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HARDWARE SOLUTIONS LAUNCHES â€˜HOUSE IN A BOXâ€™ INITIATIVE

By Hlengiwe Ndlovu | 2018-05-16

BUILDING a house or home is arguably expensive and sometimes a far-fetched reality, not only for low income earners at Eswatini but even for those who receive modest pay.

While bank loans and finances obtained from savings and credit cooperatives have saved the day for many, building a home with borrowed finances still does not augur well for most people.

As a result, Sidvokodvo based Hardware Solutions, a subsidiary of Nkonyeni Pre Cast which is one of Eswatini’s leading blocks, cobbles, pavers and roof tiles manufacturers, has come up with a savings initiative known as ‘House in a Box’ to enable the average Swazi to own their own home, or better still, construct a modest house for their parents without the fright of owing a bank. Hardware Solutions is based at Baraka Lifestyle Centre at Sidvokodvo.

This initiative gives everyone, even low income earners, the opportunity to save for their own house at their own pace. Explaining how ‘House in a Box’ works, Nkonyeni Pre Cast Marketing and PR Manager Awalandwe Dlamini explained that this initiative enables the average Swazi to save from as little as E1 350 per month with Hardware Solutions for a period of five years to build their own home.

Savings accrued from ‘House in a Box’ are not at any point converted to cash payments as this initiative is strictly for the supply of building material. This initiative presents the opportunity for future home-owners to choose between three fixed house plans which are a bedsitter, one-bedroom and two bedroomed house to be eventually built through the savings with Hardware Solutions.

To sign-up for ‘House in a Box,’ potential home-owners are required to register their details with Hardware Solutions as well as provide proof of income. Thereafter, Hardware Solutions conducts a short vetting process which determines whether the particular individual is in a proper financial position to save the intended amount of money. Once vetting is concluded, the customer is furnished with a contract which contains all the terms and conditions. Dlamini explained that ‘House in a Box’ is solely a home construction initiative such that strictly no refunds are permitted for any customer unless in the event of the account holder’s sudden death.

She explained that even in that case, the savings are transferred to the account holder’s estate to ensure that only suitable beneficiaries benefit from the deceased’s savings. ‘House in a Box’ caters for both title deed land owners and those who intend to build on Swazi Nation Land as long as the land rightfully belongs to them. Hardware Solutions promises to release the first batch of building material after 12 months of initial savings.

Thereafter, material is released bi-annually to enable home owners to start building before the five years elapse. Dlamini emphasised that ‘House in a Box’ is especially unique because this initiative is not a loan, but a savings plan for building a home.

This initiative is also open to people who do not own land at the moment but have plans for building a home in future.

“House in a Box’ is very flexible. We want to assure everyone that Hardware Solutions will make sure savings go to building”. In the meantime, Dlamini encouraged aspiring home owners to ensure that they get reputable construction people to build their house as ‘House in a Box’ does not cater for the building expenses. Nkonyeni Pre Cast, Hardware Solution’s mother company, is renowned for ensuring all products adhere to SABS standards. SABS is the South African Bureau of Standards.

Signing up for House in a Box entails the following:

Fill in an application form
Attach copy of ID
Provide proof of income
Undergo vetting process
Sign contract.

...Solutions ensures ‘House in a Box’ is properly managed

TO ensure proper management of ‘House in a Box,’ Hardware Solutions has dedicated a specific person whose focus will be on this initiative.

The dedicated staff member will work with individual customers as well as handle enquiries and follow-ups. Apart from dedicated personnel, a dedicated phone number 7802 9594 has been set up specifically for this initiative. Nkonyeni Pre Cast Marketing and PR Manager Awalandwe Dlamini encouraged all people to sign-up for this opportunity which presents a refreshing opportunity from building your home through a loan and saving up instead.

She said both young and old are welcome to save with ‘House in a Box’ as long as one is above 18 years. Property developers and those who aspire to venture into this business are also encouraged to utilise the ‘House in a Box’ initiative because it already comes with quality, approved house plans done by qualified personnel. Those interested in signing up for ‘House in a Box’ can also visit the Hardware Solutions website www.hs.co.sz and send an email to hib@hs.co.sz to get an application form which also contains the terms and conditions.

More building material savings initiatives in the pipeline

OWNING a home should soon not be a distant dream as Nkonyeni Pre Cast and Hardware Solutions are working on two other initiatives which enable those who want to build their own homes an opportunity to choose how much they want to save for building material monthly.

The Nkonyeni Pre Cast initiative is known as ‘kancane kancane yakha nawe’ and will enable people to save for building blocks, roof tiles, cobbles and pavers. Save a block/ kancane kancane yakha nawe is an NPC concept that aims at lower income earners, who may not be able to save for house in a box. “If you’re one of the people who thought that to build a house you need to be rich, you need to open your eyes because people will soon be building their homes with our quality products at their own pace and financial capacity,” Dlamini advised.

Yakha nawe is open to Swazi citizens and savings start from as little as E200. The beauty of this scheme is that you get the blocks at the same price as the rate at which you opened your account. You do not have to worry about prices going up. The Hardware Solutions savings scheme, on the other hand, enables people to save for building material such as wiring and plumbing material, paint, ceilings, doors, window frames and door frames.

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