treasury on the possibility of reducing stamp duties in view of the current economic slowdown.

Stamp duties for houses below RM100,000, above RM100,000 and above RM500,000 are one per cent, two per cent and three per cent respectively. — Bernama

moladi can help in reducing the cost of homes in Malaysia

Latin American Herald Tribune - Mexico to Create Two Million Temporary Construction Jobs

2009-03-16T07:34:00.000+02:00

Latin American Herald Tribune - Mexico to Create Two Million Temporary Construction Jobs

Mexico to Create Two Million Temporary Construction Jobs

MEXICO CITY – House construction promoted by the Mexican government will create 2½ million temporary jobs this year, President Felipe Calderon said at the signing of the National Housing Pact.

The chief executive said that, despite the world economic downturn, the pace of housing construction would be maintained to insure “income for millions of families.”

A total of 800,000 houses will be built or remodeled this year. The budget allocated for financing the purchase of public housing will reach 180 billion pesos ($12 billion) through different organizations.

“The world situation will not be an obstacle,” Calderon said Friday about Mexican families’ wish to become homeowners.

Special attention will also be paid to those with little money. Housing loans will be available for amounts less than 300,000 pesos (some $20,000).

Calderon said that finance brokers from the private sector have committed themselves to guaranteeing funds for at least 150,000 housing loans worth a total of some 80 billion pesos (some $5 billion).

Companies in the construction sector like the CEMEX cement company vowed to keep prices competitive and offer discounts, the president said.

The president called for an activation of the internal market and promotion of public-sector demand as a way of dealing with the economic crisis.

Government action forms part of the National Agreement on Family Economy and Employment, a stimulus plan worth billions that was forged with business and union associations and includes a freeze on gasoline and natural gas prices in 2009, housing aid, unemployment insurance and more construction.

Mexicans will be hit hardest in the first half of this year by the recession announced by Banco de Mexico, which forecast a drop in gross domestic product, or GDP, of between 0.8 percent and 1.9 percent, according to financial analysts.

The central bank predicts a big drop in employment this year with the elimination of some 340,000 jobs.
moladi in Mexico

New housing technology introduced in Ghana : Ghana Business News

2009-03-16T07:08:00.000+02:00

New housing technology introduced in Ghana : Ghana Business News: "New housing technology introduced in Ghana"

The cost of housing is set to come down by about half the present cost with the introduction of a new technology into the Ghanaian market.

The Moladi housing technology developed in South Africa about 22 years ago, uses ordinary cement and sand with an additive, Moladi Chem, which reduces the density of the mortar by creating air bubbles that make it withstand fire, earthquake, cyclone and tsunami.

The inventor of the technology, Mr Hennie Botes, told journalists at a demonstration of the technology that the concept had been proven and tested as having greater advantage over the traditional mortar and brick buildings.

He said the technology, which ensured that a house was started and completed along with roofing and fittings within a week, was also durable, and helped in reducing the cost of putting up a building by about half the cost of ordinary brick and mortar structures.

The materials can also guarantee that the house will stand for over 100 years.

Mr Botes explained that after a foundation was laid, a plastic frame was fixed as a cast and fitted with PVC pipes and switches for wiring, and imbedded with door and window frames before Moladi mortar was poured. No chippings are used.

The frames are stripped the following day to allow for fittings immediately, which the technicians said could take a maximum of three hours to complete in the case of electrical works.

In South Africa, where the technology has been tested for over 22 years, a two-bedroom house could be sold for US$7,000, the founder said.

In Ghana, a deluxe version of the same apartment could be delivered for $33,000 considering the high cost of fittings in the country.

Local partners of Moladi also added that through a mortgage plan, an average person with about GH¢400 net earnings could own a single bedroom self-contained flat built with the Maladi technology.

Mr Botes, the patent holder said in order to prevent middlemen (the contractors and mortgage finance companies) from making super normal profits, the company would sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its local partners to among other things set ceilings on margins.

Moladi Ghana and its local partners, Battis Company Ltd and others, have also held talks with financial institutions who have shown keen interest in the new technology and were ready to develop a mortgage plan for buyers.

The Chief Executive Officer of Battis Co. Ltd., local partners, Mr Frank Battanis Akiti. said they were ready to meet housing needs in any part of the country.

Moladi is widely used in Southern and Central Africa and is exported outside the continent.

Source: Daily Graphic

Daily Guide Ghana - Affordable housing units for Ghana

2009-03-16T07:02:00.001+02:00

Daily Guide Ghana - Affordable housing units for Ghana

In most cities in Ghana, low-income earners cannot afford good quality housing. They either rent usually in poor quality overcrowded dwellings or build in illegal settlements.

They cannot get conventional housing finance because their homes are in illegal settlements and they lack the income or formal documentation that housing finance agencies require.

In order to address this problem and provide affordable housing units for Ghanaians, Moladi, an international low cost housing construction company based in South Africa is gearing up to launch an affordable housing unit in Ghana. The company has successfully built housing units using the moladi plastic construction concrete framework for over two decades.

The company which arrived in the country last week said it has already conducted a number of feasibility studies on the country’s housing sector.

The company has developed a technology for producing low cost housing, mainly intended for third world countries, by a patented process of reusable plastic formwork.

The process involves creating a mould in the form of the complete house. This wall mould is then filled with an aerated form of mortar. The process is also claimed to be faster than traditional methods.

Moladi has been a pioneer in the development of alternative housing systems, since its inception in 1986, with housing projects having been built successfully in over 15 countries over the past 22 years.

The Managing Director of the company, Hennie Botes, told the media in Accra that moladi system involves the use of a removable, reusable, recyclable and lightweight plastic formwork mould to produce a durable and permanent structure, which has been subject to numerous tests and independent reports.

“As the system is not pre-fabricated off the building site or dependant on skilled labour, the use of the moladi system allows for local, unskilled labour to be employed,” he stated
Women, who have traditionally been either reluctant or discouraged from working within the male-dominated sector, are encouraged to participate in the non-labour intensive building process, Mr Botes added.

He explained further that the process involves assembling a mould the size of the designed house, with all the electrical services, plumbing and steel reinforcing located within the wall structure, which is filled with a South African Bureau of Standards approved lightweight mortar to form all the walls of the house simultaneously.

The method, he noted, eliminates the time and labour intensive work of chasing, beam filling, plastering and generates no waste.

By Felix Dela Klutse

Affordable housing units for Ghana - modernghana.com/general news

2009-03-14T08:49:00.001+02:00

Affordable housing units for Ghana - modernghana.com/general news

Mr Botes - MD of Moladi In most cities in Ghana, low-income earners cannot afford good quality housing. They either rent usually in poor quality overcrowded dwellings or build in illegal settlements.

They cannot get conventional housing finance because their homes are in illegal settlements and they lack the income or formal documentation that housing finance agencies require.

In order to address this problem and provide affordable housing units for Ghanaians, Moladi, an international low cost housing construction company based in South Africa is gearing up to launch an affordable housing unit in Ghana. The company has successfully built housing units using the moladi plastic construction concrete framework for over two decades.

The company which arrived in the country last week said it has already conducted a number of feasibility studies on the country's housing sector.

The company has developed a technology for producing low cost housing, mainly intended for third world countries, by a patented process of reusable plastic formwork.

The process involves creating a mould in the form of the complete house. This wall mould is then filled with an aerated form of mortar. The process is also claimed to be faster than traditional methods.

Moladi has been a pioneer in the development of alternative housing systems, since its inception in 1986, with housing projects having been built successfully in over 15 countries over the past 22 years.

The Managing Director of the company, Hennie Botes, told the media in Accra that moladi system involves the use of a removable, reusable, recyclable and lightweight plastic formwork mould to produce a durable and permanent structure, which has been subject to numerous tests and independent reports.

“As the system is not pre-fabricated off the building site or dependant on skilled labour, the use of the moladi system allows for local, unskilled labour to be employed,” he stated

Women, who have traditionally been either reluctant or discouraged from working within the male-dominated sector, are encouraged to participate in the non-labour intensive building process, Mr Botes added.

He explained further that the process involves assembling a mould the size of the designed house, with all the electrical services, plumbing and steel reinforcing located within the wall structure, which is filled with a South African Bureau of Standards approved lightweight mortar to form all the walls of the house simultaneously.

The method, he noted, eliminates the time and labour intensive work of chasing, beam filling, plastering and generates no waste.

By Felix Dela Klutse

Corrupt South Africa

2009-03-09T23:33:00.001+02:00

Corrupt South Africa!!!!!!!!

A dog bite dog world - bite or get bitten? Better to bite!