State-issued houses, better known as RDPs, are often not enough to meet the needs of the recipients.
It is for this reason that many of these houses are up-scaled into comfortable homes as soon as it become financially possible to do so by the owners.
One such owner is David Zim, who took 10 years to upgrade his RDP house in Zamdela township, Sasolburg. Zim took that very long to improve his house because he worked on a big and unique project for which he did not have enough resources, save his strong determination.
His double-story home, which has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a dining area, lounge and kitchen, is an eye-catching structure that rises above other houses in the RDP settlement in the northern Free State mining town.
What makes it unique is its shiny timber logs, comfy balcony and an impressive thatched roof which Zim says cost him R80,000.
"I started building my log house with my bare hands without any previous experience in woodwork whatsoever," he said. "It was not easy. I spent R80,000 on the thatch roof alone, working slowly as I have a full-time job."
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He said the house has cost him R200,000 so far. He is also an arty person, which shows in the design and decoration of the house.
Zim, who was born in Walkerville, south of Johannesburg, also revealed that he had no formal plan for the structure as he built it from his imagination which he had since childhood.
He said from 1996 to 1998 he studied business studies but dropped out due to lack of funds. In 2003, Zim started working for a big chemical company in Sasolburg but under a labour broker.
"All was going well until in 2015 when the government insisted that all employees who have been working in a company under the labour broker for more than three months must be deemed permanent employees. But in this company that never happened. Instead, I was transferred to a service provider where my salary was drastically reduced."
Zim said because he relied on his income to build his dream home, his efforts were badly impacted by the salary reduction. And for that reason, the house is still not complete despite its impressive look.
"I still need to craft the wooden floors and install folding doors to complete it," Zim concluded.
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