21 Aug 2013

The rapid growth of Francistown continues to positively influence the city’s economy as the resurgence of activities particularly in the mining industry breathes new life into sectors like property, land and housing.

The demand for retail space and accommodation in the city and nearby villages has grown significantly to the extent that the outlook demand for accommodation poses a challenge that might impact negatively on the growth of the city. An ever-growing housing market has created a need for bricks and the demand is completely suffocating the supply.

 In a city where new housing stands are sprouting daily, the demand for building bricks has gone beyond one’s expectations.

However, amidst every challenge, comes an opportunity for success, and with the demand for building bricks posing a challenge, the communities of Tsamaya, Jacklas 2, Siviya, Mabuzane, Mowana and Themashanga have formed the Tsamaya Poverty Eradication Housing Project to exploit the growth of Francistown.

In Tsamaya, some few kilometers from Francistown along the Francistown-Ramokgwebana road, men and women in overalls are seen going back and forth mixing cement and sand to make bricks.

Established in 2008 as a brain child of the Ministry of Lands and Housing, the project aims not only at providing quality bricks to the escalating housing market, but also has one eye on creating employment opportunities for the locals, as well as creating shelter for the needy who are employees of the project.

“Initially, the project employed 28 beneficiaries all coming from the six villages surrounding Francistown, to empower the locals while at the same time motivating them to build their own decent houses.

Part of the project policy is to reward the employees with ten percent of their daily production which shall be geared towards building their own houses,” explains the Project supervisor, Ms Natsane Toitoi.

The eligibility of the project beneficiaries, she says is determined by a detailed assessment by the Social and Community Development Officers and preference is given to the unemployed poverty stricken able bodied individuals.

Upon their identification, beneficiaries are enrolled for a two week course on brick moulding at Senyawe Brigade to equip them with the necessary skills. Not everything was rosy at the beginning as some beneficiaries opted to drop out of the project due to their personal grievances, but that did not deter the 22 remaining beneficiaries to continue with the success story of the project.

Ms Toitoi states that on average they produce 600 stock bricks, 630 blocks (41/2’) and 540 six inch sized bricks, and ten percent of that production is shared amongst the employees.

The project she says has a lucrative market as they supply SHHA projects in the region with bricks, adding that the booming of the housing market in Francistown has also created a high demand for their products. Apart from the ten percent production daily share, beneficiaries are also paid monthly wages from the sales of the bricks. The Tsamaya project which mostly comprises women has so far provided a decent shelter to ten of its beneficiaries who have each managed to build themselves five bedroomed houses from their ten percent share of daily production, while others are still on the waiting list.

“We have a designated qualified builder who rotates among beneficiaries to build for those who have already accumulated the required number of bricks for their desired houses and they only have to pay for the building materials since the builder is also part of the project.”

According to one of the beneficiaries, Ms Kedisaletse Themba from Siviya, the project has completely transformed her life.  She states that she has been fully dependent on food baskets for her survival ever since, but has however managed to be self-dependent since she joined the in project.

Sitting in the veranda of her newly built five-roomed house, Ms Themba points at a partly thatched one room mud house that she says she used to share with her two children.  “We used to live in dreadful conditions with no dignity and I am thankful of how the project has benefitted me and other members of the community.” 

With all the brick moulding experience gained while being part of the project, she is aiming at expanding her horizons to establish her own brick moulding business one day and also have an impact on other people’s life. ENDS