Introduction The ongoing conflict in the Middle East—particularly involving Iran and key global powers—has rapidly evolved into one of the most disruptive geopolitical events in recent decades. While the immediate impacts are being felt in oil markets and global trade routes, the ripple effects extend far beyond the region itself. For a country like South…
Eskom’s Bad Assessments to Blame For Load Shedding Loadshedding – The latest News Eskom to push ahead with maintenance despite load-shedding The utility says load-shedding is unacceptable but maintenance must continue 15 March 2021 – 14:44 Lisa Steyn Eskom will not compromise on its long-term maintenance efforts, despite the heightened risk of load-shedding, which has…
Picture above from MorgueFile By Alvimann What is a Contractors All Risk Insurance policy? Contractors All Risk Insurance is a policy that insures the principal/employer and covers the contract works undertaken by the contractor and subcontractors. CivilSure offers 2 types of Contractors All Risk Insurance policies: 1. Contractors All Risk Once Off This Contractors Insurance…
The NHBRC CAN Send You to Jail. If you are in the home building industry then this is a must read. Here are some important things you and housing consumers should take into consideration regarding the NHBRC and how it will affect your home building process. The National Home Builders Registration Council is a government…
New Electric Fence Legislation Sends Shock Waves throughout South Africa Penny Swift When the regulations regarding an electric fence were changed in 2011, nobody paid much attention. But now that the authorities are enforcing the regulations, people are totally shocked and all fired up. Yesterday a homeowner living in a “wealthy” Pretoria suburb was interviewed…
By PENNY SWIFT Building Not According to Approved Plans The City of Cape Town recently ordered builders to halt the construction of a Gordon’s Bay house because the project did not comply with the National Building Regulations (NBR) and is a non-compliant site. In fact, work has been stopped several times, and only after repeated…
Councils Must be Ruthless with Restricting Occupation of Unsafe Buildings I think it must be terrifying to be woken at 04:00 in the morning by a thunderclap that makes the whole building shudder. Then, in a confused state, you realise your bed’s still shaking and, no, it wasn’t thunder, it was the building falling down….
City of Cape Town Planning Departments Now Accept Plans On a Memory Stick After at least two years of development, the City of Cape Town has implemented and introduced its new DAMS (Development Application Management System). This new Development Application Management System allows all new development applications to be made and processed through the new DAMS and…
The Photograph above: By Valenciano – Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29802079 Engineers Design Buildings for a Purpose Engineers around the world will design a structure based on the brief given to them by a developer. The basis for any good design is to have a structure that is “fit for purpose” for which it is…
Is Flood Damage an “Act of God”or a Result of Bad Planningand Shoddy Construction? Pic above: The flooded N2 just outside Somerset West was a veritable river on the evening of 15 November 2013. By Penny Swift, November 16, 2013 As much of the greater Cape Town area and other parts of the Western Cape…
Rapid Urban Decay in Jozi Blamed on Illegal Building The City of Johannesburg has lost control of town-planning infringements, according to an article published in The Star newspaper at the beginning of February 2013. It seems they simply can’t stop them from happening. The Accusations In the article, Ros Greeff, the City’s member of the…
Dozens of Residents Die When Building Collapses January 20, 2012: A badly maintained apartment block which was home to some 50 people, collapsed like a pack of cards in Beirut this week, killing at least 25 people. A teenage girl and her grandmother, an elderly man (73), and several labourers from Sudan, Egypt, Jordan and…
