Sanitation Programme progress and Beneficiary List Management update: briefing by Department of Human Settlements

Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation

10 August 2010
Chairperson: Ms B Dambuza (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

The Chief Director: National Sanitation Programme of the Department of Human Settlements briefed the Committee on the strategic objective, the background, definition and the focus areas of the National Sanitation Programme.  The briefing included an organogram of the Department as well as the current and ideal regional structure envisaged.  The funding challenges were outlined and details of the funds transferred from the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs to thel Department of Human Settlements were provided.

The National Sanitation Programme was substantially under-funded under the current Medium Term Expenditure Framework.  The Department required a subsidised vehicle system as well.

The Head of Administration Systems of the Department of Human Settlements briefed the Committee on the administration systems and the processes that were put in place to control the problem of “double subsidisation”.  The briefing included the background to and the objectives of the administration systems, information on the National Housing Needs Register and the progress made in the various phases of implementation by each of the nine provinces.

Members of the Committee conceded that the sanitation programme was recently introduced and that the Department should be given an opportunity to deliver results.  Members were concerned over the potential for fraud and corruption in the administration systems developed by the Department.  Members commented on the poor quality of and inadequacy of the toilets provided in many rural and urban areas.  Members queried the need for Departmental officials to operate from hotels rather than provincial or local government offices.

Meeting report

Briefing by the Department of Human Settlements on the National Sanitation Programme
Ms Tamie Mpotulo, Chief Director: National Sanitation Programme, Department of Human Settlements (DHS) presented the briefing to the Committee (see attached document).

The briefing covered the background, definition and strategic objectives of the National Sanitation Programme.  An organogram of the Department, the regional structure of the programme and the ideal regional structure were included.

She highlighted funding challenges and tabled a breakdown of the funds that had been transferred from the National Department of Water and Environmental Affairs (DWA) to the National Department of Human Settlements (DHS).

The National Sanitation Progamme Unit (NSPU) was established in 2002.  In May 2009, the President announced that the responsibility for the provision of sanitation services would be transferred from the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) to the DHS. The strategic objectives of the National Sanitation Programme were to ensure the provision of universal access to sustainable sanitation services, the promotion of effective sanitation practice, hygiene and the improvement of livelihoods.

The transfer of responsibility to the DHS had taken ten months.  Delays in the process had resulted in serious challenges for the National Sanitation Programme as neither of the two Departments wanted to take responsibility for the programme during the transfer period.

The focus areas included gaining the support of municipalities for the delivery of sanitation services to households as well as job creation through sanitation delivery.  The DHS was concentrating on the implementation of the Health and Hygiene programme and developing intra- and inter-departmental coordination.  Other special programmes concerned the eradication of the bucket system.  Special programmes were being implemented for farm dwellers and informal settlements.  The DHS had also been implementing on behalf of other sector departments such as the Departments of Education and Health in schools and clinics.

An organogram of the Department and the current regional structure were included in the presentation.  Many officials at the regional offices had chosen to remain at the DWAF.  An outline of the ideal regional structure envisaged by the DHS was provided.  The funding required for employee compensation varied from R9 million for the smaller regions to R27 million per annum for the larger regions.

The major challenge was the under-funding provided for in the current Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period for both the regional and the Head Offices. The total amount required to implement the programme was R157 million.  However, only R96.3 million was made available. Another challenge was that the DHS was policy-orientated but the focus of the sanitation programme was on implementation.  The rigid departmental policies of the National Sanitation Programme were not conducive to implementation. Service delivery during the first quarter of the 2010/11 fiscal year was affected by the delay in granting submissions for resources while others were still pending.  A subsidised vehicle system was required as well.

Briefing by the Department of Human Settlements on the Administration Systems and Processes
Mr Victor Rajkumar, Head of Administration Systems presented the briefing on the systems and processes implemented by the Department to improve the administration of the housing subsidy and beneficiaries and to eliminate “double subsidisation”.

The presentation included the background to the Housing Subsidy System (HSS) and the National Housing Needs Register (NHNR) and a description of the systems used for subsidy and beneficiary administration, for example the Housing Subsidy System (HSS), HSS Online, the National Housing Subsidy Database (NHSDB), and the National Housing Needs Register (NHNR).  The short- and medium-term benefits as well as the 'value added' related services of the NHNR were described.  An outline of the progress made in the implementation of the three phases was given.  Phase one comprised an improved user interface, the capturing and viewing of questionnaires and compiling the reports that were released in December 2009.  Phase two commenced in May 2010 and pertained to the verification of eligibility and the determination of beneficiaries according to data available on the general population, the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and the Persal systems.  Phase three dealt with allocation processes.  A breakdown of the progress made in each of the nine provinces was provided.

The new initiatives and the integration of the systems with the allocations policy and guidelines would enhance the effectiveness of the system and contribute towards the mitigation of risk.

Discussion
The Chairperson was concerned over the lack of funding made available for the National Sanitation Programme.

Mr T Zulu, Director-General of the DHS said that much emphasis had been placed on sanitation being a part of bulk infrastructure and Government had made radical decisions in terms of thought process and implementation.  The challenge for the DHS was that human settlements only played a supporting in outcome eight.  There was a degree of disagreement within the DHS over which mechanisms needed to be put into place to ensure that the mandate for the provision of bulk services was met.  The DHS was proposing that bulk services were managed centrally.  A diagnostic exercise was underway to review regional structures.  With regard to the matter of policies, the DHS needed to identify what was being done in specific geographical areas and which services were required.  The same human settlement policies cannot be applied to sanitation as service delivery would be adversely affected.  A spacial deviation to accommodate sanitation was necessary and special needs needed to be integrated into the policies.  The Human Resources (HR) department of the DHS was currently reviewing the policies for the sanitation programme.  The capital budget was transferred to the DHS but the operating budget was not transferred from the DWAF.

Mr Zulu advised that the Department faced further challenges concerning the implementing agents. The DHS could not automatically re-appoint implementing agents as this would have resulted in an audit query.  The appointments were delayed as a result of the placing of advertisements for implementing agents who would be working on the various projects.

Mr Neville Cheney, Chief Operating Officer, DHS explained that the sanitation unit was operating under schedule seven of DORA, which meant that the Department was the direct implementing agent for the sanitation programme.  The DHS interacted directly with local authorities and was the direct funding agent for sanitation.  The integration of the sanitation unit required a fundamental structural change in the way in which the DHS operated.  The National Treasury had made a total amount of R1,2 billion available for the following three years.  He was of the opinion that the solution to the funding challenges was about a mind-shift, effective planning, resource allocation and related administrative functions.  Because of the economic downturn, the Department appreciated that there were severe constraints on the amount of public funding available.

The Chairperson expressed confidence in the leadership of the Department as Mr Zulu possessed the necessary expertise.  Although the DHS might not be able to eradicate inadequate sanitation by 2014, at least something at an acceptable level would have been achieved.  The challenge of insufficient funding was universal but she was satisfied with the achievements of the NHS to date with regard to service delivery.

Mr A Steyn (DA) said that the decision to transfer responsibility for sanitation from the DWAF to the NHS was welcomed at first.  However, it would appear that the DHS was taking one step forward and two steps backwards.  He was concerned over the possibility that DWAF personnel who declined to transfer to the DHS would be made redundant.  It was unfair that the DHS had to start from scratch, especially with regard to the training of new people and there should have been a smooth transition from one Department to the other.  He queried the need for DHS personnel to operate from hotels rather than the provincial offices.  He noted that the briefing on the focus areas was fairly broad and more information was required by the Committee.  Another concern was the service level agreements that were signed with municipalities and whether the DHS had the capacity to deliver on those agreements.

The Chairperson noted that the DHS was making progress.

Ms M Borman (ANC) was concerned about whether the DHS would be able to deliver the expected performance as 10 months of the period had already lapsed.  She was encouraged that the Department was addressing most of the challenges identified.  The human resources and funding requirements were the major challenges and the failure to transfer the operational budget from the DWAF was unacceptable.  She wanted to know if the R1.2 billion grant approved by the National Treasury would reduce the funding shortfall for the sanitation programme.  She was concerned over the huge backlog in KwaZulu Natal.  She asked if NHS officials could be accommodated in municipal offices rather than working from hotels.  The Members of the Committee had noticed during oversight visits that the sanitation services provided in urban and in rural areas differed substantially.

Mr R Bhoola (MF) remarked that the synchronisation of the various policies and programmes would result in improving service delivery.  He conceded that the National Sanitation Programme was a recent development and the DHS had to be allowed the opportunity to deliver.  The programme was important to correct the inequalities and injustices of the past.  He was concerned over inadequate sanitation facilities in schools in rural areas as girls and boys had to share toilets.  The lack of boreholes meant that many elderly people had to carry water for long distances.

Ms M Njobe (COPE) noted that the DHS was not the first Department to have undergone the transfer of responsibility for specific projects.  Other Departments had been successful with the restructuring because there had been proper discussion before the transfer.  She was concerned over the implementation of the sanitation programme by municipalities and the issue of building sufficient capacity at the municipal level was important.   She was saddened to see the poor quality of toilets provided in the rural areas. She felt that municipalities should comply with a specific standard of toilets before implementation took place.  The recycling of grey water as part of the sanitation programme could be considered as well.

Mr M Mdakane (ANC) said that further discussion was necessary and that the presence of the Minister of Human Settlements at the discussions would be welcomed.  Sanitation was problematic in both urban and rural areas, in particular in the informal settlements.  He suggested that the DHS sponsored young people to train as engineers in water and sanitation related matters.

Mr J Matshoba (ANC) was concerned over the construction of 64 square meter houses as opposed to the initial 32 square meter houses in the different provinces. He said that many of the earlier beneficiaries were disgruntled that the later recipients were provided with larger houses.  He wondered how the system to prevent “double subsidisation” would affect those people living in the rural areas.

Mr Steyn noted that there appeared to be three systems.  Data capturing was a tedious task and mistakes were often made. He asked if the system prevented people from falling through the cracks.  He noted that there were generally far more beneficiaries than projects.  He was concerned over the potential for fraud and corruption and suggested that the identity documents and the erf numbers were checked in the HSS process.

Ms Borman said that the administration area was open to abuse and corruption.

The Chairperson emphasized that municipalities needed to take the issue of human settlements seriously.  She emphasised the importance of good inter-governmental relations at the national, provincial and local levels.

The meeting was adjourned.


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