Human Settlements Budget Review and Recommendations Report

Meeting report

The Chairperson apologised to the Committee Members for changing the time for the meeting from the morning to the afternoon, as well as for sending the report out late.

Mr S Gana (DA) thanked the staff for compiling the report, and said that he had a few additions to the recommendations. He referred to the amount of money spent rectifying houses that had not been built correctly. His submission was that before these houses were occupied, they should receive a National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) certificate. A certificate should also be given to beneficiaries when a house was being handed over to them so that in the case of any defects, the beneficiaries would know who to contact at the NHBRC.

Ms L Mnganga-Gcabashe (ANC) said that for the recommendation to be practical, the NHBRC would need to have a full complement of competent inspectors.

Mr K Sithole (IFP) agreed with the amendment, and added that a certificate from the NHBRC would assist the Committee Members to monitor the entities.

Ms T Baker (DA) said that the NHBRC had indicated that they had the capacity, and agreed with the amendment.

The Chairperson, as well as the Members, agreed that the recommendation should be added.

Mr Gana continued with his second point on the issue of incomplete houses. He said these houses needed to be completed and handed over to the respective recipients.

The Chairperson, however, was of the view that the point raised by Mr Gana should be discussed during the 100-day programme, as opposed to discussing it as a recommendation.

Mr H Mmemezi (ANC) agreed to the proposal made by the Chairperson. but added the same could be included as a recommendation as well.

Mr N Capa (ANC) said that funds provided for leasing of additional office accommodation had not been fully utilised. As a consequence, the Department was still faced with the challenge of not filling vacancies due to lack of office space. He explained that the vacancies were also caused by a lack of skills which were technical in nature, hence the Department had to compete with others to acquire them.

Ms Baker added that the scholarship and bursary programme could be used to address the skills shortage.

Mr Gana, on his third point, stated that there was need to fast track the housing demand data base and the criteria for prioritising recipients.

Ms Mnganga-Gcabashe indicated to Members that the issue on the housing demand data base was ongoing, though the same could still be emphasised as a recommendation.

Mr Gana’s fourth point was to upgrade the informal settlements and include recreational facilities.

Ms Mnganga-Gcabashe, in response, stated that municipalities could also work on providing recreational facilities with assistance from Department of Sports and Culture.

The Chairperson, however, indicated that the recommendation of Mr Gana had already been covered in the report.

Mr Gana’s fifth point was to identify beneficiaries before the units were built, and involve them in the planning of the informal settlements.

The Chairperson, in response, stated that the same could be added as an amendment to the recommendation where a title deed and a house was given to a beneficiary simultaneously, to include the fact that the beneficiaries first needed to be identified.

Mr Mmemezi added that in the new era of participatory government, persons in the informal settlements were consulted to state their concerns through the Integrated Development Plans (IDPs). As a consequence, the issue raised by Mr Gana had already been accommodated in the programme.

Ms Mnganga-Gcabashe, however, asked Mr Gana to provide specifics of places where development had been carried out without consulting the members of the community.

The Chairperson explained that the point raised by Mr Gana had been covered in the IDPs, as well as the housing demand data base, and as a result it could not get maximum support from the Members.

Mr Mmemezi noted that progress in the implementation of the Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (FLISP) had remained slow. His proposal was that for the FLISP to be fast tracked, there was a need for more marketing and mobilization on relevant categories, and hence open it to more people.

Mr Sithole’s input was on the handing over of housing. His concern was that the there was little knowledge on the number of houses to be built before a handover was done. As a result, the houses were being vandalised. He also asked about the funds that had been provided for the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

The Chairperson added that the same had been covered as a finding, especially on the non-utilisation of funds provided for the SIU, where the invoices from the SIU to the Department had taken longer to be received and processed. As a result, there had been a challenge to the Department’s budget expenditure, because the SIU funds had not been spent within the specific financial year.

Ms Mnganga-Gcabashe said there was a discrepancy on how houses were rolled out, and therefore there was need for a count of work in progress. This should be done by the Department, so that it could be audited to balance the expenditure.

The Chairperson asked Ms Mnganga-Gcabashe to draft the proposal, as it had not been included in the report.

Ms P Ntobongwana (EFF) recommended that the Department should report cases of corruption.

Ms Baker added that the human resource plan should also be included in the recommendation on scarce skills.

Mr Mmemezi said that there was need to upgrade mining areas and ensure fast tracking of safe sites.

The Chairperson explained that the upgrading of mining areas would be discussed in the 100-day programme.

Ms Mnganga-Gcabashe was concerned about the spending of the Department on housing, as there was a need to include work in progress.

Mr Gana supported the recommendation, and said that the Department needed to identify houses that had been started but not completed so as to establish money that had been committed to complete the said houses, as well as to assist in dealing with incomplete houses.

Ms Baker added that there was also a need to add the time frame when the housing projects would begin, through to completion.

The Chairperson thanked the Members and adjourned the meeting.