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Award-winning house system snubbed locally

2009/12/02
Shaanaaz de Jager WEEKEND POST REPORTER

AN EASTERN Cape company has won a top African

award for its super-fast house-building system and
has just signed a deal with India. But its chief
executive says despite exports to several
developing countries, the provincial government
has yet to recognise the value of this innovative
system. Online Now
News
Moladi chief executive Hennie Botes said the
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Botes said he was eventually paid, almost a year Sport
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In the meantime he has won the Data Bank building Successful HIV testing programme hailed
competition in Accra, Ghana. He said competing Absa earnings sharply down
companies – two from South Africa (Moladi and Hydraform in Gauteng) and one from Australia Clean sweep for Standard
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Botes said they were launching Moladi nationally in January next year, including a new design for
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a free-standing three-bedroom, two-bathroom unit for between R2500 and R3000 per m². Blue Eyes
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“In Ghana we built a 54m² two-bedroom house and this was launched to government officials. Your out-on-the-town highlights
There we had to de-skill the construction process and use as much local material as possible,” Opinion & Letters
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A team from his company spent two weeks in Accra to train workers there, said Botes.
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Moladi won a contract to construct 100 units for the Ghanaian market funded by Data Bank.
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Botes has also exported the Moladi technology to developing countries like Panama, Mexico, Service Careers DoE
Angola, Botswana, Brazil and Kenya. Accredited,
Respected in Gov.
www.regenesys.co.za/r
Once the moulds, which are sold to contractors, are erected on the site, mortar – a mixture of
sand, moladiCHEM (a non-toxic, water-based chemical cocktail) and water – is used to fill the
wall cavities of the moulds. Once dry the moulds are removed, leaving behind a solid concrete
structure.

With recent headlines of shoddy workmanship on low-cost houses in the province – several
thousand in the Bay – and Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale calling for the houses to
be demolished and rebuilt, Botes believes his product is an answer to the growing need for low-
cost housing.

“The conventional builder can hardly cope with the growth of the housing market. When there is
a natural disaster people don’t just want a house – they look for superior building,” Botes said.

He was invited in mid-September to present his product to the technical committee of the
national Department of Human Settlements. “We have had no feedback yet.”

Eastern Cape Human Settlements department spokesman Lwandile Sicwetsha said the “national
office” addressed housing problems in all provinces but advised Botes to see the provincial
department and present “how his technology can improve the situation and where it is currently
working”.

“He can even go to the local municipality and show them his product,” Sicwetsha said.

http://www.theherald.co.za/business/article.aspx?id=503649 2009/12/08
The Herald Online Page 2 of 2

Botes said: “We want to supply all the products to build cost-effective houses. Included are the
window and door frame and toilet fittings. Moladi is quite capable of building multi-storey
houses.”

Regardless of his product not being recognised on the Eastern Cape housing scene he is forging
ahead and is in the process of setting up a plant in Mumbai, India.

Indian-based property company Karle Group partner Sudarshan Karle was at Moladi this week to
put in an order for the product. Karle said there was a demand for more than 100-million houses
in India.

“In India we have 1,2 billion people and about 60% of them will never own a house. Nobody is
offering a product for the lower middle-class families. For nearly two years we did market
research on how to develop low-cost housing and eventually zeroed in on Moladi,” Karle said.

The first Moladi house was built in 1987. Next year Moladi will launch a concrete roof made of
the same formwork.

“The need for low-cost affordable homes is a global demand,” Botes said.

A recent South African contract includes building a 40m² showhouse in Diepsloot, north of
Johannesburg. The project will include 1000 houses to be built early next year. Other future
plans include starting a Moladi College.

Moladi has received numerous other accolades, including the 2006 national Absa/NHBRC
Innovation Competition Housing Innovation Award, the 1997 SABS Design for Development
Award, 1991 PRW awards for excellence and this year’s Science and Technology man of the year
Men’s Health award.

“Our vision is to become a global one-stop housing shop.”

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All comments are moderated and will be posted only if they are about the subject and are not
abusive, vulgar and/or discriminatory

By: moladi On: 2009/11/29 05:47:37 PM Report Abuse

moladi home page www.moladi.net

By: moladi On: 2009/12/01 08:08:07 AM Report Abuse

For more information visit - www.moladi.net

By: sizwe On: 2009/12/01 03:58:15 PM Report Abuse

This is brilliant , I am a Business developer in the Western

Cape , how can I explore this for my business with you
guys.... william.bennett2@gmail.com : keep in touch
By: moladi On: 2009/12/02 11:27:29 PM Report Abuse

Thank you William You can send your enquiry to mail(at)

moladi.com or visit www.moladi.net for more information

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http://www.theherald.co.za/business/article.aspx?id=503649 2009/12/08