SUBMISSION BY BRIAN MOHOLO: MANAGING DIRECTOR: SOCIAL HOUSING FOUNDATION

3 March 2008

RE: COMMENTS ON THE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AGENCY BILL

The SHF has reviewed the Bill and submits the following comments:

Ideally, an under-capacitated municipality would not be reliant on the HDA indefinitely in terms of land acquisition, settlement upgrade and dealing with housing emergencies. What is perhaps missing from the HDA's functions therefore, is a role to not only assist municipalities with these functions but to capacitate them so that they become progressively less reliant on the HDA. The HDA may them focus more resources on other municipalities in need of more comprehensive assistance.

Land acquisition often means having to deal with occupiers of the land, both legal and, more to the point, illegal. The Prevention of Illegal Eviction (PIE) Act will be highly pertinent in many instances and it should be understood that many municipalities lack the legal capacity to fully comprehend and comply with the provisions of PIE (which is again to be amended shortly). If it is the intention of the HDA to provide legal support as a critical piece of land acquisition. it may be prudent to reference this in the Bill, or if not, then definitely in the regulations.

Also on this theme, a ruling of the Constitutional Court on 19 February 2008. underlined the critical importance of municipalities undertaking meaningful consultation with residents before eviction/ relocation. Many municipalities lack skills of effective community engagement. This leads to the questions of whether HDA will help facilitate such activities where they are an essential part of the land acquisition or an emergency housing process. If so. this is not reflected in the Bill.

The Bill contains detailed provisions regarding the finances of the HDA and also financial audit. Much less is said about the performance of the agency itself, how and when performance audits will take place and by whom.

It may be prudent to include some more comprehensive provisions on process and content concerning the interaction of the agency and individual municipalities. The responsibilities of both parties might be more clearly spelled out. Also. to help provide a stronger framework to facilitate municipal participation (and therefore the success of the HDA itself) it might be asked whether there should be any consequential amendments to the Municipal Systems Act or other relevant Acts.

Section 11 (4)(a) of the Bill might also cover such factors as specialised legal knowledge, local government and housing policy/development as areas important for the efficient and effective functioning of the Board.

While alluded to in the Memorandum, the role of the Province could be more fully addressed in the Bill. Interaction will civil society could also be addressed.

While the role of the agency is clear in terms of acquiring land, settlement redevelopment, emergency situations etc, there is less clarity on the role of the HDA in terms of other critical roles to ensure project viability and sustainability. Will the HDA, for example, playa role in helping develop critical bulk infrastructure?

We hope that this will assist in concluding the Bill.

Kind regards

BRIAN MOHOLO

MANAGING DIRECTOR

SOCIAL HOUSING FOUNDATION