Committee Report on Department of Human Settlements Budget

Meeting report

The Chairperson welcomed everyone and took the Committee through the recommendations of the draft report on Budget Vote 38: Department of Human Settlements Strategic Plan, Annual Performance Plan and Budget 2017/18. The report emanated from interactions with the Department and its entities in preparation for the Budget Vote debate the following week.

The Committee having been briefed by the Department and its entities on its strategic plans, annual performance plans and budget, provincial business plans and the metropolitan municipalities, provided among others, the following recommendations:

• Ensure that indicators between the national and provincial departments are customised. This is critical because it has implications on the overall performance by the national Department.
• Framing of targets by the Department should be clear and concise to ensure that there is accountability. The Department must review processes on the annual performance plans (APP) to reflect SMART principles of planning.
• Improve planning between spheres of government, ensure resource optimisation in management to improve intergovernmental planning. Furthermore, provincial departments, municipalities and entities should reflect on the National Development Planning in their planning.
• Ensure monitoring and reporting on set asides related to procurement awards to women, youth, military veterans and persons with disabilities.
• Fast-track the consolidation of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), the consolidation in implementation strategy must ensure empowerment of the previously disadvantaged.
• Ensure that all entities have a transformation agenda that would empower previously disadvantaged communities, including women, youth, and people with disabilities.
• Improve visibility of entities in both rural and urban settings
• Ensure the provision of bulk infrastructure to fast-track the provision of housing.

Mr S Malatsi (DA) suggested that the recommendation speaking to the need to ensure that the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) improves the implementation of the One-Learner-One-Estate agent programme be expanded to reflect the Committee’s desire to see a transformed real estate industry. The industry should reflect the demographics of the country.

Members agreed and identified typographical and grammatical errors which needed to be corrected.

The Chairperson moved for the adoption of the report with corrections and amendments as identified. The report was adopted. She thanked the Committee staff for the good work in coming up with the report. Highlighted typos and grammatical mistakes were not fundamental and did not affect the substance of the report. For this, Committee staff had to be commended. She reminded Members that the Budget Vote debate was slated for 10 May, 1600hrs, in the Old Assembly Chamber.

Outstanding Minutes

The minutes for meetings held on 17, 18 and 19 April were adopted. 

The meeting was adjourned.