Questions and Replies

Reply:

According to information received from the North-West Provincial Department of Human Settlements;

a) They have a total of 41 blocked and incomplete projects. A blocked or incomplete project is defined as: A project where no delivery progress has been made for a period of 12 months following the first payment to the contractor. The blocked or incomplete projects include serviced sites and houses at different levels of construction namely, slab level, wall-plate level, roof level, etc. Projects are usually blocked and incomplete due to illegal land occupations, extortion by the construction mafia, community unrest, the lack of bulk infrastructure, poor performance by contractors (some of whom would have abandoned sites) etc.

b) The majority of the reported projects became blocked and incomplete in the 2005/2006 financial year.

c) Please refer to the column marked “Developer” on the enclosed presentation from the North-West Provincial Department of Human Settlements.

(d)(i) It is anticipated that the 41 blocked and incomplete projects will be implemented in the 2023 / 2024 and 2024/25 financial years as some are planned over multiple years.

(d)(ii) The projected costs for each project are in the attached the presentation.

Reply:

I do not know of any funding of the Housing Development Agency Eastern Cape Branch. I have no knowledge of any political campaign funded by officials as alleged in the member’s question.

Reply:

According to the information received from the North West Department of Human Settlements, the Bojanala Platinum District Municipality returned the erroneously transferred funds back to the North West Department of Human Settlements. The Boitekong Cluster Project is currently funded by the province under two grants, namely the Human Settlements Development Grant (HSDG) for bulk infrastructure and top structure as well as the Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership Grant (ISUP) for planning and servicing. A tripartite Agreement has since been signed between the National Department of Human Settlements, the Province and the Rustenburg Municipality on the implementation of the project. Further to this, the province has also signed an Implementation Protocol with the Rustenburg Municipality, where the province has appointed contractors in the third quarter to construct 1849 houses on serviced sites, while the Municipality has appointed professional service providers.

Reply:

a) In 2021, the National Department of Human Settlements and its sector partners (Provinces and Municipalities) took a decision to unblock all blocked projects over a period of three financial years, namely, 2022/23 – 2024/25. A blocked or incomplete project is defined as: A project where no delivery progress has been made for a period of 12 months following the first payment to the contractor. The blocked or incomplete projects include serviced sites and houses at different levels of construction namely, slab level, wall-plate level, roof level, etc.

Factors that usually lead to human settlements projects being blocked are;

• illegal land occupations,
• geotechnical variations,
• construction mafias,
• community unrest,
• poor performance by contractors (some of whom would have abandoned sites),
• the lack of bulk infrastructure and link services,

As at April 2023, the Eastern Cape Province had identified 79 blocked and incomplete projects. From the 79 projects, a total of 11 have been unblocked and the balance is 68.

From the 68 remaining blocked and incomplete projects, the Ngqushwa and Emalahleni Local Municipalities both account for 2 projects in the approved 2023/24 Business Plan of the Eastern Cape Province- See table below

Table 1: Blocked Projects in the 2023 /2024 Business Plan to be unblocked

No.	Project Name	DM	LM
	Peddie - Mphekweni 500 subs	Amathole	Ngqushwa
	Lady Frere 715	Chris Hani	Emalahleni

Reply:

The Free State Department of Human Settlements has already appointed the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) as an implementing agent to undertake the revitalization of asbestos roofs for all asbestos roofed units that were identified during a survey that was conducted in 2015. A total of ten (10) Professional Service Providers (PSPs) have been appointed. The removal and replacement of roofs commenced in August 2023, and all the appointed PSPs have already been assigned work and will be able to cover the entire province. The process is scheduled as a multiyear project. Bloemfontein is also covered in the scope of work.

Reply:

a) (i) According to the information received from the Free State Province, there are approximately 770 blocked projects.

(ii) The anticipation timeframe to complete the incomplete projects is 2024/25 financial year.

b) In terms of the current Business Plan for the 2023/24 financial year, the province planned to address 98 incomplete projects across all districts. The national Department of Human Settlements will work closely with the Province to monitor the delivery of the houses on a quarterly basis.

Reply:

a) The total number of new projects across all provinces for the period 2022/23 financial year to date:

PROVINCE	Number
Eastern Cape	12
Free State	7
Gauteng	73
KwaZulu-Natal	94
Limpopo	184
Mpumalanga	133
Northern Cape	10
North West	8
Western Cape	33
TOTAL	554

b) Name of each specific housing project is attached as Annexure 1.

c) Amount spent on each housing project is attached as Annexure 1.

d) Municipalities where the housing projects are located are attached as Annexure 1.

Reply:

(a)The total number of Temporary Relocation Units (TRUs) that have been constructed in each temporary housing project is 774. The breakdown of the project is as follows:

 

Housing Project	Number of TRUs constructed	Total cost of TRUs	Suppliers of TRUs
Mdantsane – Erven 81,82, 87 & 88	462 units	R29 771 742.00	The Provincial Department of Human Settlements appointed the Housing Development Agency (HDA) as the implementing agent. The contractor appointed for the project is NJR Construction and the consultant is M Kona Consultants.
Fynbos TRUs	147 units	R7 728 000.00 (inclusive of VAT) The first quotation received from Vitsha PM Consultants R6 325 000.00 (VAT inclusive) The second quotation received from SQT Construction and Civils	The Provincial Department of Human Settlements appointed Vitsha PM Consultants and SQT Construction and Civils.
Duncan Village (fire victims)	165 units	R9 031 375.65 (inclusive of VAT)	Sekhekhaya Enterprise was appointed by the Provincial Department of Human Settlements.

Reply:

(1)(a) The Date for oversight visit for Thembelihle Housing project has not been determined. Information about the oversight visit will be made available once it has been determined.

Thembelihle Project is one of the completed and tenanted social housing projects and was completed with all services including electrical services. The services were only disconnected by the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality due to default in payments of services as a result of rental boycott by residents.

(b)The primary reason for the current situation at Thembelihle is a result of the rental boycott that has been ongoing for over 5 years. The consequences of rental boycotts are the suspension of municipal services, lack of maintenance and non payment and default by the delivery agents on their senior debt covenants. All these factors ultimately expose any project to illegal invasion and hijacking thus posing a real threat to the sector’s stability.

(c) It must be restated that rent payment is a non- negotiable for sustainable social rental programme. Until now the approach by the Department has been to avoid evictions but to engage the tenants to start paying for their stay at Thembelihle. The evictions are only considered as a measure of last resort.

(2). On the 19 September 2023 the board of Yeast City Housing, the Social Housing Institution responsible for the management of Thembelihle, convened an urgent board meeting to consider amongst other matters the low levels of rent collection, the financial stability of the project, the possibility for business rescue and finding ways of restoring municipality services.

It must be noted that recently there has been a change of management at Thembelihle to try and turn around the current situation. The new management must be supported and given space to attempt to rescue the situation. A comprehensive report will be made available by the SHRA and Yeast City Housing which will allow for a more focused intervention.

Reply:

The following measures have been put in place to ensure that the time frames for clearing the housing backlog are met, particularly in the rural parts of the Republic:

• The Department has a multi-year development plan that outlines projects that are going to be funded and implemented over a number of years. The multi-year development plan is a bottom-up plan, which is informed by the need for housing that is identified at the local municipality ward level, escalated to a consolidated local, district municipalities and finally provincial level. The plans cover projects that respond to the housing needs in both urban and rural areas. The multi-year development plan gets disaggregated into annual business plans with clear timelines to achieve the project deliverables and budgets to fund the projects.

• The Department funds the Provincial annual business plans through the Human Settlements Development Grant (HSDG) and the Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership Grants (ISUPG) to fund the development of human settlements projects and upgrade informal settlements.

The Department also funds the Metropolitan Municipalities’ annual business plans through the Urban Settlements Development Grant (USDG) and the Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership Grants (ISUPG) to fund the development of human settlements projects and upgrade informal settlements.

• To ensure that the plans are implemented within the set time frames and allocated budgets, the Department conducts ongoing monitoring and oversight in all projects under implementation.

Reply:

a) As advised by the Limpopo Department of Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), the Talana Hostel has been identified as a priority for upgrading. The planning, design and packaging phase was recently concluded for the hostel.

It consists of fifty-five (55) residential block units with residents comprising of families and individuals- The hostel is highly overcrowded.

It is envisaged that the old/ existing hostel blocks as well as the informal houses erected on the site will be demolished and redeveloped into three-storey medium density walk-up buildings comprising of one and two-bedroomed units. The upgrades will be effected via the Community Residential Units programme.

b) There is no delay in the upgrading of the hostel. The planning phase has just been concluded and the province is in the process of procuring an implementation agent that will take the project further in preparation for the construction upgrade.

Reply:

No, the department does not approve expenditure on security as there is no policy provision for such. The Department is undertaking a review of its existing policies which will inform improvements on the utilisation of the grants.

Reply:

1. The Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements (ECDoHS) advised that it appointed Kou-Kamma Local Municipality in 2021 as the Implementing Agent for the construction of RDP houses in Koomansbos. However, the Service Level Agreement was withdrawn by the ECDoHS on 22 March 2022 due to a contractual dispute between the Provincial Department and the Municipality. This has contributed to delays in implementing the project, therefore no houses were built for the residents.

2. The ECDoHS further indicated that it appointed the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) in October 2022 to serve as the Implementing Agent for the project. In August 2023, the CDC put out an advertisement for the appointment of a Professional Service Provider (PSP) to construct RDP houses for the residents of Koomansbos, and the tender closed on 28 August 2023. It is anticipated that the construction of RDP houses will commence around mid-October 2023.

Reply:

1. The National Department of Human Settlements (NDHS) and the then Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) currently known as NMU, entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) on 6 November 2012. The signed MoA provided for the establishment of a Chair of Education in Human Settlements Development Management. The established Chair of Education in Human Settlements Management was responsible, amongst other things, for the design and delivery of a unique professional degree known as the Bachelor of Human Settlements Development Degree. This degree is an undergraduate 4-year integrated multidisciplinary qualification with a focus on human settlements issues. (See Annexure A- MoA)

The partnership was extended for a further two years and an addendum was added to the original Agreement. The addendum extended the scope of the NMMU Chair of Education in Human Settlements and focused on the Capacity Development programme for the Human Settlements Portfolio Committee. (See Annexure B – Addendum).

2. A copy of the MoA and related addendum to the Agreement are attached as Annexure A and B in this response.

3. The expired MoA did not include the provision of job opportunities for the enrolled students that were recipients of the Departmental bursary, because the NDHS already had a Scholarship Implementation Unit that was responsible to facilitate the placement of graduates with Provincial Departments of Human Settlements and Metropolitan Municipalities. The immediate placement of students became a challenge due to the reduction in compensation of employees’ budgets in the different spheres of government, and the impact of COVID 19 on the operational budgets of the Provincial Departments of Human Settlements and the Metropolitan Municipalities.

Reply:

1. (a) The official was dismissed as a result of several transgressions including the lift incident in which she displayed gross dishonesty in dealing with it, unauthorised disclosure of confidential information, underperformance, and manipulation and inconsistent application of the Job Grading System.

(b) It is important to note that Minister’s locus standi to dismiss the concerned official was never questioned in this matter- Honourable Member, your allegations are therefore baseless.

(i) The above-mentioned transgressions which resulted in the department incurring unnecessary costs, including potential risk of litigation, clearly illustrate and justifies the need for consequence management, which were implemented and resulted in litigation.

Below are some of the reasons that necessitated consequence management:

• the disclosure of confidential information.

• She was issued with a final written warning on 10 November 2022 for achieving 33% of quarter 1 targets and 0% of quarter 2 targets of the 2022/23 Annual Performance Plan.

• She had been served with another final written warning regarding her underperformance on 22 March 2023.

• She manipulation and inconsistent application of the Job Grading System in the Grants Management Unit in 2015 and 2016 which resulted in back payments of R1 243 783.65 in 2023. The matter further caused instability, disputes, and unhappiness in this Unit.

• She signed permanent appointment letters of eight (08) Public Liaison Officers without delegations and/or authority and without following the recruitment processes. The department had to keep these officials in employment to allow for the conclusion of legal proceedings. This has costed the Department R11 412 944, 10 to date.

• Upon Minister’s arrival at this portfolio in the year 2021, she was already on suspension for a period of almost 2 years and Minister directed that she be brought back to work since it would be a waste of tax-payers money to have employees suspended for that long period with a salary sitting at home, and further directed that she be properly re-integrated to work- place.

(ii) The legal costs stand at R502 818.75- These include costs of the main application, application for leave to appeal, the application for the execution of the order of Court in terms of Section 18 (3) of Superior Courts Act, and initiation of a petition to the Judge President for leave to appeal.

2. The Department complied with section 18(3) of Superior Court Act and allowed her to return to work, whilst awaiting the decision on petition to the Judge President. She was moved to work in the Office of Director-General until the disciplinary process that was issued in 2019 and investigations into matters mentioned in paragraph 1 above are completed and/ or the petition is granted.

Reply:

(a) According to the information received from the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Department of Human Settlements, construction could only commence when the households residing in informal structures within the project footprint could be relocated, to allow for development. The households were relocated to temporary units in January 2019. The civil contractor started on site in March 2019. However, the civil programme was impacted by various challenges. One landowner refused to leave the project site and this matter took several months to resolve. The Covid-19 pandemic and the supply chain management process to extend the contract of the civil contractor, also caused further delays on the project. The extension of the contract was eventually granted in June 2022.

It should be noted that top structure construction can generally only start once sites are serviced- The delays in the civil work, also impacted negatively on the start of the construction of the top structures. The top structure contractor commenced with a show block of 11 units, however, due to the delay in installation of services, the units could not be completed. The top structure contractor’s agreement then expired. The tender process for the appointment of a new top structure contractor is underway through the Municipal Supply Chain Process and is anticipated to be awarded by October 2023. The construction of the houses is planned to resume in December 2023.

(b) An amount of R14 093 242.81 (which equates to 22% of the budget) has been spent to date, the majority of which was spent on servicing the site.

Reply:

Admittedly, the Provincial Departments of Human Settlements have been, and some are still experiencing numerous delivery challenges including spending the Human Settlements Grants fully, however, there are various interventions to improve and stabilise the performance of these Provinces.

The Department has taken the following key steps to improve performance:

• Planning
  • More emphasizes has been placed on the business planning processes.
  • For the financial year under review, the approval of the business plans was done after the financial year had begun due to vigorous processes that were done and various consultations with the provinces including MINMEC.
  • Before the approval of the plans and the transfer of grants, Provinces were requested to submit and sign-off that projects included in their business plans were ready for implementation.
  • Included and as part of the business plans submitted by Provinces were the Projects Readiness Matrix and the Procurement Plans.

• Monitoring and Mitigating on Provinces Performance
  • Provinces are monitored in line with the Division of Revenue Act (DoRA) provisions to report and account monthly and quarterly on their financial and non-financial performance against their annual allocations. This performance is continuously monitored and analyzed,
  • There are quarterly contact sessions that are held with Provinces to discuss the performance and the projects under implementation.
  • Different Forums, including MinMEC, which is a forum chaired by the Minister are held regularly to discuss the performance and to share ideas on how to improve performance by learning from others (Provinces and Metro Municipalities).
  • The Department has appointed Engineers (additional to the establishment) as Project Managers to support project level monitoring.
  • Specialists have been seconded to Provinces and Metros with performance challenges for specialized interventions, and this includes Free State and Mangaung.
  • War Rooms and Task Teams have also been appointed for immediate identification of emerging problems, stakeholder consultation and mitigations across all government levels and identified communities.
  • The Department has appointed a panel of 120 specialists in the built environment- This Panel is in the Department’s database. Services will be sourced from the panel as and when the need arises.
  • By the 5th month of the financial year, Provinces with observed poor performance are advised to submit their Recovery Plans, which are interrogated through intensive consultations with affected Provinces to confirm if these mitigation plans will indeed positively turn around and improve poor performance.
  • One-on-one attention is given to Provinces that need intervention.

• On Policy Changes
  • The subsidy quantum was also increased by 29.7% for the 2023/24 financial year, mainly to address the increasing building costs. The adjustment seeks to ensure that contractors accelerate the delivery pace, that contractors do not abandon commenced projects due to unaffordable building costs; and to ensure that the quality of houses handed over to beneficiaries do not deteriorate.

Reply:

1. There is no obligatory mechanism or legislative provision which empowers government and the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) to appoint black-owned companies or Black Executive Managing Agents to render services at gated communities. This means that this largely remains a voluntary scheme and the current statistics simply reflect that there has neither been a discourse on this matter nor an appetite to engage Executive Managing Agents from historically disadvantaged communities and other forms of procurement within the schemes such as the gardening, plumbing and other services mentioned in my speech.

A need to develop managing agents from historically disadvantaged communities is therefore an urgent requirement and as a result, the CSOS has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding with large-scale managing agents to possibly incubate and train the Previously Disadvantaged Individuals (PDI) / managing agents in implementing the transformation agenda. Over time and with Black Executive Managing Agents obtaining practical exposure through collaboration with experienced Executive Managing Agents, these executives will become empowered to independently offer these services to a variety of community schemes.

2. The Memorandum of Understanding will be implemented gradually with the large-scale managing agents in order to achieve the transformation imperative cited above.

Reply:

1. The Department’s plan to deal with land hunger includes the Housing Development Agency’s (HDA) targeted land acquisition of 1500 hectares of both state and privately-owned land parcels. In addition, the Department supports Provinces and the Metropolitan Municipalities to acquire land through various human settlements grant funding mechanisms.
2. The Department is encouraging the utilisation of expropriation in terms of section 9(3)(a) of the Housing Act, Act 107 of 1997 by all municipalities. Accordingly, effecting the same clause, through the HDA, the Department has facilitated the process to acquire approximately 42,8243 hectares of land on behalf of the Rustenburg Local Municipality that will be used for the development of housing and human settlements in the North-West Province.

Reply:

The reply in relation to the Department of Human Settlements and the Human Settlements Entities is as follows:

Organi-sation	Amount paid for copies of a)(i)	Name of suppliers b)	Number of copies printed in each case
	(aa) 2020/21 Annual Report	(bb) 2021/22 Annual Report	(cc) 2022/23 Annual Report		(i) 2020/21 Annual Report	(ii) 2021/22 Annual Report	(ii) 2022/23 Annual Report
National Department of Human Settlements	R25,360.00 Printing of the annual report R11,000.00 English language editing of the annual report	R420,000.00 Layout, design, and production of the annual report R189,750.00 Printing of the annual report	R43,264.00 Layout, design, and production of the annual report Printing cost: Procurement award must still be finalised	2020/21 Brand Inn Printing & Branding, Expert English Editors cc 2021/22 Ray Printers, Mict Projects 2022/23 Shereno Printers, Company still to be appointed – Request for Proposal Stage	400	150	150
Organi-sation	Amount paid for copies of a)(ii)	Name of suppliers b)	Number of copies printed in each case
	(aa) 2020/21 Annual Report	(bb) 2021/22 Annual Report	(cc) 2022/23 Annual Report		(i) 2020/21 Annual Report	(ii) 2021/22 Annual Report	(ii) 2022/23 Annual Report
Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS)	R186,459.28	R77,688.25	R65,665.00	2020/21 Korporate Apothecary (Pty) Ltd 2021-22 Zippy Calendars CC and Korporate Apothecary (Pty) Ltd 2022-23 Korporate Apothecary (Pty) Ltd	500	150	100
Housing Development Agency (HDA)	R45,500.00	R0 Digital copy produced for downloading	R0 Digital copy produced for downloading	2020/21 Digital Republic Consulting	100	0 Digital copy produced for downloading	0 Digital copy produced for downloading
National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC)	R141,113.62	R149,560.57	R164,516.62	Milk Brown Design and Communica-tions	100	100	100
National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC)	R30,000.00	R0 Digital copy produced for downloading	Projection R48,000.00	2020/21-22 Interactive Web Works 2022-23 Kashan Advertising	60	0 Digital copy produced for downloading	60
Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA)	R492,200.00	R182,732.80	Procurement award must still be finalised	2020/21 Asvato Projects 2021/22 Office Haven Trading 2022/2023 Procurement award must still be finalised	160	160	Procurement award must still be finalised
Organi-sation	Amount paid for copies of a)(ii)	Name of suppliers b)	Number of copies printed in each case
	(aa) 2020/21 Annual Report	(bb) 2021/22 Annual Report	(cc) 2022/23 Annual Report		(aa) 2020/21 Annual Report	(bb) 2021/22 Annual Report	(cc) 2022/23 Annual Report
Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA)	R66,256.50	R90,500.00	R23,735.25	2020/21 Litha Communications (Pty) Ltd 2021/22 Motsangope Business Solutions 2022/23 Litha Communications (Pty) Ltd	300	250	100

Reply:

1.(a) The Human Settlements Development Grant and other related grants under the National Department of Human Settlements are linked to a 3-year Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) planning cycle, therefore no information is available over a 5-year period.

(b) Provinces are required to annually prepare Human Settlements Development Grant (HSDG) Business Plans. Based on the approved 2023/24 Business Plan for the Northern Cape, the planned target for RDP houses is illustrated per Municipality in Table 1 for the Medium-Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework (MTREF) period (2023/24 to 2025/26). A total of 1 271 housing units will be constructed.

Table 1: Planned RDP houses per Municipality

 

2. Although the Province did not allocate any stands (erf/plots) to beneficiaries in the Namaqua District Municipality in the 2023/24 HSDG business plan, it has allocated R11 million for the provision of bulk infrastructure, which will pave the way for the delivery of erven in the 2026/27 financial year. Furthermore, the province plans to build 178 units over the MTEF period (2023/24 to 2025/26) in the Municipalities cited above.

3. Owing to budget constraints, the province did not make provision for the delivery of RDP houses in Hantam Local Municipality, but plans to build 50 houses in Williston, a community under the jurisdiction of the Karoo Hoogland Local Municipality in the current Medium -Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework. The 50 houses in Williston will replace mud houses in the area.

Reply:

According to Section 10A of the Housing Act, 1997 (Act No. 107 of 1997) stipulates that the subsidy-financed property may not be disposed of by the beneficiary for a period of eight years from the date on which he or she acquired the property. This provision is to be registered against the title deed of the property and the Registrar of Deeds may not allow the transfer of ownership registration to occur without the approval of the relevant MEC.

Beneficiaries of subsidy-financed houses may therefore not sell or eliminate their properties within a period of eight years from the date on which the property was acquired, unless the property has first been offered to the relevant Provincial Human Settlements/Housing Department. It is worth noting that the sale restriction clause can only be enforced in the context of formal sale transactions between a beneficiary and a willing buyer. Therefore, in instances wherein the subsidy-financed property is sold in an informal process and transfer of ownership is not occurring, it is difficult for the Department to detect the sale transaction, thus making it hard to control or prevent such. The current mechanism of uncovering cases is where the sale transaction is reported to the Provincial Human Settlements Department, often done by a third party.

In addition, the Housing Act specifically states that “Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary in any other law, it shall be a condition of every housing subsidy, as defined in the Code, granted to a natural person in terms of any national housing programme for the construction or purchase of a dwelling or serviced site, that such person shall not sell or otherwise alienate his or her dwelling or site within a period of eight years from the date on which the property was acquired by that person unless the dwelling or site has first been offered to the relevant provincial housing department”.

Due to the illicit nature of the transactions, buyers are unable to register the acquired properties in their names through the Deeds Office. The Department considers the practice of selling properties off-register as a slap in the face to the Government’s collective efforts of housing the nation, and the fight to confront the apartheid legacy of inequality and poverty, as well as reducing the number of people living in informal settlements.

As part of the Department’s concerted efforts aimed at addressing the phenomenon of selling BNG houses, advocacy programmes are undertaken with communities to create awareness amongst citizens. Such programmes include the use of social media platforms and radio announcements. In addition to that, the Department has various training and consumer education interventions, namely;

Train the Trainer- Which is designed to provide training on human settlements policies and programme to officials working in provinces and municipalities.

Housing Consumer Education- Which targets potential human settlements beneficiaries and communities at large and provides them with information on the different programmes of the Department that they can benefit from and how to protect and maintain their properties.

Councillor Training- Is done in conjunction with SALGA and empowers Councillors on their roles and responsibilities in the delivery of housing and human settlements.

Training of Traditional Leaders- Which focusses on unlocking land for human settlements and providing education on housing legislation and policies.

While pursuing the fundamental importance of legislative compliance, the Department is similarly cognisant of the arising challenges ascribed to the restrictive nature of the guidelines contained in sections 10A and 10B of the Housing Act. The policy proposals in the draft White Paper on Human Settlements is to address this area.

Reply:

a) There were no offices opened in rural areas during the period in question. The National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) is in the process of concluding a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the South African Local Government Association (SALGA). This MoU aims to secure locations for service points (shared office space in rural municipalities), which will cater for communities that are far from the existing main offices and the rural communities. Furthermore, the NHBRC reaches out to these communities through the utilisation of community halls and outreach programmes as part of its service strategy.

b) Not applicable.

Reply:

The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Department of Human Settlements reports that the Siyahlala-la Housing Project near Fairleigh in Ward 25 is currently a subject of an investigation commissioned by the Provincial Department of Human Settlements following allegations of fraud and corruption. Furthermore, 100 housing units within the project have been invaded.

a) No alternative solutions were provided as the provincial department did not evict any families from the project.

b) Not applicable.

Reply:

The City of Cape Town was allocated R111 Million in March 2023, with the intention to relocate 16 informal settlements that are currently on unsafe land that is prone to flood disasters and those that are residing on the PRASA line in Khayelitsha.

1. A stakeholder meeting between the National Department of Human Settlements: Informal Settlements & Emergency Housing branch (NDHS); Western Cape Department of Human Settlements (WCDHS), Housing Development Agency (HDA) and the City of Cape Town on the 22nd of May 2023 to deliberate on the progress of this relocation process and the challenges thereof. It was then reported to the meeting that the HDA has proactively procured two land parcels that at a cost of R72 Million, with the intention of fast-tracking the relocation process. However, the challenge is that the City of Cape Town doesn’t have a funding agreement with HDA that will enable the municipality to transfer funds to HDA for the land parcels and to be the implementing agent for the provision of basic services. Therefore, it was then resolved from this meeting that an urgent meeting between NDHS, National Treasury (NT) and City of Cape Town (CCT) to conclude on the most legally viable approach to resolving this matter, which might warrant a possible rollover of funds considering the 30th of June 2023 end of the financial year.
2. During the 2023 Budget vote the Minister pronounced that the HDA has been appointed as the implementing agent for upgrading all informal settlements in City of Cape Town, as a strategy to improve the pace.
3. A follow-up meeting between NDHS, NT, WCDHS and CoCT will be convened before the end of July, to conclude the financial and non-financial implementation plan for this project and a final report will be submitted to the Minister of Human Settlements for consideration and approval.

Reply:

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Human Settlements approved and signed a contract with First Metro Housing Company in March 2001 to build 213 institutional housing units in Ethekwini Municipality. The project claims were processed between January 2002 to March 2006 in the amount of R 4,785,725.10.

Attached are the project claims related to the Howell Road Project.

Reply:

Though it is not a legislative requirement, the Minister may consider to publish a report on the Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership Grant (ISUPG), if so doing will improve the performance of the sector.

The Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership Grant (ISUPG) is a schedule 5 grant that is allocated to Provincial Departments of Human Settlements and Metropolitan Municipalities for upgrading of permanent bulk water, sanitation, and electricity infrastructure (including Alternative Building Technology systems) that services informal settlements. During the 2022/23 financial year the National Department of Human Settlements approved business plans where Metropolitan Municipalities were allocated a budget of R1,188,181,137 for permanent water and sanitation infrastructure that includes reticulation. The breakdown of these allocations is as follows:

Metropolitan Municipalities 2022/23 ISUPG:

Name of Metropolitan Municipality	Total Permanent Municipal Engineering Services Budget for 2022/23
	Water Infrastructure	Sanitation Infrastructure
1. Buffalo City Metro	R32,700,000	R25,063,320
2. City of Tshwane	R84,634,701	R111,919,741
3. City of Ekurhuleni	R289,427,684	R0
4. City of Johannesburg	R63,912,000	R96,222,000
5. Mangaung Metro	R78,539,500	R144,896,650
6. Nelson Mandela Bay	R0	R33,743,000
7. City of Cape Town	R51,726,000	R108,088,000
8. eThekwini	R19,230,897	R48,077,644
TOTAL	R620,170,782	R568,010,355

Reply:

I view the allegations placed before me in a very serious light, though I cannot confirm nor deny the same as I do not have any evidence or specific information at my disposal. Accordingly, I hereby appeal to the Hounorable Member to furnish me with more details/ information which my Department will use to investigate the allegations.

Reply:

1. (a) The City owns 10 residential units in Harrington Street.

(b) The City owns 13 properties in Maynard Street.

(b) 29, 38 & 39 Maynard Street:

• 38 Maynard Street is privately owned. 
• A lease was concluded with the Ichikowitz Tefillin Family Fund of Africa (Cape Town Torah High) on 1/5/2013 at a social care tariff rental of R629.82 per annum excl. VAT per unit for units 29 and 39 for purposes of accommodation for boys and girls.
• Unit 38 is privately owned.

c) City provides the funding for external Security Companies for vacant

properties to ensure that the assets are secured from vandalism and unlawful occupation. The properties in Harrington and Maynard Streets are viable properties since they are no longer subject to a road scheme and are therefore currently being considered for disposal. There are currently 3 security guards deployed in Harrington Street. 

(2) Status                                                             Number of records

D - Dormant                                                      15072

A - Assisted                                                         90682

P - PENDING FOR A HOUSING PROJECT          29110

C - Cancelled                                                    199505

W - WAITING                                                        377468

 

Total Records                                                      711837

Reply:

1. (a) The Minister of Human Settlements has not been informed of the low quality of houses that are rebuilt for displaced persons. The National Department of Human Settlements (NDHS) in collaboration with the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) will undertake physical verifications regarding the quality and structural integrity of the houses and provide further details.

It must also be mentioned that on 9 May 2023, the Deputy President, and other sector departments including the NDHS visited the township of Charlesville, Jagersfontein. According to what is reported and what the team saw on the ground, out of the eight households affected, only three houses have been built by a sponsorship contractor. It is worth noting that the team visited a beautiful big showhouse, which is spacious and of good quality.

(b) It is anticipated that the physical verifications will be completed on or before 30 June 2023, whereafter feedback will be provided to the Honourable Member

Reply:

a) The National Department of Human Settlement’s procurement allocations.

(aa) In respect of 2021-22 financial year, the National Department of Human

Settlements procured over fifty five percent (55%) of goods and services

from suppliers and service providers who are on B-BBEE level 1-4.

i) The procurement allocation is R 60 988 816,96

ii) Procurement from co-operatives R 0,00

iii) Township enterprises R 2 154 021,48 and

iv) Rural enterprises R 2 162 825,54.

April 2023

In respect of 2022/23 financial year, the National Department of Human Settlements procured over ninety seven percent (97%) of goods and services

from suppliers and service providers who are on B-BBEE level 1-4.

i) The procurement allocation is R 23 334 019,86

(ii) Procurement from cooperatives R 0,00

(iii) Township enterprises R 2 162 825,54 and

(iv) Rural enterprises R 327 122,75.

1. Entities Reporting to the Minister

2. Community Schemes Ombud Service: The Community Schemes Ombud Service does not have specific targeted procurement spend allocations for the procurement categories mentioned by the honourable member. However, the Community Schemes Ombud Service has since determined that it spent (i) R42 374 176 (74%) on small-, medium- and micro-enterprises during the (bb) 2021/22 financial year.

3. Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority: The Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority has advised the Department that it did not record any percentage procurement spend for (i) small-, medium- and micro-enterprises (ii) Cooperatives, (iii) Township and (iv) Rural Enterprises during the (aa) 2021/22 financial year.

4. Social Housing Regulatory Authority: The Social Housing Regulatory Authority spent eighty-five percent (85.61%) on (i) small-, medium- and micro-enterprises during the (aa) 2021/22 financial year. No percentage procurement spent for (ii) Cooperatives, (iii) Township and (iv) Rural Enterprises has been recorded by the Social Housing Regulatory Authority during the (aa) 2021/22 financial year.

5. Housing Development Agency: The Housing Development Agency does not have specific targeted procurement spend allocations for the procurement categories mentioned by the honourable member. The Housing Development Agency targets procurement spend on women, youth and persons with disabilities in line with Government’s empowerment object. The results are as follows:

• 1. Procurement spent targeted at businesses owned by women amounting to R536 025 527. 97 (8.12%) during the (aa) 2021/22 financial year.
  2. Procurement spent targeted at businesses owned by youth amounting to R334 757 829. 86 (2.92%) during the (aa) 2021/22 financial year.
  3. Procurement spent on businesses owned by persons with disabilities amounting to R124 981 016. 18 (0.53%) during the (aa) 2021/22 financial year.

6. National Housing Finance Corporation: The National Housing Finance Corporation does not have specific targeted procurement spend allocations for the procurement categories mentioned by the honourable member. However, during the (aa) 2021/22 financial year, the National Housing Finance Corporation targeted the procurement of goods and services from Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) firms level 1 to 4. Due to the nature of competition and service required it is not always practical to purchase goods and services from the targeted B-BBEE levels. The National Housing Finance Corporation procured over seventy five percent (75%) from suppliers and service providers who are on B-BBEE level 1-4, specifically:

1. Level 1: R62 195 048.84 (66%)
2. Level 2: R4 168 264.19 (4%)
3. Level 3: R5 407 730.74 (6%)
4. Level 4: R6 880 403.03 (7%)

7. National Home Builders Registration Council: The National Home Builders Registration Council does not have specific targeted procurement spend allocations for the procurement categories mentioned by the honourable member. However, the National Home Builders Registration Council can report actual procurement expenditure as follows:

1. Procurement spent on businesses owned by women amounting to R4 187 541.17 (18%) during the (aa) 2021/22 financial year.
2. Procurement spent on businesses owned by youth amounting to R1 261 913.85 (7%) during the (aa) 2021/22 financial year.
3. Procurement spent on businesses owned by persons with disabilities amounting to (0.3%) R12 289.37 during the (aa) 2021/22 financial year.

Reply:

1. The KwaZulu Natal Province has reported that a total of 550 beds have been provided at the Crystal Valley Shelter.

2. (a) The province has also reported that there was an open tender process, and the tender was referenced as Bid No. HDA / KZN /2022/005.

(b) The province reported that the households were relocated from various Mass Care Centres and all the details are in the tender referenced as Bid No. HDA /KZN/2022/005. Attached are the “SBD 1 Part A Invitation to Bid” and “Tender Opening Form”

Reply:

According to information sourced from the developer, Balwin Properties and Infrastructure South Africa, the Mooikloof Mega City Residential Development is at an advanced stage of development.

Since the gazetting of the project in 2020, Infrastructure South Africa has worked with the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality and Balwin Properties to unlock various approvals including the Service Level Agreements, regulatory approvals and key infrastructure connection challenges which caused delays in the construction of the first phase. There were further delays with regard to the environmental approvals for the Eastern Link sewer, however, authorization has been granted and Infrastructure South Africa continues to support the unblocking of such regulatory approvals.

The availability of bulk infrastructure enabling development is a challenge that is experienced across the country, including the Mooikloof Mega City Residential Development.

However, parallel to the construction of the apartments, upgrades to some bulk infrastructure are in progress. Upgrades to the Hill Waste Water Treatment Works are completed and upgrades to Garsfontein road are in progress. Furthermore, Balwin Properties is implementing bulk infrastructure upgrades to the value of R 138 million at present.

Infrastructure South Africa is still engaging City of Tshwane Metro, (who is responsible for the implementation of bulk infrastructure), to develop possible funding mechanisms towards addressing the challenge of bulk infrastructure.

In addition, Infrastructure South Africa has conducted structured engagements with the National Treasury and Development Finance Institutions to put in place mechanisms, within the current legal framework, to provide fiscal support for bulk infrastructure requirements. These processes are envisaged to continue for some time, as different options are being considered, that will unlock funding for bulk infrastructure in the medium to long-term.

The developer gave assurance that the current delays on the project are within their control.

Reply:

1. The query was forwarded to the City of Cape Town to provide a reply and the City responded as follows “Local Government has no statutory obligation nor constitutional responsibility to report any eviction to which it may be a party nor court ruling of any nature, to the Ministry of Human Settlements which has no mandate nor oversight role in this regard” Whilst this may be the case, the National Department of Human Settlements (NDHS) is of the view that the City should have requested for assistance from it to address this matter within the framework of cooperative governance, as per chapter 3 of the constitution.

2. The City of Cape Town (CoCT) has not informed the NDHS of such evictions.

The NDHS will not encroach into the functional responsibility of another sphere of government, but it stands ready to provide assistance to the the CoCT via the Emergency Housing Programme when requested to do so.

Reply:

a) According to information received from the Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements, a contractor was appointed to build 290 houses for the Keubong 290 Rural Project, under Mt Fletcher- To date 267 houses have been completed and handed over to the beneficiaries and the remaining 23 houses will be completed in the current 2023/24 financial year.

b) The Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements confirmed receiving a request from Elundini Local Municipality for the construction of houses in Tembeni, under the 2400 Rural Project.

i) The Project Application will be presented to Project Appraisal Committee for project and funding approval.

ii) The Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements has targeted to conduct planning activities in Etembeni 2400 Rural Project and commence with construction during the 2024/2025 Financial Year

Reply:

a) The National Department of Human Settlements has subsidy-linked programmes designed to provide support and assistance in all types of settlements along the continuum where ownership or rental tenure option can be exercised. From a communal land and human settlements development perspective, the definitive role and demarcated interface between the Department and traditional leaders is expressly defined within some of our programmes and one such programme is the Rural and Communal Land Rights Subsidy Programme.

The programme was developed specifically to assist households in areas with communal tenure to access housing subsidies. The programme provides housing subsidies for housing development on communal land registered in the name of the state or which will be held by community members subject to the rules or custom of that community under their traditional authority.

Under this programme, a beneficiary community member provides proof of uncontested land tenure rights and qualifies for a new order tenure right on the portion of land allocated to him or her by a recognised Traditional Council.

The powers and duties of the land administration committee of the community is exercised and performed by the Traditional Council. The housing subsidy may be utilised for the development of internal municipal services, house building, upgrading of existing housing structures, upgrading of existing services where no alternative funding is available.

b) With respect to role players and decision-making processes, a Traditional Council must in terms of the Traditional Leaders and Governance Framework Act, 2003 (Act No 41 of 2003), co-operate with any relevant Municipal Ward Committee and must meet at least once a year with its traditional community to give account of its activities and needs. There are five role-players within the implementation of the Rural and Communal Land Rights Subsidy Programme; namely, the National Department, the Provincial Department, Municipalities, Traditional Councils; and the Land Administration Committee which came into effect after the promulgation of Communal Land Rights Act (CLaRA).

In addition, the Department has a programme called First Home Finance (FHF), previously known as the Financial-Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (FLISP). The objective of this programme is to assist households by providing a once-off down payment to qualifying households to acquire a new house or an existing house or a vacant residential serviced stand. In communal administered land or in rural settings, the FHF subsidy is provided to a qualifying beneficiary through Permission To Occupy (PTO) right that are issued by the government or an officially recognised traditional authority.

In cases where a prospective beneficiary is not in possession of such a PTO, such beneficiary may still buy a PTO-linked housing stand and build their house on it using the FHF subsidy in combination with a housing loan. No subsidy shall be provided nor may building works proceed without the written approval of the Administrator/ Chief of the land in question.

Reply:

a) The provision and roll-out of solar geysers is undertaken by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) and the National Department of Human Settlements (NDHS) is collaborating with the DMRE in this regard.

To respond to the rising cost of living and energy poverty, I have announced that subsidised houses will be provided with solar panels in all new housing projects at 500W per housing unit. This is effective from the 1st of April 2023. At 500W, this home solar system is envisaged to cover lighting and provide energy to basic home appliances such as radio, television, Wi-Fi and refrigerator. Through this intervention, it is expected that the subsidised home solar system will contribute to the reduction of the total cost of electricity-consuming appliances in homes.

b) The NDHS has not rolled out any solar geysers, therefore it cannot provide feedback on the effectiveness thereof.

c) (i) The NDHS has held discussions with the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) which are envisaged to culminate into a collaboration that will be expressed in a Memorandum of Agreement, for the installation of 6000 solar geysers in the Eastern Cape province.

c) (ii) The time frames for the roll-out of the solar geysers is expected to take place within the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years and will be confirmed in the Memorandum of Agreement between the two Departments.

Reply:

a) The Title Restoration Project is an ongoing project of the government that aims to restore ownership to beneficiaries of state-subsidised houses, that have since 2016 consistently been planned and budgeted for, in the annual provincial business plans.

b) It is the department’s policy to hand over title deeds to beneficiaries as soon as possible to avoid loss or damage. The issuing of title deeds by political heads depends on their priorities and availability.

The Minister of Human Settlements will thus continue to issue title deeds to beneficiaries as part of the ongoing work of government, depending on her availability and priorities.

Reply:

1. The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) prohibits the sharing of personal information without consent from the affected person(s). However, I am informed by the Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements that Gaza Construction was appointed to build 550 housing units at Khomga Commonage as part of Phase One. The province further advises me that the supply of Water and Sanitation Infrastructure was a project implemented by Amathole District Municipality (ADM), not by the Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements therefore, Amathole District Municipality would be better positioned to respond to this question.

(2) The Department is not privy to such information.

(3) As a rule, the state cannot conduct business with blacklisted companies. However, I am advised by the Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlenents that the Amathole District Municipality is in a better position to answer this question.

(4) Yes, Minister conducted an oversight visit at Khomga in August 2021.

Reply:

a) According to the Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements, no investigation has been conducted, safe to indicate that the name of the project is known as Komga Zone 10 Phase 1 housing project.

b) The Department is not aware of any scandal regarding the specified project.

Reply:

I am informed by the North West Department of Human Settlements that the low-cost subsidy housing project by Drop Dot (Pty) Ltd has not yet been completed. The initial plan was to build 300 units and 300 VIP toilets but this was revised to 276 units and toilets as a result of untraceable beneficiaries during the construction process.

The provincial Department was anticipating to complete the project before the end of April 2023, but heavy rains between December 2022 and March 2023 resulted in unforeseen construction delays. The North West Department of Human Settlements will complete the project before the end of 2023-2024 financial year.

According to the HSS report, the total budget was R46,402,299.85. So far, R34,520,227.90 has been spent with 191 units completed and 85 outstanding.

Reply:

1. (a) The Department has no records of the appointment of Mr Paul Maselo.

Reply:

(a) & (b) The National Department of Human Settements has approved the Business Plan of the North West Department of Human Settlements for the 2023-2024 financial year, which amongst others, contains a list of incomplete projects such as Motlhabe 88.

The North West Department of Human Settlements had proposed an extension of scope to complete the 38 outstanding units on the afore-said housing project in 2022, however, the developer who was constructing the houses in Motlhabe did not agree to the approved funds granted per house due to the escalating costs of building materials, partcicularly the steel.

I am informed by the North West Department of Human Settlements that it is currently re-costing the incomplete project by taking it through the Supply Chain Management bid process within three months from the date hereof. The provincial Department anticipates to complete the outstanding units before the end of March 2024.

Reply:

a) I am informed by the Mpumalanga Department of Human Settlemnents that in the previous financial year, it met with all Municipalities requesting the list of areas with unsafe and unihabitable mud houses. The Department received a list with 501 mud houses in 20 wards from Thembisile Hani Local Municipality in April 2023. Ten (10) houses were received in Vezubuhle in Wards 18 and 20. According to the province, the list was only received in the current financial year, resulting in these projects not being planned and budgeted for 2023-2024. The Department shall prioritize the eradication of mud houses within the next Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF).

b) The Mpumalanga Department of Human Settlements is currently busy with the formalization of informal settlements in the area which will result in the provision of bulk infrastrucrture and basic services.

Reply:

(1)(a) The Housing Development Agency (HDA) owns and/or controls 3656.4497 hectares of land through the powers of attorney and/or other legal instruments in the Republic.

(1)(b) The Provincial distribution of the land is as follows:

Province	Extent (hectares)
Eastern Cape	229.1141
Free State	362.4021
Gauteng	511.9226
KwaZulu Natal	462.7404
Limpopo	85.0599
Mpumalanga	70.6333
Northern Cape	303.3749
North West	725.1572
Western Cape	906.0452

(1)(c),(d)&(e) The details are as follows:

Metro	Extent (hectares) (c) and(e)	Developmental Status/Plans (d)
Buffalo City	0.2900	Planned site and services
Cape Town	162.4150	12 hectares – feasibilities studies 2 hectares – water reservoir completed (land acquired for servitude purposes) 3.7 hectares – Internal services installation 0.8 hectares – social housing project packaging 0.2 hectares – project packaging 141 hectares – development planning stages
Ekurhuleni	20.7300	Development feasibility stages
Tshwane	38.1075	Development planning
eThekwini	3.1561	Project packaging
Johannesburg	453.0851	452 hectares – development planning 0.3hectares – Social housing project packaging
Mangaung	259.6135	Development planning

(1)(f) The number of hectares of land that has been owned and/or controlled by the HDA for more than two years without any formal development or pre-development activity taking place such as scoping exercises and pre-feasibility studies is zero.

(1)(g) The reason is that the agency must develop such land in conjunction with the respective municipalities and the province who must allocate funding and sign an implementation protocol.

(1)(h)The average period that the HDA had owned and/or controlled land parcels is approximately five (5) years. The unavailability of bulk services and capacity is a critical challenge in most municipalities.

(2) The Department does not have any additional details. All details are as provided in paragraphs (1)(c) – (e) above.

(2)(a) Not applicable.

(2)(b) Not applicable.

Reply:

The Minister of Human Settlements has not received any report regarding the above-mentioned matter. The question from Hounouable Member Ceza was referred to the Mpumalanga Department of Human Settlements and it reported as follows:

1. The Mpumalanga Department of Human Settlements is fully aware of the matter and is conducting an internal investigation so as to get all the facts regarding the allegations that monies were paid by the community of Delmas in Victor Khanye Local Municipality. Once the investigation is completed, its outcomes will be shared with the Minister of Human Settlements who will in turn share the same with the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements.

2. Currently, the information at the disposal of the Mpumalanga Department of Human Settlements suggests that in July 2008, the Province appointed the South African People’s Homeless Federation, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), as a Support Organisation for the construction of 50 fully subsidised RDP houses, as part of the then Peoples Housing Process (PHP) Programme for R4, 331, 840.70. The project took place in Botleng Ext 3 within the erstwhile Delmas Municipal area of jurisdiction. All fifty (50) fully subsidised RDP houses were delivered and paid for by the Department.

3. In June 2010, the South African People’s Federation was appointed by the Mpumalanga Department of Human Settlements to construct One Hundred and Fifty (150) RDP houses within Botleng Ext 3, still as part of the PHP Programme, within the area which is now under the jurisdiction of the Victor Khanye Local Municipal for R3, 611, 008.00.

According to the provincial department of Human Settlements, this project was subsequently scaled down to Fifty Five (55) RDP houses as some of the beneficiaries could not qualify on Housing Subsidy System (HSS) because they received Seven Thousand Five Hundred Rands (R7 500) as part of the Discount Benefit Scheme from the Independent Development Trust [IDT], providing for serviced sites and Title Deeds to qualifying beneficiaires. Most of these beneficiaries had title deeds due to serviced sites acquired as part of the Discount Benefit Scheme. All fifty (55) fully subsidised RDP houses were delivered but some were not paid in full for by the Department, this due to delays in the submission of claims for services rendered by the said Support Organisation.

Reply:

(a)(b)(i) The Western Cape Provincial Department advised the National Department of Human Settlements that Oudtshoorn Municipality has recently appointed an implementing agent that will be responsible for the upgrading of Black Joint and GG Camp informal settlements. The Municipality is finalising land ownership issues which have in the past stalled the upgrading of the two informal settlements up until now. In addition, the municipality will also complete a Project Feasibility Report for approval to the Provincial Department of Infrastructure. The project is expected to be implemented in the 2024/25 financial year.

(ii) Once the Municipality has resolved all the outstanding land issues related to the project and submitted its Project Feasibility Report, the upgrading of Black Joint and GG Camp is envisaged to commence in the 2024/25 financial year. This will allow the Municipality also to apply for the necessary funding to provide electricity and other requisite infrastructure to the two informal settlements.

Reply:

The Department has a National Housing Needs Register (NHNR) that is used to register households/ individuals and their housing needs in South Africa. As of 31 March 2023, the National Housing Needs Register had a record of 2 456 773 households/ individuals registered who have advised the government of their need for housing assistance.

a) The strategy for assisting the number of households that have not yet been helped is made up of the following:

1. Partnering with the private sector to crowd in investments, deliver bulk infrastructure, move away from brick and mortar, advance building performance-based building methods, promote innovative technology, accelerate digital transformation, invest in housing manufacturing, and housing material supply, partner with civil society organisations to play a role in developing houses, and allow people to provide housing for themselves.
2. Advising municipalities and provinces to develop land assembly plans where they would identify suitable land parcels for sustainable human settlements development and undertake feasibility and preplanning studies to confirm if such land parcels are suitable for human settlements development.
3. Communicating with registered beneficiaries about the housing application processes, available grants, allocation criteria, title deed process and acquisition of existing stock through property practitioners.
4. Guiding provincial departments to work with the housing development agency to acquire land, install engineering services, construct housing units and work with social housing institutions to provide social housing units, upgrade hostels and put in place support interventions for undertaking small-scale rental and create human settlements bank products.
5. Advising registered beneficiaries about their classification according to agreed priorities, housing priority areas and ensuring that those deemed to be vulnerable such as the aged, persons living with disabilities, women with young children, those in emergency housing circumstances, special groups such as identified military veterans, the victims of gender-based violence, youth and victims in terms of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission are attended first.

b) It is difficult to determine the timeline for assisting households/ individuals because a timeline is dependent on a number of factors such as land availability, private sector partners, contractors, developers, civil society organisations, budget and grant allocation, Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (PGDS), multi-year and annual business plans as well as the approval of projects.

Reply:

Since the beginning of 2019 financial year up to December 2022, the Department of Human Settlements has worked with all Provinces, municipalities and entities in a concerted effort to significantly reduce the housing backlog. The measures used include delivering 158 769 serviced sites, upgrading 329 informal settlements, issuing 17 492 first home partial subsidies for houses, 9 764 social housing units, 1675 community residential units, delivered 87 687 title deeds ,constructed 184 637 housing units to qualifying beneficiaries, acquiring 12,8774 hectares of land from state owned entities and 3902,5075 hactares of land from the public works and rural development and 11902,6699 hactares of land from private owners.

The Department has provided grant funding to Provinces and metropolitan municipalities. It has also prepared the informal settlements upgrading plans across the nine Provinces. The plans promote participatory planning processes to enable development of layout plans based a negotiated process with the communities to ensure incremental upgrading of areas.

The Department has facilitated that Provinces develop Multi-Year Housing Development Plan (MYHDP), that are aligned with the Provincial Growth and Development Strategies (PGDS) and the Provincial Spatial Development Plans (PSDP). This has created a roadmap to identifying mechanisms to further reduce the housing backlogs. This integration and alignment of plans seek to incorporate planning systems which promote densification, infill and compaction in the wake of high rates of urbanisation in urban areas and migration patterns prevalent in the Province. Such mechanisms and programmes aim to significantly reduce housing backlogs and ensure that approved beneficiaries receive dignity and enjoy spatial transformation and sustainable human settlements.

The department is also providing social housing in identified restructuring zones and is also acquiring land and the providing bulk infrastructure where capacity issues and deficits have been identified. Where there has been blockages the Department has prepared national unblocking plans to ensure development is not stalled and that human settlements service delivery imperatives continue.

In line with the Medium Terms Strategic Framework the Department has been focusing its investment in strategic areas that are often a subject of Urbanisation around the metropolitan municipalities and identified priority housing development areas. The department has also appointed and deployed technical teams comprised of civil engineers, planners, social faciilitators and quantity surveyors to serve as members of the War Rooms. These members have also crisscrosed the country diagnosing challenges and providing the required technical housing support to Provinces.

Reply:

(1) (a) The uThukela District Municipality had originally committed to supporting the housing project through the provision of bulk infrastructure, which allowed the Provincial Department of Human Settlements to proceed with the implementation of the housing project.

During the 2020/2021 financial year, however the uThukela District Municipality indicated it was no longer in a position to honour its commitment. The district further requested that the Provincial Department of Human Settlements fund the bulk infrastructure.

1 (b) The Provincial Department of Human Settlements is currently implementing the required bulk infrastructure, which is part of the District’s function.

(2) There is no wasteful and fruitless expenditure – no one will be held accountable. The houses are structurally sound, and on completion of the bulk infrastructure, the Department will complete the houses for beneficiaries to occupy.