EKURHULENI
METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY
Department of Housing
Date: 19 December 2007
PROPOSED LEGISLATION FOR A HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (HDA): COMMENTS
Comments on the Housing Development Agency Bill published under Notice 1252 of
2007 in the Government Gazette of 26 October 2007 are as follows:
Section 3: It is not clear from this proviso that if the Agency acquires land
on behalf of a municipality or Provincial I-lousing Department will the land be
registered in the name of the Agency? To facilitate the acquisition of land in
a way that supplement the capacities of Government across all spheres is a
function on its own and the funding thereof should be clear. The Agency
hopefully can fast track the acquisition of suitable land for residential or
community development. It can also bring with it more administrative processes
and red tape which can delay the development process.
Section 24 (1) of the Bill provides that "the funds of the agency consist
of (a) fees rendered to municipalities based on cost recovery" It is
suggested that this section should also provide clarity on the source of
funding to be used to pay for the services of the Agency and also for the land
acquired by the agency for the municipality.
The identification and acquisition of land are addressed in the Bill. However
the availability and timeous provision of bull< services is not dealt with.
This could be another obstacle in the delivery of housing especially in smaller
municipalities with capacity constraints. The planning and preparation of
applications for MIG funding on behalf of municipalities should be included.
The Bill must also provide the details regarding the processes and terms and
conditions of the contract entered into by the Municipalities and The Housing
Development Agency whether project by project or for all the programmes
implemented by the Municipality. Attention is drawn to the fact that the
principles of the Comprehensive Plan for the Development of Sustainable Human
Settlements apply which means that a range of income groups should be catered
for. How will the funding for the above R 3000 per month be provided and
managed? (Currently this is the income bracket that is subject to certain
conditions outsourced to the financial institutions).
The Bill should allow municipalities to contract with the Agency on project or
even programme basis, this will enable the municipalities to contract the
agency only for projects and programmes which require more capacity or are
urgent.
In this regard it should be mentioned that municipalities are allocated a share
of the grant funding per annum. In order to meet the millennium development
goals it is important that additional capacity and funding be made available to
municipalities. In the case of Ekurhuleni additional capacity and funding will
assist to reach the set target for 2014. However, the share of the grant funding
per annum is set. If the Agency is appointed will the grant funding be deducted
from the share allocated to Ekurhuleni? It is mentioned in section 7 that the
mandate for the Agency should include service delivery targets. The provision
of appropriate funding in order for the agency to meets it targets should be
afforded the necessary attention.
Although the functions, roles and responsibilities for the Agency are recorded
no processes and procedures are mentioned.
It is mentioned that the Agency will contract with the Municipality when
acquiring land. The contract needs to be more fully discussed.
The Bill is supported because Municipalities are not compelled to make use of
the Housing Development Agency. It may however contract with the Agency if serious
capacity constraints are experienced and this is confirmed in Section 4 (3)
indicating that "Nothing in the Act detracts from the power of the
municipality to acquire hold or develop land for residential or community
development, without recourse to the agency.." as this provision means
that a municipality has the choice not to utilize the agency.
Yours faithfully,
MIEMIE VON MALTIZT TRP (SA) ACTING DIRECTOR POLICY AND PLANNING
For D CHAINEE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HOUSING