NHBRC is a bureaucratic nightmare

In November 2007 I submitted the relevant documents to enrol my house with the NHBRC (National Home Builders Registration Council). With these submissions I paid them R7,500 by bank transfer. I was told at this time that I should have my certificate in a couple of days. It is now more than 3 months later and I still don’t have my enrolment certificate. If the certificate was just a piece of paper I wouldn’t have cared, BUT by law you need this certificate before you can gain any access to finance. Until now we have been building with our own money, but to have the finishing Lené wants 🙂 we have to get some finance.

After phoning the NHBRC every day for the last 2 weeks I have finally been given a name of Mario Scheepers – he is supposed to be the guy to authorise the issuing of certificates. After having spoken to Mario I was more upbeat because he sounded like he would make things happen. But I have been led down the garden path again. Every time I speak to Mario Scheepers he promises action and to phone me back in just a while. Turns out Mario Scheepers is as pathetic as the rest of the NHBRC – he just makes promises and promises but nothing seems to happen; he doesn’t even bother to phone me back.

And this is not an isolated incident. Many other builders I have spoken to have the same issue. I am really concerned as I don’t know what to do next.

Unfortunately this is the banana republic that South-Africa has become. All the government’s bureaucratic institutions (the liquor board, the NHBRC, Health Care etc) are becoming non-functional black holes where money just disappears into. If it weren’t so serious I would be laughing right now.

Update: I eventually had to get my attorney to sue them before they issued my certificate. I heard afterwards from other builders that the NHBRC use this tactic to try and solicit bribes.