Hansard: NA: Debate on Vote 31: Human Settlements
House: National Assembly
Date of Meeting: 15 Jul 2014
Summary
No summary available.
Minutes
Start of day
TUESDAY, 15 JULY 2014
PROCEEDINGS OF EXTENDED PUBLIC COMMITTEE – NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CHAMBER
___________________________
Members of the Extended Public Committee met in the National Assembly Chamber at 14:00.
The Deputy Speaker, as Chairperson, took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
APPROPRIATION BILL
Debate on Vote No 31 – Human Settlements:
THE MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS: Deputy Speaker, hon members, MECs for human settlements who may be here, ladies and gentlemen, it is good to be back in this portfolio.
I would like to welcome members of the portfolio committee who might be new to the Human Settlements environment. I hope you will enjoy this space as much as we did when we were here. I can promise you that nothing is more fulfilling to the human heart than being able to contribute to the provision of a roof over the head of a family that is destitute and has waited to be provided with the security and comfort that a house provides.
When I completed my term as Minister of Housing in 2009, the MECs I worked with and I were convinced that we had presided over a golden era of housing, both in policy and our delivery in this country. We believed we were in the age of discovery and the age of new thought, etc. Now, when I find the essence of the policies we developed at the heart of the National Development Plan, NDP, I am convinced they were correct in thinking that they had presided over a golden era. Sadly, I never had the opportunity to thank them for their hard work, their team effort and the extraordinary strides we all made.
Deputy Speaker, therefore, allow me this opportunity to thank them for their hard work. So here is to the late Dumisani Makhaya, Gugile Nkwinti, Nomvula Mokonyane, Mike Mabuyakhulu, Marius Fransman, Maite Nkoane-Mashabane, Sta Vilakazi, Johannes Mahlangu and Richard Dyantyi, and Zoe Kota-Fredericks, who was the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Housing. [Applause.]
I could not have hoped for a more solid team. Together we launched the Comprehensive Housing Plan for the Development of Integrated Sustainable Human Settlements, or "Breaking New Ground" as we called it then, which now forms the basis of the NDP and our work going forward. Together we set a record of more than a million houses that happily launched ministerial careers. Without those million houses, we wouldn't have them sitting there as Ministers and Deputy Ministers.
Look at the list and you will see that their careers were launched on the back of those million houses. Well done! I know that I can count on their co-operation now in the various fields that they are responsible for, ie water and sanitation, rural development and land reform, etc, etc.
The very essence of the concept of "human settlements" is integration with well-located land. They helped craft this concept and they are now called upon to be of assistance to us and sustain that plan.
I have, since my appointment, had the opportunity to meet with our social partners and the entities that report to us in this environment to familiarise myself with our present situation. The backdrop given to me is too detailed for me to deal with here, but I believe hon members, especially those in the portfolio committee, have had an opportunity to have a preliminary briefing from the department.
We have all been on the campaign trail for the elections and we have seen the conditions of our people. We have all made promises, I am certain, to make life better for them. We are charged with the enormously difficult challenge to make things better for them and to do it double-quick.
Thankfully, we have very committed entities that are attached to the Department of Human Settlements. We have very committed social partners such as SA Women in Construction, Sawic, who are here with us; Shack Dwellers International, SDI; the banking industry, represented by the Banking Association of SA; some ardent supporters of our policy plans such as the "Pale Native" Mr Max du Preez; and a committed department, to name but a few. And, thankfully for me, when I met with you, the members of the committee, for the first time, I found a very vivacious, energetic committee, ready to be part of the solution to the problem. I look forward to a very healthy relationship with you. [Applause.]
Briefly, this is what we have come to understand of the housing environment and where we are right now. According to research done by the SA Institute of Race Relations, SAIRR, in 2012, of all the protests this country experienced over the past five years, 20% are attributed to protests over housing. We have also been informed that over a period of time we have lost a great deal of institutional memory within the entities of the department and the built environment.
We have also been informed that the delivery of houses has dropped drastically across all provinces, some reaching a low of 30% in delivery. This, I have been informed, is attributed to what my officials call "blockages in the pipeline", whatever that means. They still have to explain what "blockages in the pipeline" means, but I have accepted it in good faith. [Laughter.]
We have also come to learn that the housing backlog is currently 2,3 million families and growing. We have come to understand it /as a fact for us in developing countries that urbanisation is upon us and that we have to accept and prepare for it.
In the state of the nation address, the President confirmed that South Africa is urbanising at an alarming rate and that almost 63% of our population is now residing in towns and cities. This trend is expected to continue over the coming decade. We are ill-equipped to deal with this rate of urbanisation. We have huge shortages of land for housing, which is a primary need for our purposes. We particularly require well-located land close to work opportunities.
These shortages are exacerbated by the fact that in some of our cities the land is not suitable for housing. In Ekurhuleni alone, for instance, an extremely high percentage of the land is dolomitic. Added to this we have an annual flow of economic migrants into the country, obviously adding to the burden of homelessness in the urban space.
In the past two months since I have been appointed as Minister, we have seen thousands of people evicted from their makeshift homes across the country, leading me to request a moratorium against evictions in such inclement weather. In some cases, this request has fallen on deaf ears and the weather patterns have continued to create the most untold misery for these people.
This is but a snippet of the sad story of housing. Despite the fact that we have provided 3,7 million housing opportunities over the past 20 years, we are still looking at a gloomy picture.
All this happens against an unfortunate culture of entitlement amongst our people. As I have indicated, our housing backlog currently stands at 2,3 million families, and growing. These are very worrying statistics, especially worrying when put against the fact that it is generally known that some of the beneficiaries of the system have sold their houses and continue to do so, and then rejoin the line.
I myself was alarmed when looking through some of the housing waiting lists to see how many 18-year-olds have registered, assuming that the government owes them a house. It has also become quite clear that some of the protests over the past years have been created by the fact that we have made promises and created an expectation that we are not able to meet fast enough.
Part of the protests has been against what is perceived as corruption in the allocation of houses, and this is very worrying. We have investigated the matter of the waiting lists and have found that there is no credible database against which municipalities are able to verify the waiting list to the extent that we are certain it is a credible process and can make the appropriate allocations.
What this means is that the creation of a credible database of those legitimately waiting for a house is of vital importance to us. This leads us to two pivotal issues. The first is a technical one; there is an urgent need for a credible database, linked to the population register and the voters' roll to enable us to verify the validity of any application for a house.
The municipality will use this database in the allocation of houses. This will also protect the integrity of the database and the system. It will also protect councillors who are often accused of corruption in the allocation of houses.
We will be able to check their details, and citizens themselves will be able to check their details on the waiting list. It will also break down the concept of the deadlock.
How did we arrive at a figure 2,3 million families? Who are the people making up the backlog? How many 18-year-olds are on the waiting list? Will the state, in perpetuity, be required to give free houses? How many of these 2,3 million have sold their houses and are back on the list? This will help us understand the scale and nature of our problem from a very scientific point of view.
From this we would need to move to the second vital matter, namely the huge vacuum that we have with regard to our policy. As I indicated earlier, the NDP is now premised on the Comprehensive Housing Plan for the Development of Integrated Sustainable Human Settlements, otherwise known as BNG, approved by Cabinet in 2004.
This makes it very easy for us to latch on to the NDP and make sure that we are able to provide a sustainable policy that we can put out as a Green Paper for all to see and comment on in line with the NDP in order to make sure that, finally, we can formulate legislation based on the concept of integrated human settlements.
We will crystallise the definition of "indigent" in that legislation as a basis for qualifying for free government houses.
Another worrying challenge is that we have lost some of our natural allies in the delivery of housing - well, almost. The other day I had an opportunity to see the Banking Association of SA and they promised that they were back in the fold. We would like to welcome them back as well as many other stakeholders that made it possible for us to deliver on scale.
It is our intention to ensure that we can revitalise the support of our important stakeholders and every stakeholder that is concerned about the plight of the poor and is a part of our delivery chain. This means that nothing short of a total mobilisation of society on the issue of the provision of housing for the poor will solve the problems we confront in the short term. Over and above that, perhaps nothing short of some sort of Marshall Plan will see us survive these challenges.
This is because, above all, the very concept of integrated human settlements means a concerted, deliberate, legally supported drive to change the spatial patterns of apartheid and create a truly united country.
For this to succeed we need both the support of the whole of our society and the intervention of the state. We need to educate South Africans that while they live apart, apartheid lives on. Our developmental state has a responsibility to intervene decisively to ensure that we remove any footprint of segregation. As we house the poor and grow our cities, the conscious fact of land must be that whatever land is available will be made available, allocated on a desegregated basis.
After all the discussions that I have had with Minmec, the portfolio committee and senior managers of the department and the entities reporting to me, briefly sketching out the rough picture I have given you above, we are confident that we understand what needs to be done. I will now indicate what we will do in the next 100 days; what we will do in one year, which is the next 12 months; and what will have been done by us at the end of the term of office of this government.
This is what we commit to doing in the next 100 days. One, the President has created the interministerial committee, IMC, on the revitalisation of mining towns, for which we have a major responsibility.
In this context it is important to add that we have interacted with the mining sector in the past. We have found that unless we plan for secondary industry and related infrastructure, we will be unable to attract the necessary investment capital to mining towns for continued economic activity after the last of the ore has been mined.
Through the IMC on the revitalisation of mining towns, we will meet the Chamber of Mines, the banking sector and the provinces where these towns are in order to put together a plan for how we are going to tackle this enormous challenge in the shortest possible time.
Two is the issue of the title deeds. Firstly, we would like to prioritise the issue of title deeds of the pre-1994 stock. This is important because these are otherwise dead assets. Without the title deeds, the owners are unable to revitalise the old townships, which are in a very sad state of decay.
The Estate Agency Affairs Board, EAAB, has been tasked with prioritising this and to submit, by 30 September 2014, a report on how we are going to go about this. Secondly, it is also tasked with the responsibility of spearheading the allocation of post-1994 title deeds.
This they will do with the Deeds Office, and the department will collaborate with the Department of Land Affairs. Please, estate agents, do remind Minister Nkwinti that this is where he started his career. He has a responsibility to prioritise us above all else. [Laughter.] We hope to create a unit dedicated to dealing with fast-tracking the issuing of title deeds for the stock, both pre-1994 and post-1994 stock. Our people have a right to their title deeds, and the fact that they do not have them is a sad indictment because this is supposed to be an entry into the economy for the poor.
Three, in 2004 we established the N2 Gateway project as a national Minmec project. It was funded by all nine provinces as a jointly owned project. This was done in order to test the state's ability to build on a large-scale, that we may learn from it the right things that can be done cot – as well as learning from our mistakes.
Minmec took a decision on 4 July that the project would revert to being a national Minmec project. It will remain a national project funded by all nine provinces. The responsibility of the allocations of the units will then be the responsibility of the Western Cape. Otherwise, we are now announcing that we are taking back the N2 as a national Minmec project, owned by all. [Applause.]
Our aim is to ensure that we can, in the shortest time possible, complete phase 1 so that all who drive to the airport on the N2 can attest to the success we have had with the N2 Gateway Project.
Four, Minmec has decided that we will now embark on mega projects, because in this way the economies of scale will be in our favour. In these mega projects there will be collaboration of all three spheres of government. Local government will ultimately inherit the projects, once completed, and therefore be responsible for the allocation of these units, the provision of infrastructure and the maintenance of these projects.
In line with our approach that we are now taking to mega projects, we would like to revitalise Cosmos City, another of our success stories of integrated human settlements on a large scale. This project will be revitalised on Mandela Day. We respond to the President's call that we clean up on Mandela Day, and we, in Human Settlements, have vowed to go to Cosmos City to do spend our 67 minutes on cleaning up Cosmos City. [Applause.] We would like to clean it up and rebrand it so that all will know what a successful story we have and that it is worth replicating in every province.
Furthermore, when we have a number of stakeholders determined to succeed, we have found that we generally do succeed. This will also give us the opportunity to thank the stakeholders that helped us with those particular projects, particularly the banking sector and Radio 702, which built 702 houses in this particular project.
Five, regarding the matter of a credible waiting-list database, we have discovered that the reason we do not have a credible waiting list is because our data is not credible enough. Therefore, I have instructed the department to go back to the South African State Information Technology Agency, Sita, and sign a service-level agreement, SLA, with it, as it is an entity that is responsible for our IT infrastructure.
It has a healthy record now, and within the next 100 days the department will have signed an SLA with Seta to make sure that it assists us with creating a credible housing database.
Six, we have found in the past that our social partners were an important component of our success. As I have indicated, it is very good to see that most of them are back. We have had a meeting with the Banking Association of SA, Basa, and we have recommitted ourselves to a social contract that we signed with them in 2005.
The banks have been our most valued supporters, and we would also like to think that we are their most valued clients. The entire housing portfolio of this country is in our hands, and we hope they talk of us as extremely valuable partners. We need to recommit to this mutual-appreciation society through the social contract which we signed in 2005. We need to resign that contract. Their continued support for our programmes is essential, especially as we depend on them when it comes to one of our most urgent and newest projects, which is the revitalisation of mining towns.
Seven, we will restructure the human settlements' entities. Firstly, the Housing Development Agency will become a fully fledged development agency whose job is not only to acquire land and prepare it, but to be a developer for the state and to project manage in order to assist municipalities and other spheres of government that might need support.
Eight, as requested by the Estate Agency Affairs Board, we will explore the possibility of bringing this agency closer to the department so that they are able to do their work in a manner that gives them the credibility that they need. Also, we have found that the Social Housing Regulatory Authority, Shra, is having difficulties and is unable, for various reasons, to fulfil its mandate. Therefore, we have put it under administration and brought it into the department for the time being until we can get it back into shape. The board of Shra will retain its responsibility until the restructuring is complete and a new board has been put in place.
Nine, we will establish a women and youth construction support programme headed by a new deputy director-general in Human Settlements to ensure that women are empowered and truly given the space to grow and provide us with housing. The Deputy Minister and I are convinced that women build better houses than men could ever do in 100 years ... [Applause.] ... and that when you want a man for a job, get a woman. [Laughter.]
Similarly, this new unit of the deputy director-general will be responsible for the empowerment of youth. We all know the sad state of the statistics on youth unemployment. Therefore, we want to have a dedicated approach to dealing with them and empowering them so that we can create opportunities for them.
Currently, through the National Homebuilders Registration Council, the NHBRC, we have 100 female practitioners that have been attached to the Gordon Institute of Business Science, Gibs, business school. We hope that they will be graduating very soon. In our discussions with the Estate Agency Affairs Board, they have committed to training young black candidates in the housing agents' sphere to revitalise the agency.
In line with our discussion with our entities, we have resolved that an academy be established, in conjunction with the NHRBC, to incorporate a training course in estate agency and property management, and all other areas that are required for this sector. A youth brigade will be created in each province that is assigned to a catalytic project.
We will be celebrating Women's Month very soon and in our meeting with Sawic, we have resolved that for every province, 1 956 houses will be built by women for women. [Applause.] We will be assisted with this with funding by the NHBA ...
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Minister, I'm afraid we are unable to help you with our generosity.
The MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS: I know. I thank you, Chairperson, and I am certain that the Deputy Minister will continue to indicate what we will be doing in the next five years. Thank you. [Applause.]
MS N N MAFU
The MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Ms N N MAFU: Hon Chairperson, Minister of Human Settlements, hon Deputy Minister, hon members, distinguished guests, I greet you all.
Our own tasks are very clear. To bring about the kind of society that is visualised in the Freedom Charter, we have to break down and destroy the old order.
These words were said in 1985 by the then President of the ANC, Comrade Oliver Reginald Tambo.
"There shall be houses, security and comfort!" - this is the commitment that the ANC made at its Congress of the People in Kliptown on 26 June 1955, and it has evolved ever since.
The 3,6 million houses that this government has delivered since the dawn of democracy are a major milestone, and the Minister has already alluded to this. However, the department undertook to verify occupancy of these houses, as there is an outcry out there that foreign nationals and people who do not necessarily need them occupy most of these houses.
The department is clear about the pre-emptive clause in the Housing Act that beneficiaries are not allowed to sell these houses within the eight-year occupancy. If the beneficiary wishes to do so, government should be the first to be approached.
The National Planning Commission, NPC, that was appointed by the President of the Republic, President Jacob Zuma, noted five main challenges in its diagnostic report in relation to transforming human settlement: firstly, a dysfunctional settlements pattern across the country; secondly, the challenges facing towns and cities; thirdly, the uncertain prospects of rural areas; fourthly, the challenges of providing housing and basic services and reactivation of communities; and lastly, weak spatial planning and governance capabilities.
There is an urgent need to develop a national approach to the above challenges, guided by nothing other than the National Development Plan, NDP, which has been adopted by both the governing party, the ANC, and government itself.
Chapter 8 of the National Development Plan and the Breaking New Ground strategy, which is known as the BNG, that the Minister has already mentioned, are clear indicators of how the department has to realise its commitments. As the committee, we are encouraged when we note that this is on course, looking at the strategic plan of the national department approved by Cabinet on 14 June 2014.
Yes, we are aware that there is a need for a master plan for human settlements and this is something that must be done - by yesterday!
The resolutions of the 53rd National Conference of the ANC resolved to accelerate the development of human settlement legislation that is comprehensive.
The committee's mandate is to maintain an oversight responsibility that ensures a quality process of scrutinising and overseeing government's actions. It is driven by the ideal of realising a better quality of life for all the people of South Africa. The committee's role is also to process legislation that is referred to it and to scrutinise the departmental budget.
The delivery priorities of the department seem to be in line with the strategic objectives of the ANC. We will be closely watching the implementation, hon Minister.
The increase of the provision of housing opportunities from 1 million to 1,5 million now – no longer 1,4 million - which translates into 270 000 housing opportunities per annum, is welcomed. However, as the committee, we would like to get more clarity on the following.
Firstly, how many projected job opportunities will be created by this, in order to curb the rate of unemployment that the country is engulfed by?
Secondly, how many of the youth, women and people with disabilities will be empowered and employed? We heard what the Minister has said, but we want more clarity.
Thirdly, what measures is the department putting in place to make sure that material that is procured is done locally to empower emerging local businesses?
Lastly, what measures are in place to continue strengthening housing co-operatives to create much-needed employment in communities and ensuring ownership as part of human settlements development?
We would like to see the issue of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act being amended. This is urgent because the issue of land invasion is something that we cannot deal with any longer in this country.
Yes, we are aware that the responsibility for the eradication of the bucket toilet system is something that still lies with our department, because the budget of R1,9 billion is for the Human Settlements and we will make sure that this happens, hon Minister.
Now, we are aware that plus-minus R30 billion of the annual budget of 2014-15 is actually an encouraging amount; and the committee notes that this budget is incremental and will increase on an annual basis by R2 billion to make sure that we try to meet the needs of the people. We are also encouraged by the fact that of this budget, only 3% is operational while 97% is for grants and transfers, which translates into delivery on the ground.
The human settlements development grant, which is the provincial grant, is plus-minus R17 billion, while the urban settlements development grant, USDG, is plus-minus 10 billion. The USDG was introduced in the 2011-12 financial year and is parallel to the accreditation of the metros. For those who don't understand accreditation, it means the delegation of housing responsibility to the metropolitan municipalities.
The aim of this grant, as it is explained in the Division of Revenue Act, is to assist metropolitan municipalities to improve urban land production for the benefit of the poor households by supplementing the revenues of the metros.
We also acknowledge that 63% of the total population growth has taken place in the metros due to rapid urbanisation. We are also aware that housing delivery challenges are found mainly in the country's metros. As the committee, we are therefore concerned about the spending trends of this grant, given the above analysis.
In the 2011-12 financial year, only 88% of this grant was used. In the 2012-13 financial year, 93% was spent. We still await the 2013-14 expenditure information, but we can speculate that it was also underspent. Now, the department needs to furnish the committee with in-depth, measurable plans to deal with this underspending when the need is so high.
Is it because of a lack in the capacity of the metros? If it is, how does the department assist them? Are we ready to proceed to the next level of accreditation under the present state of affairs, as everybody wants the department to do? Can you give your child extra pocket money while he or she cannot spend what he or she already has?
We, therefore, welcome the introduction of the indirect grant called the "municipal human settlement capacity grant", which has been part of the budget for the 2014-15 financial year in order to try to address the above challenges. From the department's explanation, we gather the intention of this grant is to build capacity in municipalities and to deliver and subsidise the operational cost of administering the Human Settlements programme. We urge that this capacity-building of municipalities actually runs concurrently with the actual delivery.
The eight entities of the Department of Human Settlements are the Housing Development Agency, HAD; the Social Housing Regulatory Authority, Shra; the Community Schemes Ombud Service, CSOS; the Rural Housing Loan Fund, RHLF; the National Housing Finance Corporation, NHFC; the Estate Agency Affairs Boards, EAAB; the National Homebuilders Regulation Council, NHRC; and the National Urban Reconstruction and Housing Agency, Nurcha.
These entities must please get their house in order to ensure they complement the work of the department in realising its mandate. Failing to do so will result in the committee coming down on them like a ton of bricks, as per our mandate of conducting oversight.
The committee will be monitoring the vertical and the horizontal contractual obligations of the department with other departments in the promotion of human settlements. We refer particularly to the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, the Department of Water and Sanitation, the Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs and any other department, as Human Settlements is a crosscutting department that would need co-operation and commitment from everybody.
We must move quickly, but not run with opportunism and such enthusiasm that we lose sight of our specific reality.
Revolutionaries regard themselves, first and foremost, as practical people who are dedicated to changing the world. They are rightly suspicious of those who merely talk about the injustice of apartheid and the evils of capitalism yet never seem to translate their words into action. "By their deeds, ye shall know them", is an old saying, and this emphasises the implementation phase of any plan.
As we do the balancing act of theory and practice, we cannot overemphasise the fact that we must not be afraid of making mistakes, hon Minister, because only those who get their hands dirty can make mistakes, not armchair critics. [Applause.] The mistakes we make should not dishearten us, just as the victories we score should not make us forget our mistakes.
In this radical phase of our economic transformation agenda, while we stress urgency, we must not be reckless. Radicalism must be coupled with discipline, not anarchy. False and reactionary ideas contain superficial elements of the truth in them, for they exist as the reflections of a real world; so, likewise, do ideas that are basically correct contain elements of distortion and one-sidedness.
The truth, in other words, is both absolute and relative. It is real, yet never complete. That is why serious revolutionaries constantly find it necessary to observe and study, to investigate both theory and reality and never to be opportunistic in nature. Political consciousness needs to be advanced by conscious efforts as a regular part of political struggle. That is what the ANC is about. [Applause.]
Let's demonstrate to our people that we have heard them and that we shall move South Africa forward, faster and with them.
In conclusion, I would like to extend a word of thanks to the support staff from the parliamentary portfolio committee, Ms Koliswa Pasiya; my secretary, Mr Greg Rhoxo; the personal assistant of the Whip of Human Settlements, Mr Anele Siwa; the ANC caucus; the study group; and the members of the portfolio committee. Thank you to the members of the ANC in all their corners and the South Africans, in general.
The ANC supports Budget Vote No 31. Let's get down to work, people! Our people expect no less from us. I thank you. [Applause.]
Ms T GQADA
MS N N MAFU
Ms T GQADA: Chairperson, hon Minister, fellow colleagues, honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to deliver my maiden speech in the House today as a member of the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements, which is very close to my heart. [Applause.]
Hon Minister and members of the portfolio committee, we, as the DA, are in support of the total eradication of the bucket system. I must share my concern at the fact that this matter did not receive top priority in the Minister's speech.
The fact that the DA-led Western Cape accounts for only 0,4% of the nation's bucket toilets bears testament to our unwavering commitment to bringing this unsanitary system to an end. This system is inhumane and has, for years, stripped our communities of their basic dignity.
The total eradication of this system is our foremost priority. You, here today, should also share our frustration with past Ministers who have come and gone, while the bucket system remains.
Former Human Settlements Minister, Tokyo Sexwale, spoke about the abolition of this system in 2008. He said it would be done away with during his term of office. That did not happen. The hon Connie September also accepted that this system undermined the dignity of our communities, and vowed to ensure its total eradication. Unfortunately, she did nothing about the matter.
This is a genuine problem, hon Minister, and it affects every South African in every corner of the country. Poor sanitation exists in places like the Free State, the Eastern Cape and the Northern Cape, where there are tens of thousands of bucket toilets still in use. I would urge that, under your leadership, hon Minister, this matter should receive top priority.
Your department must work together with the Department of Water and Sanitation, and urgently co-ordinate efforts to make sure that this happens. There still remains too much confusion as to who will be responsible for what, following the creation of the new portfolio. I trust that this division will be made clear, especially in the budgeting process.
It must be specifically made clear in so far as the use of the rural household infrastructure grant is concerned. According to the Department of Human Settlement's 2012-13 annual report, the department failed to spend 39,6%, R135 million, of the rural household infrastructure grant.
While the primary focus of the grant is to promote water and sanitation services to rural communities, since 2009, the grant has been grossly underspent.
Hon Minister, grants like these play a crucial role in addressing some of the numerous inequalities and human rights violations rural communities have had to endure due to apartheid's disgraceful legacy. This underspending is simply unacceptable, given the current state of affairs of our systems.
There is hope for our people. Indeed, in the DA-led Western Cape, we are setting the trend. [Interjections.] According to census data, in the Western Cape 99,1% of households have access to piped water and 96% have access to toilet facilities. Through an increase in the sanitation and sewerage infrastructure budget, the number of toilets has tripled from 10 591 to 34 225, ensuring access to 88% of its total population. [Applause.] [Interjections.]
The hon Deputy Minister, Zoe Kota-Hendricks, knows what I am talking about.
We can emulate this example in many other places in South Africa, from Nelson Mandela Bay to Egoli, from Ekhuruleni to Tshwane, if the people give the DA a chance in the 2016 local government elections. [Interjections.] [Applause.] I am confident that, with this development, we will finally make real progress in bringing dignity to our people. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Ms P NTOBONGWANA
Ms T GQADA
Ms P NTOBONGWANA: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister of Human Settlements, first of all, let me take this opportunity to express the EFF's position, upfront: We are not in support of the Budget Vote. [Interjections.]
Since 1994, the ANC has made promises to build quality houses, but those promises have never been fulfilled. Instead, we have seen poor-quality houses being built and billions of rand wasted on repairing poorly-built RDP houses. We surely cannot proudly say that this government has delivered proper houses to our people.
The apartheid matchbox houses were better than the poor quality houses we see in the post-1994 build under the leadership of this government. [Interjections.] How many RDP houses have collapsed and how much was spent to phase in the 20 years of the so-called "good story" of housing service delivery by the ruling party?
We can't pretend that all is right. The state of housing in South Africa is not in good shape. Thus the EFF has a plan to address, with confidence, this incompetence of the ANC. An EFF-led government will provide quality, spacious houses to all people, in sustainable human settlements, with basic service delivery such as water, electricity, sanitation, schools and recreation facilities.
The ANC-led government, as it did in 1994, again promised South Africans that it would focus on the 7 million squatters and the homeless, as well as the upgrading of townships and hostels. Today we have more informal settlements than ever before. [Interjections.] The government has dismally failed to fulfil its promises of eradicating informal settlements by 2014. [Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mrs T Didiza): Order, hon members! Can you please allow the speaker to be heard? [Interjections.]
Ms P NTOBONGWANA: Now it is 2014, and the people of Langa, Daveyton, the Zenzele informal settlement, Rustenberg, the Mpho Khunou informal settlement and many other settlements across the country, are still trapped in inhabitable structures. The promise made by the ANC was just a way of playing with people's feelingss. The ANC is full of promises and is excellent at shifting the goalposts.
The question that I would ask the ruling party pertains to its promises that by 2009 it would have eradicated the bucket system. Amazingly, the bucket system is still in place. What happened to those promises; have they been fulfilled? No. It is clear and evident that the ANC is incapable of fulfilling its promises. [Interjections.]
People in the Eastern Cape, in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, Wesville, Salamntu, the Dongweni informal settlement and many others, are still using the bucket system.
The only thing the ANC has done that is of good quality is to build the Nkandla palace, while our people are homeless or staying in small, poorly-built RDP houses, with disappointment.
The palace is surrounded by people living in a poor and terrible state. Some are still on the waiting list for houses and every day, they watch with envy the luxurious Nkandla. Is it the better life? Is it "a good story to tell"? [Interjections.] Ultimately, does it reach the level where tenders and the use of consultants will be eliminated?
Recently, the Lwandle communities of the Western Cape were evicted from state-owned land without any display of remorse. This community's eviction is a clear indication that people want land and housing, and they have been patiently waiting for more than 20 years, post-1994.
Land is a problem for the current government to advance spatial development and build houses for its people. A realistic, practical solution ...
Mr Z M D MANDELA: Chairperson ...
Ms P NTOBONGWANA: ... is for government to expropriate land without compensation.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mrs T Didiza): Order!
Mr Z M D MANDELA: Chairperson!
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mrs T Didiza): Hon speaker, can you take your seat.
Mr Z M D MANDELA: Chairperson, is the hon member willing to take a question?
Ms P NTOBONGWANA: No! [Laughter.]
A realistic and a practical solution is for the government to expropriate land without compensation and distribute it equally amongst the most deprived African communities who are desperately in need of land. [Interjections.]
Again, the notion that the National Development Plan, NDP, is the hope for addressing the South African human settlement problem, now and in the future, is a pure fallacy. [Interjections.]
Today we still have many South Africans on the 1996 waiting, which is, in essence, a false promise. Peole in the Eastern Cape's Nelson Mandela region, Silvertown informal settlement, Kwazakhele and other parts of the country, have been desperately waiting for houses for almost more than 20 years and nothing has been forthcoming.
To claim to deliver housing according to the NDP is just playing with people's feelings. Certainly, the NDP is only a ploy that seeks to make false propositions. South Africans are anxiously waiting for quality, spacious, efficient and sustainable housing. The impression ...
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mrs T Didiza): Hon member, your time has expired. [Interjections.] [Laughter.]
Ms P NTOBONGWANA: No, man! These people are ... oh, man! [Interjections.] [Applause.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mrs T Didiza): Order, hon member! Hon members, I am sure the Whips of the parties will advise members on the protocol of the House.
Mr K P SITHOLE
Ms P NTOBONGWANA
Mr K P SITHOLE: Hon House Chairperson, the Department of Human Settlements still faces many challenges as it struggles to deliver adequate and humane living standards for all South Africans.
The IFP understands that there will always be such challenges, but what we cannot accept is the fact that the department continues to drag its feet when it comes to addressing them.
We still find many of our hostels with living standards that would not even be fit for pigs. Our hostel dwellers live in the most abject poverty and with very few having reasonable access to the most basic of services such as water and sanitation.
The government under the presidency of former President Thabo Mbeki promised to eradicate the bucket system by 2007. President Jacob Zuma has now extended this deadline to 2016. [Laughter.] Nine years longer is not a delay; it is a total failure to deliver and a failure by this government to fulfil its promises to the people of South Africa.
This department says it seeks to "create sustainable human settlements and improve the quality of household life," but then embarks on something as ridiculous as sending the sanitation portfolio to the Department of Water Affairs. This begs the question: Is the Department of Human Settlements intentionally or just negligently sabotaging itself? Sanitation and human settlement go hand-in-hand and should always form part of the same department.
IsiZulu:
Ake uzibuze nje nawe ukuthi: Ungakwazi yini ukususa amathe olimini?
English:
Backyard dwellers and dwellers in our informal settlements, particularly the people currently living in Ward 24 in Wintervelt, Ward 40 in Mamelodi, Ward 8 in Mmakaunyane, Ward 103 in Dark City, Ward 101 in Zithobeni and Ward 105 in Sokhulumi continue to live in the most cramped and terrible conditions with little or no access to basic sanitation and other services. What is the department doing to alleviate their suffering?
We also note the following informal settlement hot spots in KwaZulu-Natal, namely Malukazi in Umlazi as well as Kenneth Road, and therefore we urge the department to intervene and move these people from the aforementioned hot spots to the new development in Cornubia.
The RDP housing projects continue to be substandard, which then necessitates additional departmental spending in the form of rectification and rerectification of structures. This is nothing less than criminal. Contracts to friends and comrades must end; contractors must be held accountable for substandard service delivery and not be rewarded by additional contracts instead.
The IFP urges the Minister to take on the plight of our most vulnerable and not to stand for trickle-feeding service delivery in this department. He should not tolerate departmental budget underspending, and should fight for sanitation to be part of Department of Human Settlements and not allow it to be ceded to the portfolio of the Department of Water and Sanitation, where it will surely fail.
IsiZulu:
Ngidlulisa ukubonga, ikakhulukazi kumhlonishwa umfowethu, umqondisi-jikelele kanye nekomiti asebenzisana nalo ngoba kuyakhombisa ukuthi kukhona la uMnyango ubheke khona.
English:
The IFP supports the Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mr M L SHELEMBE
Mr K P SITHOLE
English:
Mr M L SHELEMBE: Hon House Chairperson, the hon Minister and hon members, the NFP is here to enforce tangible service delivery. [Interjections.]
The NFP notes and appreciates the allocation of R30,5 billion to the Department of Human Settlements for the aim of achieving adequate housing. But the history of the department discloses that in 2011, 2012 and 2013, the department failed to spend 100% of its allocations. This is seen to be due to weak linkages and alignment of infrastructure projects amongst stakeholders - especially in provinces and municipalities - and a number of critical vacancies in the department.
The strategic plan is noted with some concerns, for example, the municipal human settlement capacity grant of R300 million is strongly commended. However, the department must come up with a comprehensive strategy as to how the department intends to provide capacity, particularly for the R300 million funding. I say this because the process of assigning housing functions to the six municipalities has unfolded, but the progress report needs to be considered in order to enhance the fruitful expenditure of the R300 million.
The strategic plan is not clear as to how the Human Settlement Development Grant will be fruitfully spent to ensure that informal settlements are not mushrooming concurrently with the building of new houses.
The hon Minister's target to build 1,4 million adequate housing units is noted, but the alignment of infrastructure projects and linkage with other departments is not clear. It is noted with great concern that Mpumalanga province has received more than 79,5% of its budget from the national Department of Human Settlements whilst expenditure was 49,5%, which is below even the projected two-quarter expenditure benchmark of 50%. This necessitates an investigation to be conducted.
Hon Minister, whilst it is expected that you should monitor your strategic plan and the medium-term budget, it is also recommended that you conduct an investigation into why the Limpopo province only spent 15,3% of its allocation in the third term, which is far below the projection and causes suffering to the people on the ground, especially emkhukhwini [those living in shacks].
It is not clear from the strategy as to how the Minister is going to overcome the lengthy procurement process, which is seen to be time-consuming, to roll out housing projects. The Urban Settlement Development Grant suggests that the metros must allocate 3% of R10,2 billion, which is equal to ... [Time expired.]
IsiZulu:
USIHLALO WENDLU (Nksz A T DIDIZA): Lungu elihloniphekile, isikhathi sesiphelile. Usuyonikeza uNgqongqoshe inkulumo yakho.
Ms C N MAJEKE
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms A T DIDIZA)
Ms C N MAJEKE: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister and hon members, the UDM welcomes the strategic thrust of the policy statement by the Minister as captured in her foreword to the departmental five-year strategic annual performance plans of 2014 to 2019.
We believe that there can be a working relationship when it comes to the provision of houses as basic shelter, quality accommodation and shorter delivery turnaround time.
The delivery of houses through community-based co-operatives, as an option, will be a significant intervention in creating job opportunities and transferring skills to communities whilst creating value to property ownership. The UDM supports community house-building programmes.
The Housing Policy should also be located in the larger economic strategy as one mechanism of creating jobs in order to combat and eradicate homelessness and poverty. Ownership of houses without having jobs has proven to be unsustainable and sometimes destructive, as owners tend to either sell or rent them out in exchange for short-term relief from hunger.
The commitment of the Minister to providing decent accommodation is much appreciated. As the UDM, we believe that houses ought to be a shelter, enough to accommodate a family. This means that future human settlements should enable communities to find or create jobs and get access to social services within their area, so that we can create communities that are economically viable and self-reliant.
The performance and service delivery information is raising a number of issues, some of which we are concerned about; and in this regard, we invite the hon Minister to take action on those matters. Amongst those issues is the reported low performance by the Eastern Cape and Limpopo provinces which have a high housing backlog, both for urban and rural communities.
Statistics show that the backlog in sanitation can largely be accounted to rural areas. In this regard, the department cannot afford to underspend on the Rural Household Infrastructure Grant. Traditional leaders, as role-players in the housing sector, must be brought closer to this process to avoid repeated underexpenditure when services are desperately needed by communities.
The municipal human settlement capacity programme should come as a mitigating factor in the increasing subsistence and travel expenditure. In the same vein, the projected increase in compensation of employees for the financial years 2014-15 to 2016-17, must reverse the increase in expenditure on consultants and professional, as reported under Programme 3. This means that as the department reduces vacancies, it must, amongst others things, target technical skills and provide the required technical assistance required by the 53 municipalities.
Programme 4: Expenditure will require dedicated monitoring and evaluation with early-warning systems, and we hope that the Minister will ensure that such transfers are used within a specified financial season for intended purposes. The UDM supports the Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Ms C N MATEKE
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS: Allow me, hon Chairperson, to start with hon Gqada … [Interjections.] … and remind here that it is important that she must be honest with the House and inform the House that she was a member of the mayoral committee of human settlements in the City of Cape Town that is responsible for providing "potta-potta" to the people of Khayelitsha. [Applause.]
I also want to educate her about Parliament by telling her that Water and Sanitation deals with the issues of the bucket system, and this morning the Minister of Water and Sanitation dealt with this issue during her Budget Vote - and I was there.
Allow me to welcome back to human settlements, the Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu. [Applause.]
Minister Naledi Pandor; Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements, hon Nocawe Mafu; hon Members of Parliament; honoured guests; MEC Ravi Pillay; and people of Dunoon, my constituency, I greet you all this afternoon.
May I also extend a word of welcome to the Director-General Thabane Zulu and his human settlements team, which includes chairpersons and chief executive officers, CEOs, of our housing institutions., Ggreetings, to all the staff in the Ministry led by Francois Hugo.?
Fellow South Africans, we are debating this Budget Vote at a time when we are mourning the passing of an ANC Member of Parliament, hon Nosipho Ntwanambi, who was a former Chief Whip of the NCOP and a Deputy President of the ANC Women's League. Just two weeks ago, we laid to rest a military veteran, Comrade Lumko Huna. These were both selfless leaders who sacrificed their lives for the struggle. We shall pick up their fallen spears. May their souls rest in peace!?
On 18 July 2014, the birthday of the world icon, the first President of the democratic South Africa, Tata Nelson Mandela, will be marked all over the world. We will commit ourselves to doing cleaning as instructed by our President Jacob Zuma in his state of the nation address.
As we marked 20 years of freedom, we do so by responding positively to the historic document of our people, the Freedom Charter, which states, "There shall be houses, security and comfort!", as well as the manifesto of the ruling party.
In line with this, we are expected to do the following: provide 1,5 million houses in the next five years; accelerate the provision of basic services and infrastructure in all existing informal settlements; mobilise for the supply of affordable houses to teachers, nurses and police officers; and eliminate the title deeds backlog.
We are proud of our track record as we gear ourselves to redouble our efforts in the delivery of housing in the next five years.
The Department of Human Settlements does have a good story to tell. In the past 20 years, we have built more than 3,.6 million houses benefiting well over 12 million people. More than 400 000 households in well-located informal settlements have been provided with access to basic services. More South Africans have access to basic services, such as electricity and water, than there where before 1994. [Applause.]
During the early years, the Department of Human Settlements focused on the provision of housing to people at the lower end of the market, those earning between R0 and R3 500 per month. This category qualifies for a full government subsidy. Municipalities and provinces are urged to prioritisees the allocation ofto housing to, the most vulnerable sectors in our society, namely the elderly, people with disabilities and child- headed households.
Over the years our policies have evolved. Now we provide rental stock and we also have affordable housing. We have increased the category of affordable housing as we delivered through the revised Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme, that is Flisp, managed by the National Housing Finance Corporation, NHFC. These programmes cater for different income categories ranging from R3 501 to R15 000 and are meant to normalise the housing market.
We also regulate the sectional titles market. We do this through the newly established CSOS, led by Chairperson of the Board, Reverend Vukile Mehana.
The transfer of the Estate Agency Affairs Board, EAAB, from the Department of Trade and Industry to the Department of Human Settlements has completed our institutional arrangements of making sure that the department regulates the entire housing market. This empowers us to urgently use all the tools at our disposal to correct the distortions in the housing market that remain with us into our 20 years of democracy.
The National Urban and Reconstruction and Housing Agency, NurchaURCHA, has intensified its role of giving bridging finance to contractors. We are excited about their incubator programme with the Small Enterprise Development Agency, SedaEDA.
As government, we have intensified the upgrading of informal settlements. We have achieved this through the National Upgrade Support Programme, NuspUSP, in partnership with the Housing Development Agency. Nusp is meant to provide support to provinces and municipalities in the upgrading of informal settlements and to build capacity in local authorities. We have 50 municipalities taking part in the NuspUSP programme as we speak, and all mining towns will be included in this current financial year.
The success of informal settlement upgrading programmes lies in our ability to draw in affected communities. It is critical that people are active participants and not merely recipients of government's delivery programme. We must promote the notion of an active citizenry in line with the National Development Plan, NDP. I am happy that the department has taken this issue seriously.
In regard to our annual performance plans and Medium Term Strategic Framework, MTEF, we are committing ourselves to increase the participation of stakeholders in housing delivery by encouraging communities through based community-based organisations, civil society and other forms of nongovernmental entities to take part in the human settlements delivery chain.
We do so as we believe that we are all creative beings., Wwe have dreams and, we have imagination and we can think creatively. Our bodies are the tools of creativity. What people want is that we, as government, must create an environment conducive for them to unleash their potential. There are no free space travellers on Earth -, we are all one crew.
As a department, we have also agreed to promote the use of alternative building technology as we seek to build integrated and sustainable human settlements. The National HomeHouse Builders Registration Council, NHBRC, is leading this process and they are about to create the institution to ensure that we use theseis alternative technologies.
There are provinces that are taking this issue seriously and have housing which is built using alternative technology. [Interjections.]
Don't tell me about Western Cape. Think about potta-potta - that is not a good story for me.
We will continue to reactivate our communities in supports of the People's Housing Process, PHP. This programme needs to be supported because it gives ordinary women an opportunity to build their own homes and to support each other. However, there are unresolved issues in this regard which will be attended to by thoseat NGOs .that we are working with.
As a department, we are working closely with Slum Dwellers International, SDI, the Federation of Urban Poor, FedUP, and others. We also visited India, together with Slum Dwellers International, where we learnt about the concept of "sustainable livelihood" when we are dealing with issues of human settlements.
The Department of Human Settlements hosts youth builds every year. This year, we had the a yyouth bbuild in Galeshewe in Kimberly where 76 houses were built and they are of good quality. They were built with face brick.
Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the project and laid bricks. We are urging provinces to identify youth contractors and empower them accordingly. We do this in partnership with the National Youth Development Agency, NYDA, and other stakeholders.
We welcome the Minister's announcement to fast- track the building of houses for military veterans. We will do so in partnership with the Department of Military Veterans.
We also had a number of dialogues with people living with disabilities in Mitchells Plain. This was attended by Deputy Minister Bogopane-Zulu. One of the resolutions of that engagement was the call made by the people, disabled people; they were calling upon us, Minister, to open regional offices in the province for closer access to communities. They don't trust the DA-led government. This engagement was also attended by the Deputy Director-General Maphisa.
With regard to international relations, Aas a country, we are part of the Ssecretariat of the African Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development, AmchudMCHUD. We are in the process of preparing the Habitat III report that will be submitted in September by the Minister in New York.
We will also be hosting the Slum Upgrading Conference in March 2015, a decision which was taken in Morocco in November 2013. I want to give the Minister more time for her reply, so I thank you. [Applause.]
Ms T E BAKER
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Ms T E BAKER: Chairperson, hon members, guests and colleagues, good afternoon. I am truly honoured to be a member of this very aptly named Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements. I am honoured to serve the people of South Africa in this portfolio, as it is exactly that – a portfolio about people and not about houses.
As per the 2014 strategic plan, the mandate of the Department of Human Settlements is to determine, finance, promote, co-ordinate, communicate and monitor the implementation of housing policy and human settlements. In ideal circumstances, it is an excellent mandate to work towards, but given the previous track record of this department, it is an ambitious mandate at best.
This is a department which has been plagued by underperformance, coupled with poor monitoring systems, as is clearly evident in the state of the country's housing sector. This is especially true in regard to the appalling conditions that the poorest members of our society are subjected to live in.
According to 2013 statistics contained in the department's current strategic plan, there is still a huge backlog of 2,3 million houses. Now the Minister has committed to building 270 000 houses per year, which is approximately 1,4 million – or 1,5 million, as the Minister has just addedd – over the next five years.
This roughly equates to only about 50% of the backlog. My question to you, hon Minister, is: What about the other more than one million houses? What story do we tell the millions of people who in five years' time will still not be living in decent conditions in suitable human settlements, as per the delivery priorities that this department is expected to deliver?
A total of 1,8 million South Africans still live in approximately 2 500 informal settlements around the country.
The tightening of policies to regulate illegal land and building invasions needs to be fast-tracked, so as to avoid further violent evictions of residents, such as those we witnessed just last week in Zandspruit in Gauteng, where the Red Ants demolished over 40 homes in the middle of winter, in what was possibly the coldest spell that this country has witnessed this year. Of course, the violent protests that ensued are not to be scoffed at.
I'm sure the hon Minister has a plan to get personally involved in assisting these destitute families to get re-established in suitable premises, as she has recently undertaken in the Western Cape, especially the old gogo we saw with a baby on her back trying to find her belongings in the rubble after the Red Ants had left. [Interjections.]
A brief look at housing delivery across the provinces paints a very bleak picture. In the Eastern Cape, delivery has dropped by 12,1%; 15,7% in the Free State; 11,9% in KwaZulu-Natal; 27% in Mpumalanga; and a staggering 31% in Gauteng. However, we are encouraged by the Western Cape, the province with the highest influx of people from other provinces, all looking for a better life and better opportunities in a province where the DA-led provincial government is taking positive steps to root out corruption.
This is especially the case in regard to housing waiting lists and backroom deals, which often result in public housing going only to those with the right political connections and contracts going to the politically connected in other provinces. [Interjections.]
Chairperson, I furthermore share the concerns of Statistician-General, and the Minister's own concerns, that houses are still being built according to apartheid spatial patterns. We have to wonder how on earth this is still possible, given that we have just celebrated 20 years of democracy as a nation.
The fact that the ANC government has failed to address such a crucial aspect of development smacks of hypocrisy. I urge the Minister to address this issue urgently, ensuring that proper residential programmes are planned and implemented where the inclusion of social amenities, transport, education and employment opportunities are the overarching determining factors.
All this can be achieved and a better life for all ensured if the Minister and her department are committed to ensuring that allocated budgets are productively spent, oversight of all entities is efficiently carried out, title deeds are issued to the rightful property owners, vacant posts are filled, and contractors are held liable and to account.
Is this a tall order, Madam Minister, or an achievable mandate? Only time will tell. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mr H M Z MMEMEZI
Ms T E BAKER
Mr H M Z MMEMEZI: Chairperson; hon Minister; hon Deputy Minister and MECs; hon members; people in the public gallery; our people in the mining towns across the country; and all South Africans, greetings.
The 2014-15 Vote No 31: Human Settlements affords us another opportunity to critically scrutinise and consider the department and its entities' progress, strengths, weaknesses and opportunities presented in this Budget Vote, strategic plans and annual performance plans included.
It is indeed a great honour for me to present our support and areas of concern that need the attention and consideration of both the Minister and her department. [Interjections.] We also wish to congratulate Minister Sisulu and the President for appointing her once more to the Department of Human Settlements.
We take our hats off to our voters who went out in their numbers on 7 May 2014, despite many lies and fabrications, and voted for our glorious movement, the ANC, embarrassingly shutting up the big mouths of many prophets of doom and the so-called opinion makers with 62%. [Applause.] To you, the voters ...
IsiZulu:
... siyabonga, siyanconcoza, sithi Mazenethole. [Thank you very much.]
English:
Chairperson, we are quite excited and encouraged by Minister Sisulu's Budget Vote, as it is clear to us that ...
IsiZulu:
... abantu bakithi, okudala belindile ukuba le mini yezindlu ifike nakubo, bazothola izindlu ezilinganiselwa kwizinkulungwane ezingama-270 000 unyaka nonyaka. Abanamehlo bayabona; abathanda iqiniso bazobonga.
English:
In his state of the nation address, our President, ubaba obekekileyo uGedleyihlekisa Zuma, directed, amongst other things, that building houses and other services to revitalise mining towns as part of the October 2012 agreement between business, government and labour must be part of the department's focus. The same applies to the upgrading or conversion of hostels into family units.
As I was listening to the Minister's budget speech, it was clear to me that the President's directive had not only been heard but was also being implemented.
To you people in the mining towns and townships ...
IsiZulu:
Uhulumeni wenu eniwuvotele akafikanga ugalelekile; eholwa uNgqongqoshe kanye noNgqongqoshe beziFundazwe ezweni lonke. Abanamehlo bayabona; abathanda iqiniso bazobonga.
English:
As both a peasant and mineworker for the greater part of my working life, it is indeed an honour to be allowed to remind hon members here, and South Africans in general, of the significance of reviving mining towns and townships and impress on mine owners the conversion of their employees' hostels to family units, as well as highlighting some truths about why this mammoth task was waiting for the ANC government when the mining industry has been in existence for more than 120 years.
What was the role of the apartheid government and mine owners? What did they do with those huge profits during the heyday of oppression and cheap mining? [Interjections.]
Let us look at some of the background to the mining industry and urbanisation. Indeed, the discovery of diamonds and gold in 1867 and 1886, respectively, changed South Africa's outlook dramatically. The areas around Kimberley became the battlefield of diamond diggers.
By the 1940s already, the area then called the Witwatersrand, which included the East Rand, Johannesburg, West Rand, etc, boasted a population of 1 million people scattered all over the new mining towns, including Marabastad, Pretoria, Vaal and many others, that had sprung up across the Transvaal veld.
The then central government policy of segregation declared by Prime Minister Smuts in Parliament was based on maintaining white supremacy. The migrant labour system, linked to extreme exploitation, humiliating practices and dangerous working and living conditions in the single-sex compounds, brought immense hardship to blacks simply because they were black.
In spite of the state and mine bosses making huge profits through low wages, there was no willingness to change the black mineworker's situation, and there was also no willingness to deal with a crisis caused by rapid urbanisation and industrialisation.
South Africa's cheap black migrant labour system aggravated the social problems all over the mining towns and in the remote rural areas from which these migrant workers were recruited. Over time, many of these workers could not stand the mining and hostel life and opted for life outside the hostels. Some ended up refusing to go back to their homelands ...
IsiZulu:
... bathi "kusekhaya nalapha". Yasho yakhula iSoweto, iKagiso, iGaleshewe, iThabong, iKhutsong, njalo njalo.
English:
As the homelands' economies began to break down, the apartheid government could not curtail the flow of people streaming from the poverty-stricken rural areas. There were no rural development programmes for our people; there was no SA Social Security Agency, Sassa, to hand out social relief food parcels and alleviate hunger and poverty for the majority of South Africans. [Interjections.]
Thank you to those who voted for the ANC. Today even remote rural areas have many government programmes on rural development, such as electrification, social grants, etc.
Hon Minister, the responsibility now rests with you to drastically reduce the backlog mentioned above that accumulated during all those years. Co-ordinated, integrated, comprehensive and sustainable human settlements and quality housing will be the result of united actions led by your department, to which you have committed yourself.
Mr T W MHLONGO: Chairperson?
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Hon Mmemezi, will you just take your seat, please. Yes, hon member?
Mr T W MHLONGO: Chair, will the member take a question?
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Hon Mmemezi, are you prepared to take a question?
Mr H M Z MMEMEZI: I won't take any questions. [Laughter.]
Reversing the imbalances of the past is indeed the way to go, as per the instruction of the preamble to our Constitution, the National Development Plan, NDP, and the ANC manifesto. It is our submission that all relevant departments - national and provincial - municipal entities and parastatals must join hands to realise this mammoth task of reviving the mining towns.
To date, mining towns and townships have thousands of potential beneficiaries. Some earn above the R3 500 bracket; others are only looking for serviced sites; while still others, such as nurses, teachers, police officers and office workers, need more information on the gap market and Finance-linked Individual Subsidy Programme, Flisp.
We are quite happy that the Minister this morning explained these programmes in detail. We have no doubt that the department will respond to all the stakeholders who are waiting for government to deliver.
Those in the mining hostels also want to hear that the Minister will urgently engage mine bosses to fast-track the programme of converting hostels into family units. The mine bosses are expected to assist your department as you revive the mining towns surrounding their mines.
Minister, our emerging contractors are not paid on time. Could there be consequences be for those behind the misconduct of squeezing our contractors out of business?
Emerging youth and female contractors need intensive support, financing, coaching and incubation, as they are ready to participate in human settlements construction. Could the Minister once more reassure them, as she has already done?
The ANC supports this Budget Vote. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Mr W M MADISHA
Mr H M Z MEMEZI
Mr W M MADISHA: Hon Chair, as you know, the Housing Act was passed in 1997. Since then ministers have come and gone, but the issue of housing remains largely unresolved and the present model does not resemble what a proper modern human settlement model should be.
Since 1997, the government has failed to create a sustainable national housing development process leading to proper human settlements. The people of Lwandle know only too well that this department has routinely failed to effectively monitor the performance of provinces and municipalities and to build their capacity in respect of housing development.
Regrettably, the department's own strategic goals of accelerating the delivery of what it calls "housing opportunities", improving access to basic services, providing a framework for more efficient land use and improving access to the property market, have also not been adequately realised. Thus the backlogs have grown ever larger.
The department's goal of overseeing the implementation of the household sanitation programme also lacks legs and communities remain as agitated as ever. Years of talking have also not yielded much progress in respect of improving access to housing finance and developing an extensive partnership with the financial sector. The dream of an improved quality of household life has not yet replaced the nightmare most people continue to experience.
The department's goal of providing upgrading plans for informal settlements is likewise seriously lacking in stamina and has left millions of people in a state of abject misery.
Cope believes that households in informal settlements must be upgraded at a very rapid pace, using a viable and creative mix of funding models. The need to provide access to secure tenure and basic services is imperative for the times in which we are living.
The National Development Plan, NDP, correctly requires the workings of the spatial economy to be altered so that, each year from now, urban settlements do indeed become functionally integrated, balanced and vibrant. We need to see pilot projects in each and every city consistent with these goals by the end of this year.
Policy and funding reforms have to occur at once, considering that the NDP already outlines what needs to be done and this is the only action, therefore, that is needed.
The Minister must urgently inform this house when and where a functioning and equitable residential market will come into effect. Thank you. [Time expired.]
Mrs C DUDLEY
Mr W M MADISHA
Mrs C DUDLEY: Hon Chair, with government shifting the responsibility of providing low-income housing to certain municipalities in line with the NDP recommendations, the question the ACDP is asking is: Will the budget follow the mandate and is that budget adequate to the task of ensuring relevant capacity to get the job done?
It is at the municipal level that planning takes place, so it makes sense that the responsibility should follow the plans. Sadly, many skeptics will see this as just another opportunity for corruption, incompetence and maladministration. We hope this will not be the case.
Local government does not have the best track record and the oversight and monitoring of budgets for the purpose of providing low-cost housing must remain the responsibility and top priority of the department at a national level.
Crucial projects meant to provide houses and toilets to many in rural areas and informal settlements have stalled, we are told. This appears to be endemic throughout the entire housing sector, with provincial governments among the chief perpetrators with underperformance and failure to spend.
We hear the department saying that this is a result of long procurement processes, lack of bulk infrastructure and lack of identification of suitable land for human settlement development. But, people do not want excuses; they want houses and services.
You do face a significant challenge, hon Minister, and the ACDP would like to see you succeed. We welcome government's recognition that relocating informal settlements is not always a solution. We applaud government's response to calls to provide interim servicing and emergency relief in informal settlements through the provision of water and sanitation and through solid waste removal.
The rapid assessments and categorising of informal settlements, meant to assist municipalities in provinces to better understand and respond to the immediate needs of residents, are also a positive step forward. Implementation, however, does need to be improved.
The ACDP would like to bring to your attention the issue of subsidies for special-needs group-housing for orphans, victims of domestic abuse, the disabled, older people, trafficked persons and others.
To provide improved group care and shelter for persons with special needs, nonprofit organisations are in urgent need of available of housing subsidies. I am told that this issue did come before the housing portfolio committee late last year and that the Department of Social Development was also very supportive. However, the process remains very slow.
If the Department of Human Settlements opts for a new research and policy development process, it will take years to complete with delays causing frustration for those most affected.
The ACDP welcomes the grant introduced to fast-track the eradication of bucket toilets in formal and informal areas and we welcome the Minister's commitment to creating an environment which encourages private-sector investment in low-income housing projects. The ACDP will be supporting this budget. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mr L P KHOARAI
Ms C DUDLEY
Mr L P KHOARAI: House Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, the family of Human Settlements, entities of the department, Members of Parliament, comrades and friends, allow me to highlight one issue. As the ANC we know why there are Departments of Human Settlements and Water and Sanitation. It is for this reason that the President of the ANC decided to split various departments.
Together, moving South Africa forward, the ANC supports Budget Vote No 31. [Applause.]
South Africa's Constitution places an obligation on the state to provide its citizens with access to adequate housing. As the custodian of the housing sector, the Department of Human Settlements has developed strategies, policies and programmes to ensure the progressive realisation of this right of South Africa's people. So, we are not confused!
The department's strategic plan for 2014-2019 was approved by Cabinet in June 2014. This plan is informed by the ruling party's election manifesto, the National Development Plan, NDP, and the Medium-Term Strategic Plan of the department. In order to respond to the ANC's election manifesto, the department's delivery priorities in the period ahead are expected to deal with the following, amongst other things: firstly, to ensure that all South African citizens live in decent and sustainable human settlements; secondly, to provide 1 million housing opportunities for qualifying households in urban and rural settlements over a five year period; and thirdly, to accelerate the provision of basic services and infrastructure to all existing informal settlements.
In his state of the nation address, President Jacob Zuma highlighted the key strategic objectives of the Department of Human Settlements relating to human settlement. These objectives are to provide support to Moqhaka Municipality, which is the municipality where I come from, and the eradication of the bucket system and open toilets. That is a good idea.
The Minister indicated that her department has been leading an interministerial committee on sanitation, comprising the Department of Water and Sanitation and the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
The Minister also indicated that there are ongoing discussions between the Department of Human Settlements and the newly formed Department of Water and Sanitation. This is to ensure that this function, as it relates to housing provided by the government, remains with the Department of Human Settlements. We support this. We look forward to the progressive discussions on this matter.
Minister, the portfolio committee's concern is that in many provinces the issue of informal settlements remains a challenge. What is the department's plan to deal with communities that put up a resistance in regard to the removal of people from informal settlements? We hope that the department will find a solution to deal with this challenge.
Chairperson, allow me to talk about the 2014-15 target plan for the department; which is the programme dealing with the eradication of the bucket system. This bucket system eradication programme grant was attained by slicing 5% off the grant over a period of two years. This amounted to R899 177 for 2014-15. For 2015-16 it amounts to R975 399 and is divided among all provinces. This is being allocated for a two year period and will end in March 2016.
The department reported that this backlog stood at 280 000 buckets for the entire country. It set a target of 47 325 buckets to be eradicated for the 2014-15 financial year, and 51 377 for the 2015-16 financial year. The department also reported that it will undertake the eradication of the bucket backlog in 2016. [Interjections.] Just listen!
The department entered into service-level agreements with public entities in all provinces for the eradication of the bucket system. Three of these entities include the Housing Development Agency which is here in Cape Town, Bloem Water which is in my province of Free State and Sedibeng Water which is in the Northern Cape. We look forward to these agreements that should assist with this bucket-system eradication challenge in all provinces.
We look forward to the political overview of the Minister as the political head of the strategic direction of the Department of Human Settlements. The Minister referred to the NDP by this government as the basic work of the department. It is important that the promises made to the people of the country, through the ANC's election manifesto, are fulfilled.
The Minister indicated that the department would go back to the Breaking New Ground plan – which is very important – and ensure that they deliver 1,4 million houses in the next five years. The Minister also informed the committee that according to the 2007 statistics, the department managed to deliver and provided 1,6 million houses since 1994, while the backlog is still high at 2,3 million.
The Minster committed the department to the delivery of 270 000 houses per year. That relates to 1,4 million houses in the next five years. [Interjections.] The Minister also informed the portfolio committee that the tabled strategic plan of 26 June 2014 was concluded before she joined the Department of Human Settlements and it is possible for it to be amended.
We look forward to working with the department as the Minister has invited members to make their input.
Let me also highlight the provincial allocations as reported by the national Department of Human Settlements.
Firstly, the main purpose of the Human Settlement Development Grant is to provide for the creation of sustainable human settlements.
Secondly, it is to create human settlements that enable and improve the quality of life of households. The Outcome 8 programme was reported as one which would facilitate and provide access to basic infrastructure, top structure and basic socioeconomic amenities, in order to contribute to the creation of sustainable human settlements. This will improve the rate of the employment and skills development target for 2014-15, which was to provide 58 O64 sites and 126 352 units.
In conclusion, let me say we welcome the initiative of the department and the Minister. We are guided by our revolutionary people's document, the Freedom Charter, which declares, "There shall be houses, security and comfort!" [Interjections.]
An HON MEMBER: But when?
Mr L P KHOARAI: With the mandate that was given to the department by our people to implement and safeguard the gains of democracy, let us ... [Interjections.] ... rally all the people of our country around the 2030 Vision as outlined in the NDP.
The ANC supports Budget Vote No 31. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mr S M GANA
Mr L P KHOARAI
Mr S M GANA: Ndza khensa, Thank you, Chairperson, Chairperson,hon Minister and Deputy Minister, hon members, fellow South Africans, the German poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote, "knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do." As we enter the third decade of our democracy, we must ask ourselves if the intentions of the department had been followed by tangible actions. There is no doubt that from a policy drafting stage, we are coming up with good proposals but we are failing to implement what we consider to be our win.
There have been great policies drafted for the department, from the Breaking New Ground, BNG, Policy to the National Development Plan, NDP. As the DA we do agree with the provisions as outlined in the NDP for inclusive human settlements. We agree that we must not reinforce apartheid geography when it comes to human settlements and that we must build an active citizenry and not a depended inactive citizenry.
Goethe offers us another piece of wisdom by saying,
If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain how he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be.
If we want recipients of housing opportunities to be active citizens, we should treat them as active citizens. We should involve them early on before a house is built or a service is installed. As things stands, recipients have no choice on what kind of a house they get. We should get out of the mindset of building houses of the same type, shape and form and move to consulting recipients before units are built.
The department is good at talking about removing barriers to housing trade but the actions do not follow the intention. To this day, we have a provision in the Housing Act, Act 107 of 1997, which prohibits the recipients of subsidy housing from selling their houses for a period of eight years. Even the very same BNG Policy that the hon spoke about earlier on warned in 2004 that the eight-years period is a massive barrier to housing trade and proposes that the years be reduced to five years.
As thea DA we believe that the number of years should in, fact be, two years. We do not believe that the circumstances that necessitated the eight or five years restrictions still persist today. It is time that we take bold action and amend section 10Aa of the Housing Act and allow recipients of subsidy housing to sell their houses after two years to whoever they wish to sell to.
Another barrier to the housing trade has been the issuing of title deeds, hon Minister. We have many recipients of subsidy housing who do not have title deeds to their houses, some of which date back as far as 10 years. Some of the recipients have passed on. When it comes to subsidy housing, there should be no happy letter without a title deed. The title deed must be the happy letter.
If we are to unlock the potential of this market, every subsidy-house recipient must be given a title deed. Title deeds are not just a piece of paper; they are a powerful tool that gives holders economic opportunities to use as surety for loans. These loans can be used to ensure children get a university education. For example, Amukelani, from Nkowankowa, was able to go to university because her parents had a title deed as surety when applying for a study loan after the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS rejected her application.
Hon Minister, I hope that when you talked about 100 days of title deeds for pre-1994, you wereare not talking about the plans that the Estate Agency Affairs Board, EAAB, will have to submit. WeYou are talking about the actual title deeds. Plans are not service delivery; they just exist on a piece of paper. To be willing is not enough, we must start doing things.
Other municipalities must follow the example of the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality ... [Interjections.] ... of giving title deeds to long- term tenants of council properties such as hostels to give them ownership of property. [Interjections.]
We need to empower our people economically through title deeds. This afternoon, the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality has just announced the programme to roll out services to back yard dwellers, something that other municipalities must also learn from.
Even with the good policy proposals, as outlined in the BNG and NDP documents, we continue to see subsidised housing being built in areas far away from the economic centres. This is one area where intent and action are separate from each other. Hon members, if we are to change the apartheid geography and help with urban densification we must make state land and land belonging to parastatals available for housing. Why this is still a problem, puzzles me.
In 2004 when the BNG Policy was adopted, it identified that the houses being built for the subsidy market are of a poor of quality quality, primarily because tenders were awarded to people who knew little about construction. To this day, we continue to award tenders to politically- connected individuals whose sole purpose is to line their pockets rather than building quality houses for our people.
Over the last three years we have spent over R2,.5 billion, fixing the work of these unscrupulous tenderpreneurs. These are the billions that should have gone to build over 25 000 housing units or over 100 000 sites that could have been serviced. Hon Minister, knowing about the lessons we learned in the last 20 years is not enough, we must start applying them. Even in this very same bBudget we will spend close to R1 billion fixing the shoddy work of some contractors. Up to this day, I don't know of any contractor that has paid back the money of which he or shethey has defrauded the people of this country.
Hon members, in the delivery of housing the department should not only be chasing quantity but must ensure that the housing opportunities it delivers are of excellent quality. The National Home Builders Regulation Council, NHBRC, and municipalities must get involved early on in the projects to ensure that quality housing units are delivered. We can't continue flushing cash down the drain or, should I say, flushing it into the pockets of corrupt tenderpreneurs.
Hon members, whilst the bBudget of the department has increased over the years, the increase in the budget is not aligned to the delivery on the ground. The number of housing opportunities isare decreasing year after year, yet the budget is increasing.
One of the important things we must deal with is the corruption with regard to the waiting lists. We must make the lists publicly available so that each one knows where they are on the list.
We can't continue having houses standing empty for over five5 years, like those in Meadowlands and Dube, hon Mmemezi. They were empty when you were the MEC and they are still empty today because there are fights about who the recipients are.
Hon Minister, as I stated, there are good proposals contained in the NDP document., Wwhat we want to see is their implementation. The time of stating our intentions is over;, it is time that we act. As Goethe said, and I quote:
Willing is not enough, we must do.,
"Plans are not enough, we must deliver." Ndza khensa [Thank you.], Chairperson. [Applause.]
Mr L A MNGANGA-GCABASHE
Mr S M GANA
Ms L A MNGANGA-GCABASHE: Hon Chairperson, the 2014-15 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, budget allocated to the department must be seen to be responding to the issues raised by our people when we were campaigning.
Program 3 of the Vote - which deals with the delivery support programme that constitutes 97%, which is R29 billion, through grants to provinces and municipalities - has to be monitored on a monthly basis, to ensure that money is spent from the beginning of the financial year to avoid spending only towards the last quarter of the financial year and end up with underspending.
The Integrated Master Plan seeks to align our plans which are critical in addressing the apartheid spatial plan for the provision of sustainable human settlement together with other departments as pointed out in Chapter 8 of the National Development Plan, NDP.
The strategic plan mission statement must create more opportunities for qualifying households to enter into different schemes provided by the department through its entities, be it for rentals or purchase, incremental both in urban and rural areas.
Our greenfields projects must be only for the densification type of housing to address the backlogs that we have. Together with the Department Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, we must have a programme and engage our communities on the importance of high rise structures to address the shortage of suitable land for housing development. There should also be programmes on the eradication of informal settlements, hence the promotion of high-rise structures is vital to address resistance to relocations. However, we should not overlook compelling reasons if the land is not suitable for housing development.
In this case communication is vital - communication, communication, communication. It should be noted that the higher you go through densification, the higher the costs incurred are, hence the need to increase the budget for housing infrastructure. We are pleading with the National Treasury to come to the party on this one.
This brings me to pilot projects that are part of the national programme, one in Cape Town, the N2 Gate Way project, which the Minister committed herself to completing - the Phase 1 of Joe Slovo during this financial year. The high-rise structures in this project are a practical solution to densely populated informal settlements.
The Cornubia integrated megaproject in Durban, which is a public-private partnership, is responding to the National Development Plan, NDP, Chapter 8, as it is within the economic hub of the city, surrounded by the suburban areas of Mount Edgecombe, Umhlanga that will also be linked to Bus Rapid Transit System routes including Dube Trade Port and King Shaka International Airport which are nearby.
It also planned to have light industrial factories, retail parks, business and recreational parks, as well as clinics and primary schools and a high school.
All this is expected to create 48 000 new, sustainable job opportunities over 15 years and a further 15 000 during the construction phase, over and above jobs that were created during inception of Phase 1 of this project.
The project, in total, at the end will yield 28 000 housing development opportunities. It is a product that caters for the lower income group, including the government-subsidy category that was constructed in high-rise during the first phase of this project and handed over to beneficiaries by the President of South Africa earlier in '2014.
This is, indeed, a radical economic shift in practice and an ongoing implementation of a practical example of how business can contribute to development and the creation of jobs together with government. This is, indeed, a good story to tell for the ANC government.
The proper recording of jobs created by projects must be monitored closely to reflect the correct statistics from municipalities and provinces as it contributes to curbing unemployment and also contributes to radical changes in economic development in order to respond to the NDP's Chapter 8 in regard to integrated human settlement development.
The department will have to continue with other megaprojects that are similar to Cornubia in other provinces, utilising well-located and strategic land through the Housing Development Agency, HAD, a department entity that has obtained an unqualified audit for 2013-14, and is able to go beyond its target to secure land for provinces and municipalities for human settlement development.
This shows that the entity does have a capacity to expand from operating in six to nine provinces and to increase its target as well. Hon Minister, we would like to get a timeframe on the implementation of this.
We also urge the Department of Public Enterprise entity to donate land to municipalities, especially if land is already settled, instead of charging municipalities the market value. They should view this as their own contribution to developing and formalising a settled land.
We hope that the Departments of Public Works and Rural Development and Land Reform will provide more state land for development of integrated human settlement.
The gap-market category of our people who earn above R10 000 represents a huge demand for us to amend our policy providing grants to entities which focus on providing mortgages for home loans.
The provision of rental stock and revamping of inner-city buildings is quite urgent. The indications of this demand are clear; when projects of this nature are advertised your Public Service and Administration employees come in large numbers even if a targeted category income earning was for between R7 000 to R10 000.
The improvements in the beneficiary database, which is outlined in the budget, will go a long way in addressing issues faced by municipal councillors where they sometimes are blamed and attacked. This revamping will remove such hostility towards them resulting from these challenges in the system currently being used. It will minimise process around the waiting period.
The hon President during his state of the nation address has tasked us to speedily resolve the backlogs in the issuing of title deeds. The money set aside for this programme must be utilised to improve capacity.
The relationship between the Departments of Human Settlements and Rural Development and Land Reform, is of vital importance in speeding up the approval of title deeds, and we would like to have a programme that addresses this, hon Ministers.
The pre-1998 backlogs where subdivisions were not done, require much greater intervention by both the Department of Human Settlements and Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, with their provincial departments, to scrap the provincial ordinance on town-planning schemes.
These interventions will assist municipalities in resolving town-planning delays - which are the result of the old way of conducting business - when they are rectifying the provision of services planning but are frustrated by a process of 24 months, at the best, or 36 months, for planning approval.
Although the Department of Human Settlements has provided money for this process, it requires a replacement of the ordinance by the Planning Development Act, PDA. Where it is implemented by provinces, it does assist municipalities. KwaZulu-Natal has done this and it does assist municipalities a great deal.
Internally, they are able to attend to town-planning layout and township establishment applications and the process for approval is reduced from 24 months to 8 months, or even 6 months. We request both Ministers to come to an agreement on this. We want to believe that through our portfolio chairperson we would be able to jointly further discuss this matter as the 61% allocation of the combined Urban Settlements Development Grant, USDG, and Human Settlements Development Grant, HSDG, is allocated to metros to resolve such historical backlogs of services.
The result here is that the beneficiaries of these houses have a complete product and are able to receive title deeds after processes are formalized. In turn, they take responsibility for maintaining their homes and have a sense of pride in owning a property legally, which was not the case during the apartheid era of which the DA was part. They only changed the name!
The co-operation does not in any way relieve the Department of Human Settlements from all spheres to properly plan and attend to all issues of planning at the inception of the project to avoid this 24-to-36 months period. The Minister has committed funds to address this and we will monitor it.
The budget for the bulk supply of sewerage, water, transport routes and electricity power lines, to name the major ones, must be aligned from the planning stages in the preparations for each housing development within the human settlements to avoid backlogs in future, which sometimes are caused by insufficient funding for reticulation, for example.
When the municipality bulks ... Thank you, Chairperson. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
The MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Ms L A MNGANGA-GCABASHE
THE MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS: House Chair, I would like to congratulate those members of the committee who came here and showed quite clearly that they had taken the time to read and understand the matters before us. I am extremely impressed. I am extremely impressed with members of the ANC, UDM, and with members of the ... of the ... [Laughter.] [Interjections.] ... with the lady who comes from Meshoe's political party, but the rest of the vacuousness here just shows it for what it is.
I was just reminded by one of the members here that you might want to read an article that was written by Van Onselen, advising the DA that they should stop pontificating and that they are not arbiters of all that is good and right. In fact, if you haven't read it, we will do you the honour of giving you that document. [Interjections.]
I thank the chair and the committee for these deliberations, especially those who were able to add sense to what we are dealing with, because the provision of housing is a very serious matter for us. We have considered the 1,5 million, we have committed ourselves to that, and this is what we are going to do in the next five years.
Clearly, my hope of finding a partnership with the committee is all in vain. However, I have found a partnership with the ANC, the ACDP and the UDM. I hope that, together, we will be able to make sure that we change the lives of our people, who have been waiting for us to respond to their plight. [Interjections.]
Hon Mmemezi, we will be creating a special unit of standards and compliance, whose job it will be, among other things, to make sure that contractors are paid on time. This is a matter that we are very concerned about and this unit will make sure that that point is taken up. Thank you for emphasising it.
Deputy Minister, we will commemorate the untimely death of our women stalwarts, especially those who have just passed away these past few weeks. We will be commemorating the deaths of Nosipho Ntwanambi and Nadine Gordimer in the month of August, by making sure that we build something sustainable in housing in their honour. [Applause.] As you said, may their souls rest in peace.
I welcome the reasoned input from the hon Dudley, who clearly applied her mind to the matters at hand, seeks a solution and seeks to be part of that solution. Thank you very much for your support.
Thank you very much to the UDM for your very constructive input. May you take the time to coach the EFF on what counts in a Budget Vote. [Laughter.] What will the people of this country, listening to the people who made their input here, think of each one of them and how seriously they take the matter of housing and human settlements?
Let me tell you about the hon member from the EFF. The only house that they have any ownership of is the one they built in KwaZulu-Natal and is broken and, in fact, began fracturing immediately as they left. [Laughter.] She has absolutely ... even before they had packed up their picks and shovels, the house had fallen down. So I don't know what they are talking about.
Over and above that, however, the hon member was in a meeting where the portfolio committee was being briefed. She is sitting there, writing furiously, and I am sitting there thinking, "My God, here is an energetic young woman", until I am informed by someone sitting behind her that she is just doodling, because it was way above her. She didn't understand, and she spent her time doodling! [Laughter.] Just wake up! This is Parliament. We are here to work. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
Furthermore, here we have the hon Gaba, or whatever it is - Gqada. This is the same member of the mayoral committee, MMC, who contracted somebody, who had been accused and found guilty of corruption, to go and build houses in Manenberg. A corrupt person was appointed by the City, and she sits here and pontificates about what should be done and what should not be done. Why did you not do the right thing when you were in that position? [Interjections.] [Applause.]
Hon Gana, I am glad that you have been reading our plans. Absolutely nothing that you have been saying here is original. It is just a repetition of what we have said all the time about housing. [Laughter.] However, I am glad that you are here and you understand what we are doing. Please come and join those of us who are doing something about this.
I want to go back to the hon member Barkly, or whatever her name is. [Interjections.]
Ms S V KALYAN: Chairperson ...
THE MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS: Hon Barklin ...
Ms S V KALYAN: Chairperson, may I address you on a point of order?
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): What is your point of order, hon member?
Ms S V KALYAN: My point of order, Chairperson is this: The hon Minister is very unparliamentary in her references to the members on this side.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Hon member ...
Ms S V KALYAN: They are not "whatevers". [Interjections.] They have names and I think ...
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Hon member ...
The MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS: I am trying ...
Ms S V KALYAN: ... out of courtesy ...
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Hon member, hon member!
The MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS: I am trying very hard ...
Ms S V KALYAN: ... that the hon Minister should address the members properly.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Hon member! Take your seat please. Continue, hon Minister.
The MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS: The hon member from the DA comes here and says to us we are promising to build 1,5 million houses. What happens to the rest?
I want to know what happens to the rest, here in the Western Cape. This has been a province that has delivered the worst out of all the nine provinces. [Interjections.] What did you say to our people as they waited for the houses that you were not able to provide for them? [Applause.] [Interjections.]
Chair, I would like you to harness the energy of this committee, however ill-directed it is, because the only way we will make an impact on the lives of our people is if you join us. Come and join us! Let's build our houses and make sure we are a winning nation, where everybody has a claim to a roof over their heads. I thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
The Committee rose at 16:12.
Audio
No related
Documents
No related documents