Organisation for Women for Housing: briefing; Committee Programme

Meeting report

HOUSING PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
11 August 2004
ORGANISATION FOR WOMEN FOR HOUSING: BRIEFING; COMMITTEE PROGRAMME

Chairperson Ms Z Kota (ANC)

Documents handed out:
Committee Programme for August 2004

SUMMARY
The Organisation for Women for Housing briefed the Committee on an initiative to build a house for a vulnerable woman in August and outlined the process to carry out the project. Khayelitsha had been chosen as the site for the project because structures were already in place to carry out the process smoothly. The Committee endorsed the initiative after establishing the finer details of the project. In other business, the Committee adopted minutes of its strategic workshop held in early August and its work programme for August.

MINUTES
Organisation for Women for Housing submission
Ms M Nhlanhla said the Organisation for Women for Housing was established in 1996. The focus had been getting women as the most vulnerable to benefit from housing construction in terms of income generation. She reported that the organisation lobbied to ensure that women got 10% of housing construction, and those at grassroots levels got access to subsidies. The organisation got women to participate broadly in the economy especially in construction, property and as professionals. The organisation had been instrumental in establishing South African Women in Construction, of which the previous Minister of Housing had been a supporter. The organisation had a database of women involved in housing throughout the nation.

The idea to build a house for a vulnerable woman in August developed in a meeting with the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee. Ms Nhlanhla said research had shown that women carried the burden of caring for HIV victims, and orphans. It was therefore important to use the platform of women's month to provide decent housing for a deserving woman. She mentioned that in the last ten years of democracy, the agenda had been to provide housing for the poor. Housing is an asset and that the middle class citizen had used it to raise bonds, and as collateral to access finance for the education of their children.

Ms Nhlanhla said to carry out the project the organisation approached the Provincial Government in the Western Cape for a subsidy. Efforts had been made to get the financial institutions to help with additional funding to build a bigger structure. She said the secretary of Women for Housing, Ms Pamela Struthers, a quantity surveyor involved in Khayelitsha was part of the team to carry out the process. Land had been secured in Khayelitsha for the project. A beneficiary had to be identified from a list of possible beneficiaries based on agreed upon criteria. Moreover, most of the construction work had to be completed well before the day set for the project. On the set day the Committee, the organisation and the public had to help finish work on the house and hand it over to the beneficiary.

Discussion
The Chairperson opened the meeting, and asked Members to prepare for the departure to Khayelitsha with the Minister for Housing. Members deliberated on, and endorsed the Committee Minutes of the Strategic Planning Workshop for the Portfolio Committee on Housing held at Villa Via Gordon's Bay Hotel on 2 and 3 August 2004. Members also adopted the programme of action to build a house for a vulnerable woman in August.

Mr T Doduvu (ANC) expressed concern that involving the formal sector to provide additional finance for just one big and furnished house, while others were in bad condition, had serious ramifications.

Ms F Batyi (ID) asked how the beneficiary was going to be identified, and when the subsidy was being released.

Mr G Schneemann (ANC) asked if the Organisation for Women for Housing could get involved in the various constituencies.

Ms Nhlanhla said the project was in its consultative stages and that the proposal was not yet concrete. The idea had been to promote investment in housing. Top-up finance from the formal sector would be loan debt that beneficiaries would incur. She was of the opinion that it was inappropriate for the organisation to identify the beneficiary, so the Committee had to be involved, to ensure fair process. The subsidy was going to be released once the beneficiary had been identified. There had to be agreed upon criteria to identify the beneficiary.

The Chairperson said assistance from the formal sector was welcome if there were no conditions attached.

Mr B Dhlamini (IFP) said a decent structure had to be built out of what Government provided. Additional finance from the formal sector meant that government was not doing enough.

Ms M Ramakaba-Lesiea (ANC) said the aim was for people to build their own houses, hence should save towards it.

A Committee Member asked how the Committee intended to sensitise the public about the project.

Mr A Steyn (DA) said Members needed to agree on criteria to identify the beneficiary.

A Committee Member said the beneficiary had to contribute, and further asked whether the project was sustainable. If not, careful analysis of the process had to be undertaken by the Provincial Government not to politicise it. The Chairperson said the process was sustainable.

Ms Nhlanhla said the government subsidy alone was not enough in providing decent housing. She mentioned the National Savings Scheme as another way to get people to save towards acquiring an asset like a house. Khayelitsha had been chosen because of knowledge of the area, and measures already in place, to allow for a smooth process. She said a savings contribution was one of the criteria to identify the beneficiary. There had been talks with the Chief Directors of the Eastern Province, Mpumalanga, Kwazulu-Natal and Gauteng for the process to be initiated in one province at a time.

Ms B Dambuza (ANC) asked the Committee not to dwell on a specific area, and proposed that Members focused on building for a vulnerable woman. Members thus adopted this.

Mr M Lokotsi (PACA) asked whether measures had been put in place to ensure civil engineers and quantity surveyors did not "pocket a chunk" of the project money.

Mr G Schneemann (ANC) said donations needed to be solicited from the formal sector. He recalled the previous Minister of Housing's sentiments that communities had to be involved in rebuilding the country. Moreover if the beneficiary worked, the employer had to be involved. He was of the opinion that employers needed to take an interest in their employees' living conditions.

Ms Nhlanhla said the CSIR study on what was a fair charge for particular engineering skills, and an Advice Handbook on how to build a house should be made available to Committee Members. She suggested the Committee act as a facilitator to get the private sector excited about the process. She reported that talks with the Director General in the Minister's office to agree on a day in August to build had not been finalised. The Chairperson was to communicate the chosen date to Committee Members at the next meeting.

The Chairperson asked Members to speed up the process. Members agreed the house beneficiary had to be an HIV victim, disabled or the aged.

A Member asked whether a savings contribution was one of the criteria. Mr A Steyn (DA) commented that it should not be as the most vulnerable might not be able to save.

Ms Nhlanhla suggested a Committee Member be elected to work with the Steering Committee of the Organisation to unlock constraints.

Mr D Mabena offered to be nominated to be on the Steering Committee.

The Chairperson reminded the Committee about its trip to the National Housing Imbizo at OR Tambo Hall in Khayelitsha, and invited Members to attend.

Meeting was adjourned.