Portfolio Committee Human Settlements Committee Programme for Third and Fourth Terms

Meeting report

Opening Remarks by the Chairperson
The Chairperson opened the meeting by reporting that the scheduled report back by the Department of Human Settlements on various recommendations made by the Committee had been postponed. The reports which had to be delivered were: Oversight Report on Harry Gwala Informal settlement; Report on the North-West Housing Cooperatives and the Report on the Scottsdene Self-help Projects. The Department had requested the postponement due to capacity constraints and other challenges. The new Director General had just been appointed and was in the process of being oriented by the Minister. She noted that the Chief Financial officer of the Department had also recently resigned.

 

In the absence of the expected reports, the agenda of the meeting was restricted to two items, namely the tabling of outstanding minutes as well as the Committee’s programme for consideration.

Ms M Borman (ANC) noted that a lot of the problems on the ground had to do with housing. The Committee would not reach its many commitments and objectives if the Department was not ready when expected. The Department’s non-performance had a negative effect on the Committee's ability to move from the planning stage and focus on delivery. She noted that there had been a number of staff losses from the Department recently and that the Committee would have to keep a watchful eye over what was happening there. The failure of the Department to attend the meeting must be recorded and taken up with the Ministry.

The Chairperson agreed with the concerns raised by Ms Borman. In addition, she expressed concern that pressure was being placed on parliamentary staff (by the public) if their issues were not being addressed by the Department. The Committee Secretary had recently been contacted by a group from Gauteng who had been dissatisfied with the lack of response from the Department and she had also been approached. She would request a strategic planning session with the Director-General so that the Committee could unpack their frustrations about the present state of the Department.

Adoption of Outstanding Minutes
The Chairperson tabled the minutes of 14 and 15 April 2010 for consideration.

 

Both minutes were adopted with minor amendments.

Programme for the Third and Fourth Term
The Chairperson briefed the Committee on the proposed programme starting with the two weeks study tour to China scheduled from 19 July to 06 August 2010. China had previously been recommended as it provided the opportunity to learn about the identified objectives such as rural-urban migration, inclusionary policies and rural sanitation. The necessary research had been concluded by the Parliamentary Research Unit and a research document was available. She would arrange for Members to receive the document by the end of the day.

Other countries being considered in terms of their success regarding cooperative movement included Sweden and Singapore. The Chairperson cautioned that the trip had to be cost effective to get the necessary approval and that countries on the same route as China should be considered. She would engage the Research Unit to finalise the investigation before submitting it for approval.

A workshop was scheduled for 18 August on two matters, namely the Sectional Title Bill and the Ombudsman Bill which was necessary before the Bills were introduced to Parliament.
There would be briefings on the issue of the Special Investigations Unit in August and on informal settlements in September and the Guarantee Fund would also be under consideration in August. The annual report of the Department of was scheduled for October and in November there would be briefings on Legislative Regulations, the Memorandum of understandings, progress made on the ratification programme and the Medium term Budget Policy Statement.

Discussion
Ms Borman commended the Chairperson for working so hard on the programme. In addition, she sought clarity on whether the dates for the study tour had been approved as she had been under the impression that it would take place later in the year. Finally, she expressed concern about whether the Committee would have sufficient space to do its work, highlighting that the workshop on the Money Bill was another constraint on the Committee's time.

The Chairperson replied that the dates for the study tour had been confirmed and that she was confident that the Committee would cope. The parliamentary recess period would allow the Committee to accomodate its workload.

Mr J Matshoba (ANC) wanted clarity on the organisation listed as COPE with which there was a Memorandum of understanding. Did it refer to the political party COPE?

The Chairperson replied that this was a common question. This COPE referred to a cooperative housing organisation based in Gauteng and should not be confused with the political party.

Mr M Mdakane (ANC) commended the Chairperson on her hard work and felt that it was a good programme for the Committee to adopt. He noted that local government would put pressure on the Committee to deliver and that he was concerned whether Parliament had the resources to meet their expectations. Capacity building over the five year period was essential. He approved of the study tour but suggested that India should be added as a possible destination as it had achieved good results in housing delivery under similar conditions faced by South Africa.

Mr R Bhoola (MF) shared the previous speaker’s appreciation of the programme proposed by the Chairperson. He concurred with Mr Mdakane that the Committee could learn much from India. He noted that it was an elaborate programme and that the committee should not fast track processes because they were dealing with issues of great complexity.

The programme was duly adopted and the meeting was adjourned.