Minister Thembi Simelane is leading South Africa’s home building sector with a bold vision for change. She pushes for fairness by including women, youth, and people with disabilities, while making sure homes are safe and built well. After a tragic building collapse, she acted quickly to hold people accountable and rebuild trust. Her goal is clear: create homes that give everyone dignity and build a future where all South Africans can thrive.
Minister Thembi Simelane leads South Africa’s home building sector by promoting inclusivity, accountability, and quality. She urges the NHBRC to support women, youth, and people with disabilities, enforce strict building standards, and manage risks to ensure safe, equitable, and sustainable housing development nationwide.
August carries deep meaning in South Africa. For decades, the month has honored the spirit of women’s resistance and the push for social transformation. In 1956, four courageous leaders – Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa, and Sophia Williams-DeBruyn – rallied 20,000 women to the Union Buildings, protesting discriminatory laws and demanding dignity. Today, every initiative that broadens opportunity for women builds on their legacy.
Against this backdrop, Minister Thembi Simelane convened an important gathering at the Marriot Hotel in Midrand. She addressed the Strategic Planning Session of the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC), an event tinged with both optimism and urgency. Builders, policymakers, and industry insiders listened closely as she called for progress beyond regulations, urging the Council to champion transformation across South Africa’s homebuilding landscape.
The Minister’s message resonated with the month’s historical significance. She challenged the NHBRC to drive genuine change by opening doors for women, young professionals, and people with disabilities. She insisted that these groups must not stand on the margins of the construction industry but should play active, leading roles in shaping the sector. This vision, rooted in the struggle for equality, still guides modern policy.
Created by the Housing Consumers Protection Measures Act in 1998, the NHBRC began with a clear mission: safeguard housing consumers from poor construction and enforce high technical standards. The Council’s formation marked a turning point, establishing an entity that could oversee builder registration, regulate industry behavior, and investigate structural failures.
Inside the Council’s offices, teams of inspectors, engineers, and legal experts collaborate to protect South African homeowners. Their work goes far beyond paperwork. Every inspection and technical review helps ensure that families receive safe, durable housing. Their efforts reflect a global movement in housing regulation, where agencies now blend strict compliance with active consumer protection.
Over the years, the NHBRC’s duties have broadened. The Council monitors builder compliance, resolves disputes, and provides specialized engineering support. Its work has grown more complex as the industry evolves and as South Africa’s housing needs change. Maintaining rigorous oversight while balancing industry growth and social priorities remains a daily challenge.
The NHBRC now prioritizes not only technical excellence but also inclusivity. By developing training programs for underrepresented groups and refining standards for builders, the Council demonstrates its role as both regulator and reformer. Its efforts embody a commitment to quality, safety, and fairness – a balancing act that keeps the South African housing sector moving forward.
Despite strong systems, the sector faces real dangers. In May 2024, a catastrophic building collapse in George shocked the nation. The incident killed 34 people and left many others injured. Television images showed rescue workers combing through rubble and anxious families hoping for good news. For many, this disaster recalled earlier tragedies and reinforced the importance of constant vigilance in construction.
Minister Simelane responded swiftly and decisively. The NHBRC immediately launched a thorough investigation. Their findings revealed serious lapses – not only at the construction site but within the Council itself. As a result, several officials faced suspension for negligence and dishonesty.
The Minister made it clear that transparency and accountability must guide the Council’s next steps. She demanded that discipline remain strict and impartial, without interference or favoritism. In a country that has struggled with public sector corruption, her determination set a firm example. By holding leaders accountable, the NHBRC could begin to restore public trust shaken by tragedy.
For Simelane, responsible governance means more than punishing wrongdoing. It involves rebuilding confidence in state institutions and keeping promises to citizens. She stressed that only by acting with integrity could the Council live up to its mission and serve the needs of every South African family.
Annual reports from the NHBRC highlight both progress and persistent obstacles. In the 2022/23 financial year, the Council achieved 89% of its performance goals. The following year, it reached 79%. Early results for 2024/25 show improvement, with 85% of targets met. These figures signal progress, but they do not tell the whole story.
The Council’s End Term Report on the 2020–2025 Strategic Plan illustrates significant achievements. More than 42,000 homebuilders and technical staff completed specialized training, far surpassing the original goal of 32,000. The Council also resolved all structural defect disputes within a tight 90-day window, setting a new standard for efficiency in South African regulation.
However, the NHBRC fell short in other areas. The Council completed just over 207,000 home inspections, well below the 575,000 planned. Industry slowdowns caused by pandemic disruptions and supply chain issues contributed to this gap. These struggles reflect broader trends in the global construction sector, where economic uncertainty and labor shortages have become widespread challenges.
Financially, the Council maintained an unqualified audit status, but minor gaps in internal controls remain. The NHBRC recognizes that transparency and efficiency must improve further. To address public concerns, the Council expanded digital communication platforms and worked to streamline builder registration and disciplinary hearings. Though these efforts have raised awareness, public satisfaction remains below the desired 80% threshold, highlighting the need for better engagement and responsiveness.
Minister Simelane emphasized the NHBRC’s central role in South Africa’s 2024–2029 Medium Term Development Plan. She outlined objectives that reach beyond technical compliance: address poverty, foster sustainable neighborhoods, and correct historical patterns of exclusion in housing. The Council’s work, from technical validation of projects to the enrollment of social housing, supports these broader development goals.
True transformation, the Minister argued, requires targeted policies. The Council favors procurement that benefits women, youth, and people with disabilities, and its training initiatives reach into communities that have long stood outside the mainstream economy. Through these strategies, the NHBRC links construction to social justice, helping to build not just homes but a more equitable society.
Risk management stands at the heart of this vision. Simelane urged the Council to create robust risk registers and embed risk management in every planning process. By doing so, the NHBRC can anticipate challenges, strengthen governance, and deliver better results. Linking risk assessments to performance monitoring will enable the Council’s leadership to respond quickly and effectively to new developments.
Minister Simelane’s address linked past and present, drawing strength from South Africa’s history of activism and persistence. She reminded the audience that the struggle for quality, safe, and dignified housing mirrors the nation’s ongoing journey toward equality and justice.
The NHBRC now stands at a crossroads. Its leaders must honor the sacrifices of earlier generations by deepening reform, ensuring accountability, and embedding transformation in every aspect of their work. As South Africa continues to face new challenges, the Council’s commitment to integrity, innovation, and inclusion will determine the future of its homebuilding sector. The work ahead remains difficult, but with shared purpose and strong leadership, the NHBRC can help shape a more hopeful and equitable nation – one home at a time.
Minister Thembi Simelane envisions a home building sector that is inclusive, fair, and accountable. She emphasizes the importance of involving women, youth, and people with disabilities as active participants and leaders in the construction industry. Her goal is to ensure that homes are built safely, with high quality, and provide dignity to all South Africans, fostering a future where everyone can thrive.
The NHBRC plays a critical role by regulating the home building industry, enforcing strict technical standards, registering builders, and protecting housing consumers. Under Minister Simelane’s leadership, the NHBRC has expanded its focus to include inclusivity initiatives, such as training programs for underrepresented groups, and embedding social justice in its policies. The Council also manages risks and investigates structural failures to uphold safety and quality across the sector.
Following the catastrophic collapse that claimed 34 lives, Minister Simelane acted swiftly to demand a thorough investigation by the NHBRC. The probe uncovered negligence and dishonesty both on-site and within the Council. Several officials were suspended, and the Minister emphasized transparency, strict discipline, and zero tolerance for corruption to restore public trust and ensure accountability within the housing sector.
Recent NHBRC reports show significant achievements: 89% of performance goals met in 2022/23 and 85% in early 2024/25, with over 42,000 homebuilders trained – surpassing targets. However, challenges like fewer home inspections than planned (207,000 vs. 575,000) due to pandemic-related slowdowns and supply chain issues remain. Additionally, public satisfaction with NHBRC services is below the desired 80%, signaling ongoing needs for better communication and efficiency.
Minister Simelane links housing to broader social goals by promoting policies that address historical inequalities and poverty. Through the NHBRC’s focus on procurement benefiting marginalized groups and community-focused training, the sector advances social justice. This approach aims to not only build houses but foster equitable, sustainable neighborhoods that reflect South Africa’s commitment to inclusion and dignity for all citizens.
Risk management is central to the NHBRC’s strategic plan under Minister Simelane’s guidance. The Council is building robust risk registers and integrating risk assessment into all planning processes. This proactive approach helps anticipate challenges, improve governance, and ensure swift responses to industry developments. By linking risk management directly to performance monitoring, the NHBRC aims to deliver safer, higher-quality housing outcomes consistently.
If you want to learn more about ongoing initiatives and updates from Minister Simelane or the NHBRC, visiting their official websites and recent reports is recommended.
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