Reply:

1 Yes, there is a household income threshold for the First Home Finance (FHF) subsidy. The subsidy is available to first-time home buyers with a total monthly household income between R3,501 and R22,000. The subsidy amount is not fixed but is granted on a sliding scale based on the applicant's income. The maximum subsidy amount is R169,625, while the minimum is R38,911. The lower the household's income, the higher the subsidy amount they will receive.

The FHF subsidy is a valuable resource for first-time home buyers in South Africa, helping to make homeownership more affordable. The sliding scale ensures that the subsidy is targeted towards those who need it most.

2. People can apply for the FHF subsidy anywhere in the country through various channels, making it accessible nationwide. The application methods include:

• Online: The most convenient way to apply is through the Online Application Portal, which can be accessed at https://www.nhfc.co.za/finance-solutions/first-home-finance or www.firsthomefinance.co.za.
• Call Center: For those without internet access, the First Home Finance Call Centre at 010 085 2199 can provide assistance with online applications.
• Origination Partners: The subsidy application process can also be facilitated by various origination partners, including major banks, some non-bank lenders, developers, contractors, building material suppliers, and employers. These partners will apply for the subsidy online on behalf of their clients.

The multiple application channels and the involvement of origination partners ensure that the FHF subsidy is readily available to eligible individuals across South Africa, further promoting homeownership opportunities.

Reply:

(1) The implementation of the accreditation programmes is anchored in the Revised Accreditation Framework 2023 as its policy foundation. The Revised Accreditation Framework 2023 was approved by Human Settlements MinMEC on 15 September and it places the accreditation programme as a progressive capacitation mechanism and delegation by Provinces for municipalities to play an active role in the administration and delivery of housing programmes and projects. The Housing Act of 1997 section 10 provides for the MEC as the delegating authority, whilst it empowers the National Minister to develop the criteria that the municipality must meet before they accorded an accreditation status. The Housing Act further allows the National Minister to establish norms and standards that must be followed by Provinces and Municipalities in pursuit of municipal accreditation, all of these are encapsulated in the accreditation framework. In terms of the Revised Accreditation Framework 2023, there are two levels of accreditation that the municipalities can be considered for, namely:

Level 1: means that the municipality is empowered to undertake the following functions on behalf and under direct supervision of the province, namely: Subsidy Budget Planning, submission of identified housing projects and programmes to the MEC for approval, beneficiary management, housing subsidy registration, subsidy management, accreditation reporting and document management.

Level 2: means that such a municipality is empowered to undertake the following functions on behalf of the province in addition to level 1 responsibilities, namely: procurement and appointment of implementing agents, project/ programme management, contract administration, technical quality assurance and budget management, accreditation reporting.

(2) The are presently 35 municipalities that have been accredited at different levels across the country. However, the erstwhile eNgcobo Local Municipality presently known as Dr AB Xuma Local Municipality, located in Chris Hani District, is not amongst the municipalities that have been accredited either at level 1 or level 2. Therefore, the dispute resolution and subsidy administration in the case of the 400 beneficiaries remains the responsibility of the province supported by National Department of Human Settlements. The matter was brought to my attention on the 21st of August 2024 and engagements between our department, province and communities have commenced and a detailed report will be concluded by the end of September 2024.

Reply:

Social housing is developed within the gazetted Restructuring Zones, which is a minimum investment criterion as per the Social Housing Act 16 of 2008. The Restructuring Zones are geographic areas which have been identified by the Municipalities with the concurrence of the provinces for the purposes of social housing development. These are further expressed in both Local Government Plans IDPs and Provincial Plans.

The principle behind the Restructuring Zones is to promote spatial and racial integration, economic mobility and access to public amenities. It must however be said that in approving projects, the location of these public amenities is critical, and it is one of the key determinants for an investment decision. Equally, the schools for the disabled population are few and not as commonly found throughout the country.

In so far as the current social housing development is concerned, the Minister has on the 20th of January 2023 approved the Norms and Standards for social and rental housing, which amongst others, deals with the infrastructure required to accommodate people with disabilities. The Social Housing Regulatory Authority has in the recent past approved projects on Prasa owned stations to reduce travel time and save tenants cost of mobility. Furthermore, SHRA looks at Municipalities to consider Spatial Development Framework, bulk services availability, etc. to support the project locations through the DDM in order to respond to the needs of the people with disabilities.

As part of a development, each social housing project has a recreational facility such as a 6 side soccer field, kids play areas, jungle gym and braai areas.

For the 2024/25 financial year the provinces allocated a total budget of R15 097 825 towards the Institutional subsidy programme from the Human Settlements Development Grant.

Reply:

(a) Unblocking Stalled Projects

The 6th Administration prioritized addressing the issue of blocked housing projects, which significantly hamper housing delivery. A blocked project is defined as an approved project that has been contractually committed, has commenced planning and physical phases, but has experienced a significant delay (at least 12 months) and is not nearing completion (less than 95% complete).

In collaboration with Provincial Departments, the Department undertook a comprehensive exercise to identify and list all blocked projects. The sector then worked collaboratively in actively unblocking these projects. These collaborative efforts and the use of digitized monitoring tools like the Dashboard further demonstrate the Department's dedication to resolving this critical issue.

The Department's records indicate that as at end March 2024 there were 3150 unblocked housing projects out of 3445. There were 295 blocked housing projects carried over from the previous administration. The Department is actively working to address the remaining backlog, with 100 projects targeted for intervention in the 2024/2025 financial year.

(b) Completed Houses and Handovers

During the 6th Administration, the department made significant strides in delivering housing units to beneficiaries. A total of 240,933 houses were completed and handed over to their rightful owners. This achievement demonstrates substantial progress towards the target of 292,946 units.

The Department remains steadfast in its commitment to accelerating housing delivery and ensuring that more South Africans have access to safe and dignified housing. We continue to implement various strategies, including unblocking stalled projects, optimizing resource allocation, and fostering partnerships with key stakeholders to achieve this goal.

Reply:

Importance of Public Consultations

Chapter 10 (Section 195) of the Constitution of the Republic prescribes that people’s needs must be responded to, and the public must be encouraged to participate in policy-making processes. The Department considers public consultation and participation as key features of an effective policy development process as they provide an opportunity for stakeholders to engage openly and robustly. It is one of the most important channels through which inputs and feedback are elicited and properly ventilated by a diverse range of stakeholder using different platforms of engagement. In the spirit of promoting maximum public participation, the Minister of Human Settlements had on three occasions extended the closing date for the submission of public comments on the draft White Paper.

Requests on Submission of Comments

The first closing date for the submission of public comments was on 31 January 2024. Upon receiving requests from various organisations and individuals for the extension of the closing date for the submission of public comments due to December holidays, the Minister concurred duly and extended the initial date to 28 February 2024. Further requests were again received from various organisations to have the draft White Paper translated to pertinent official languages; including direct correspondence addressed to the Office of the Minister by the land and housing movements, namely, Reclaim the City, Indibano Yabahlali, Intlungu Yasematyotyombeni and Housing Assembly.

The Minister again agreed to have the closing date for the submission of public comments extended from 28 February 2024 to 15 March 2024. This was indeed well beyond the prescribed statutory obligations.

Nationwide Physical Consultations

In addition to inputs and comments submitted via email, post and hand delivery, we have successfully embarked on nationwide physical consultation sessions with Provinces, Municipalities and various stakeholders, including NGOs. Given the concurrency of the Human Settlements function and as part of our broader stakeholder consultation process, the Department had established an Inter-departmental Technical Workstream with various government departments not only to elicit inputs on the draft White Paper but also to strengthen the technical capacity of the draft White Paper Team. The invited Departments included Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs, (COGTA); Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, National Treasury, Transport, Home Affairs, Public Works and Infrastructure, Statistics SA and Social Development.

Establishment of the Reference Group

Following consultation concerns from Academia and Civil Society, the Minister directed the Department to set up a consultative structure in the form of a Reference Group to adequately respond to the emerging issues and concerns. The Reference Group was then established. The composition included representatives from Academia, NGOs, pertinent government Departments, Developers, Contractors, Entities, and so forth. The strategic intent of the Reference Group was to critically assess the draft White Paper limitations relative to received comments and inputs as collated and classified by Department. The overall purpose was to enhance the quality of the document. We then assigned subject matter experts from the Reference Group for each Section to enrich and substantiate the referenced shortcomings.

This was executed by appointing Principal Authors to lead Thematic Areas were each supported by corresponding teams. Following the submission of the write-ups from the Lead Authors, the Department held a series of dialogue sessions to discuss each Thematic Area with authors and teams. Part of the Reference Group activities was a session on Affordable and Social Housing including Backyard Housing. The session was at the request of Isandla Institute and they invited the Built Environment Support Group (BESG); Community Organisation Resources Centre (CORC); Development Action Group (DAG); Legal Resources Centre (LRC); Ndifuna Ukwazi; People’s Environmental Planning (PEP); Planact; Project Preparation Trust (PPT); Socio-economic Rights Institute (SERI); etc.

The Minister also hosted a consultation session with Civil Society Organizations (NGOs) and Institutions of Higher learning in February 2024. We have now concluded all the Reference Group work and consolidated the revised version of the White Paper and was presented to the Minister for final inputs.

Finalisation of the White Paper

The Minister will in the coming weeks convene a session with all stakeholders to provide a status update on the White Paper before the document is submitted to Cabinet for approval. We have undoubtedly gone far beyond expectation with respect for consultation and addressing comments and inputs received. This was to ensure that the White Paper for Human Settlements is an inclusive framework that has maximised our collective efforts towards addressing human settlements implementation challenges.

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Reply:

a) (i) According to the report from the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Department of Human Settlements (KZN-DHS), there were no torrential rains and floods in KwaZulu-Natal in 2021.

b) Not applicable

(ii)Not applicable

c) Not applicable

Reply:

The Department of Human Settlements still has a number of incomplete/blocked projects in relation to the BNG houses that were formerly known as the RDPs. These incomplete projects spread across all nine provinces. However, there has been a significant improvement in unblocking these projects.

(a)(i)

Provinces have cited a number of contributory factors to the delays in completing the blocked projects that they are expected to finalise. Some of the reasons mentioned by provinces are as follows:

• Lack of bulk infrastructure in most of the areas where blocked projects are located.
• Difficult terrains leading to double handling fees on the contractor’s side.
• The structural assessments conducted by NHBRC on incomplete projects takes too long in some instances.
• Scattered nature of projects and etc

Considering that these projects have been left incomplete for too long, they are usually exposed harsh weather conditions for years on the ground and provinces are expected to conduct structural tests before the reconstruction of the incomplete units. The structural assessment is the prerequisite which will determine the structural integrity for each structure on the ground. This will assist in determining the cost of the projects particularly where there are existing structures.

(b)(i)

During my visit to Free State Province in 2021, I discovered a number of incomplete/blocked that were not being prioritised for completion. As the responsible Minister of the portfolio, I issued a directive to all provinces to complete the unfinished/blocked projects within a period of three years starting from financial year 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25.

(b)(ii)

There is no dedicated funding that is allocated to provinces to complete the blocked projects. These projects are funded through their allocations on Human Settlements Development Grant (HSDG) and they are at different milestones.

Considering that NHBRC is still conducting structural assessments in other areas, it will not be possible to provide an exact amount required to complete these projects as the expected expenditure is informed by the final structural assessment reports.

(c)

During 2022, as a sector we were able to identify three thousand four hundred and forty-five (3445) and to date, provinces have since completed three thousand one hundred and fifty (3150) projects.

Reply:

1. (a) What is the breakdown of the R1 billion allocation

According to the Northern Cape Department of Human Settlements, the breakdown of the R1 billion (R600 million funded by DBSA loan and R400 million funded by the province) will yield 4 168 units from 67 projects which will be delivered in two phases across 15 municipalities listed below.

(b) In which municipalities will her department build the specified houses

The Northern Cape Department of Human Settlements will construct houses in the following fifteen (15) municipalities houses: (1) !Kheis (2) Dawid Kruiper (3) Emthanjeni (4) Hantam (5) Joe Morolong (6) Kamiesberg (7) Khaima (8) Namakhoi (9) Phokwane (10) Richtersveld (11) Siyancuma (12) Sol Plaatje (13) Thembelihle (14) Ubuntu and (15) Umsobomvu

(c) What total number of houses will her department build in each specific municipality -

The Northern Cape Department of Human Settlements will construct the houses in two phases as follows:

Phase one of the project comprises the construction of 2,500 housing units at a total budget of R600 million in 14 local municipalities in the Northern Cape Province.

The municipalities with majority of the houses are the Joe Morolong Local Municipality, which has 560 houses, Dawid Kruiper Local Municipality, which has 450 houses, and Sol Plaatjie, which has 383 houses. The remaining houses will be delivered by the following local municipalities: 180 houses in Khaima; 150 houses in Siyancuma; 143 houses in Namakhoi; 130 houses in Hantam; 120 houses in Kamiesberg; 108 houses in Thembelihle; 71 houses in Phokwane; 50 houses in Keis; 55 houses in Richtersveld; 50 houses in Umsobomvu; and 5 houses in Emthanjebi.

Table 1: Local Municipalities, Targets and Budgets for Phase One

Phase two of the project constitutes eight local municipalities in the Northern Cape Province which will deliver 1 668 houses estimated to cost R400 million.

The municipalities with most houses include Sol Plaatjie Local Municipality which has 665 houses, Joe Morolong which has 350 houses, and Phokwane which has 246 houses. The local municipalities that will deliver the remaining houses include: 110 houses in Siyancuma; 107 houses in Emthanjebi; 100 houses in Thembelihle; 50 houses in Umsobomvu; and 40 houses in Ubuntu.

Table 2: Local Municipalities, Targets and Budgets for Phase Two

(d) What housing typology, such as Breaking New Ground (BNG), Social Housing, and First Home Finance & Subsidy Assistance housing will be built in each development;

The Integrated Residential Development Programme, which will provide BNG units, and the Rural Housing Programme, which will provide rural dwelling units, are the two housing programmes that will provide the two sets of housing typologies. BNG units will also be delivered in brownfields and existing settlements in the designated municipalities.

2. What preparations for the project(s) has been completed;

With respect to Phase one (R600 million) funded by the DBSA loan, all project preparation, township establishment processes, installation of basic services and servicing of sites are complete. For Phase two (R400 miilion) funded by the province, the planning processes are in progress. The construction of Phase two projects are expected to commence once Phase one is complete.

3. (a) by what date will the project(s) start

Phase one of the project will commence on 1 April 2024 and is estimated to be completed by 31 March 2025. Phase two of the project will commence upon the completion of Phase one.

(b) what are the relevant details for each location of the R1 billion housing project;

There are 67 projects in total located in the 15 municipalities as listed in tables one and two above.

4. By what date will the 4,000 housing units be fully completed and occupied?

Phase one which comprises 2500 houses is estimate to be complete by 31 March 2025. These units will be progressively occupied by qualifying beneficiaries as when they are ready. Phase two comprises 1668 houses and will commence once Phase one is complete.

Reply:

The department doesn’t have any activities planned between now and 29 May 2024 to celebrate 30yrs of democracy. (a) N/A (b)N/A (i) N/A, (ii)N/A (aa) N/A (bb) N/A (cc) N/A (dd) N/A (ee) N/A.

Reply:

The Department of Human Settlements manage to build two hundred and forty-five, five hundred and eighty-seven (245 587) houses since 1 January 2019 to date (which is only for quarter one to quarter three of the current financial year. These houses were built throughout the nine provinces as per the breakdown on the below table.

Province	18/19 (Q4)	19/20	20/21	21/22	22/23	23/24 (Q1-Q3)	Total
EC	1 126	8 757	5 427	6 833	5 550	3 455	31 148
FS	761	2 290	1 890	1 647	311	188	7 087
GP	2 593	12 153	9 495	7 354	6 982	4 803	43 380
KZN	4 743	15 737	10 315	12 033	9 325	7 593	59 746
LP	3 954	8 135	4 518	4 269	4 808	6 200	31 884
MP	250	6 710	4 522	2 955	1 900	1 300	17 637
NC	96	620	221	591	173	84	1 785
NW	1 653	6 739	2 847	2 734	3 918	2 768	20 659
WC	3 007	8 184	6 354	6 200	5 665	2 851	32 261
Total	18 183	69 325	45 589	44 616	38 632	29 424	245 587

Reply:

1. The Department of Human Settlements purchased the following vehicles, since 8 May 2019:

(a) AUDI.

(b) Q5 40 TDI.

(c) 2022.

(d) (i) Minister, none.

(ii) the Deputy Minister, 27 July 2022 and

(e) Purchase price for:

(i) Minister, none.

(ii) the Deputy Minister, R 795 280.97.

Reply:

The Department issued the National Norms and Standards for the Creation of Serviced Stands, the Construction of Stand Alone and Higher Density Semi-Detached and Three Storey Walk-up Residential Dwellings which are financed through National Housing Programmes. Part of the norms and standards cater for persons living with disabilities, including persons who use wheelchairs. As a minimum, the standards prescribe that a subsidised house for a person living with disabilities must be forty-five square meters (45m2) in gross floor area as size. Additionally, an increased space must be allocated for the bathroom to enable ease of mobility, while accommodating specialised items such as handrails. Other items that cater for persons living with disability include:

• Access to the house: 12 square metres (12m2)of paving and ramp at the doorway
• Grab rails and lever action taps in the bathroom (enlargement of the area can be done at the expense of the rest of the house)
• Visual doorbell indicators

The above-listed provisions serve to cater for people using walking aids, wheelchair-partial usage and persons who are partially or profoundly deaf.

It is important to note that the policy also permits that in instances wherein a member of a beneficiary's household is disabled, a variation to the subsidy amount is made available to cater for them.

Furthermore, the policy allows that if a person who has already owned a subsidised property becomes disabled, or if any of his or her dependents become disabled, the Provincial Department concerned may award the beneficiary an increase in the subsidy amount by a maximum amount in line with the classification/category of disability. This addition to the subsidy amount is determined taking into account the severity of a person’s disability and the cost of providing assistance measures to cater for the specific disability.

Similarly, the Department has introduced a Special Housing Needs Subsidy Programme to provide group housing to persons with special housing needs and for people suffering from various other disabilities who require assisted housing. This programme is being implemented in partnership with the Department of Social Development.

In 2023, the Department pronounced on the revision of the quantum which included the installation of burglar bars in their houses to ensure their security.

Reply:

1. The government never announced any programme to implement 1 million houses in Stwetla. Further. the land in which the Stjwetla Informal Settlement is located is not suitable for human habitation. However, there are portions of land parcels in Frankenstein and Linksfield areas where the City of Johannesburg is finalising plans with various stakeholders to build approximately 40,000 (forty thousand) houses to cater, including those in the Stjwetla informal settlement households.
2. The City of Joburg is engaging with the residents through the ward councillor, and the leadership in the affected areas in and around Stjwetla. The City of Joburg has through the appointed consultants also established a broad Social Facilitation, Communications and Stakeholder Plan to foster collaboration among all key stakeholders including but not limited to all spheres of government, various affected communities through their community leaders and advocacy groups.

Reply:

The Minister, her department and officials of her department did not receive any sponsorships, donations and or financial transfers by any Qatari, Iranian and or Russian organ of state.

Reply:

a) The South African National Standards (SANS) 1936-1: Development of Dolomite Land, which was developed by South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) sets out requirements for the development of dolomitic land. The SANS 1936-1thus ensures that people live and work in an environment that is understood by society to be acceptably safe, where loss of assets is within tolerable limits, and where cost-effective and sustainable land usage is achieved. The said standards are applicable to all the three spheres of government to avoid hazards associated with dolomite, especially in areas where the building of residential properties should be prohibited to eliminate the loss of life. In areas where the building of residential units is permitted, mitigation measures are put in place in the form of land use permitted in the Municipal Zoning Scheme. With this consideration, the Department provides guidance through the National Housing Code of 2009, which is based on the classification identified in SANS 1936-1: Development of Dolomite Land. Additionally, site rehabilitation measures have been introduced to ensure that houses are built on stable ground and the appropriate foundation is put in place. Moreover, the National Housing Code of 2009 entails maps of various provinces which designate dolomitic areas, to ensure that careful consideration is given during development, and that appropriate studies are conducted before actual construction can occur, to ensure safe environments.

b) To ensure the safety and well-being of citizens located in the dolomitic areas, a stringent process is followed. Part of this process is that prior to any housing project development, a feasibility study has to be undertaken to ascertain that the land can be developed. Once the feasibility study has been undertaken, a Geotech study is conducted to gather the physical characteristics of the soil and rocks on a site to ensure that if dolomitic rock is found, the site is rehabilitated where necessary, and proper foundations are designed. For projects that are developed in the dolomitic areas, conventional foundations such as strip or spot footings are often used in the building of houses where the risk of sinkhole forming is found to be adequate. Moreover, compacted soil mattresses that serve as a flexible reinforcement are used to strengthen structures on areas underlain by dolomite. In areas where sinkhole formation poses an immediate danger to the inhabitants of houses, the relevant municipalities (in consultation with the provincial departments of human settlements and all relevant stakeholders) are to consider the upgrading of aging or affected infrastructure or the identification and preparation of well-located and suitable land for the resettlement of affected households. The National Department of Human Settlements monitors compliance with technical specifications through analysis of business plans of Provinces and Metros, wherein the geotechnical reports should form part of the supporting evidence prior to development in dolomitic areas.

Reply:

The National Department of Human Settlements has indeed taken proactive measures to address the challenges faced by the Free State Province, particularly regarding the delivery of housing units. The Department’s key interventions included:

• Firstly we seconded an experienced individual who has previously worked with the National Department, to capacitate the Provincial Department’s Supply Chain Management Unit. This individual's expertise and experience have significantly contributed to improving operational efficiency within the Department.
• Secondly, also seconding a Project Management Unit official to provide additional support and guidance to the Provincial Department. This collaborative approach has enabled the efficient coordination and execution of housing projects, thereby enhancing overall project delivery.
• In addition to these interventions, the province has also made significant investments in planning activities, laying the groundwork for future housing developments.

The interventions implemented thus far have yielded promising results and ongoing efforts will continue to drive progress and ensure the provision of adequate housing opportunities for residents of the province. National Department of Human Settlements remains committed to supporting the Free State Province in addressing its housing delivery challenges and improving its performance outcomes.

Reply:

(a) & (b). Only one Team was established and deployed in the Free State Province to assist in addressing the procurement challenges. The Team has made a remarkable positive impact in turning around the procurement challenges in the province, with an expenditure rate of above 70% that has been achieved as of February 2024.

The Department did not establish any other similar teams in other Provinces.

Reply:

The Northern Cape Province approached the Development Bank of Southern Africa (the Lender) to finance the acceleration of the human settlement’s development programme. The borrowing is pursued in line with the provisions of section 3 (6) of the Borrowing Act and the current Division of Revenue Act (DoRA) through a pledge of the indicative Human Settlements Development Grant (HSDG) for the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) 2025 to 2027 as detailed below:

The R1 billion allocated to build approximately 4,000 houses across municipalities in the Northern Cape Province, as announced by the President will not impact the housing provisions in the rest of the Republic.

Reply:

(a) and (b)

Project name	Project Location	IBT System utilised	Number of Houses entrolled as IBT	Number of houses constructed and occupied as IBT	Number of houses still to be built on IBT
1. Transhex Mega Projects, BNG/Social/Gap Housing	Western Cape, Worcester	Ikhaya future house Moladi Envirolite	1410	190	1220
2. Umlazi F6, BNG/Social/Gap Housing	KZN, Umlazi	SANJO Fabtech Building system	Change of design in progress for 10 units. Units were initially enrolled as conventional	10 units in progress at various stages	0
3. Fortwest Ext 4&5, BNG/Social/Gap housing	Gauteng Pretoria West	Sanjo Fabtech Building system	500	100 Houses contructed. Not occupied	400 houses
4. Toekomsrus Ext 4, Western Mega Projects, BNG/Social/Gap housing	Gauteng Randfontein	MONL Frames building system	598	360 Houses constructed. 285 houses invaded houses is included in the 360 houses	238 houses
5. Thembisa ext 7	Gauteng Tembisa	Sterling Building systems (Sanjo Fabtech)	500	466 constructed, project on hold	34 houses
6. Delft Housing Project BNG/Social/ Gap housing	Western Cape, Delft New Precinct	Kwikspace Modular Buildings Vela Building Solutions	1911	1426	485
7. Greenville Housing Project, BNG/Social/ Gap housing	Western Cape, Fisantekraal	Benex Masonry Building system	2956	2659	166 Project under construction – 131 not yet started
8. Belhar Military vets project, BNG/Social/ Gap housing	Western Cape, Belhar	Intastor Profile Modular Roofing system	102	102	0
9. Sicelo Shiceka BNG/Social/ Gap housing	Gauteng, Midvaal	Sterling Buidling System (Sanjo Fabtech)	100	0	0
10. Vosloorus Ext.9 BNG/ Social/Gap housing	Gauteng, Vosloorus	Plaswall Building system	132	0	0

Reply:

a) Before the 2023/24 financial year, the National Department of Human Settlements (NDHS) has been allocating disaster response funds (on application) to provinces and municipalities that were affected by disaster incidences such as floods, gale force winds and fires through the Provincial Emergency Housing Grant (PEHG) and Municipal Emergency Housing Grant (MEHG) respectively.

As a result of the April 2022 floods in KwaZulu Natal, the province was allocated a budget of R342 133 000 through the PEHG, for the provision of Temporary Emergency Accommodation (TEA) that enabled more than 3 000 displaced households to be removed from mass care centres (community halls, churches, and schools) to various lodges and flats within eThekwini municipality. In addition, these funds were also utilised by the province for the construction of Temporary Residential Units (TRUs), whilst a permanent housing solution such as the construction of BNGs, is sought by the KZN Department of Human Settlements (KZN-DHS). The Eastern Cape Province was allocated a budget of R84 109 000 through the PEHG, for the provision of 225 Temporary Residential Units to displaced households.

As of the 1st of April 2023, the NDHS discontinued the PEHG and MEHG to formulate an Emergency Housing Response Fund (EHRF) that is administered and implemented directly by NDHS.

The Human Settlements Department under the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) played an active role in the provision of emergency accommodation for the victims of the fire incident that occurred at the Usindiso building. The CoJ’s Human Settlements Department established a Transitional Relocation Area (Shalizile Denver TRA) where the victims were relocated to. Services such as water supply, sanitation, area lighting and refuse removal are provided. The costs relating to the construction of the corrugated structures amount to R3 648 640.00 in Shalizile Denver TRA.

bI The National Department of Human Settlements (NDHS) put in place the following emergency housing interventions that will enable displaced disaster victims to be provided with decent shelter during disasters:

• A 3-year panel of contractors has been established for the construction of Temporary Residential Units (TRUs) on an as-and-when-required basis until the year 2026.
• The Housing Development Agency (HDA) has been tasked with the responsibility of acquiring suitable land parcels and state-owned buildings that will be utilised immediately as Temporary Emergency Accommodation (TEA) during disasters, whilst TRUs are being constructed. This responsibility is in line with their core mandate prescribed by the Housing Development Agency Act No. 23 of 2008.
• The National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) has been tasked with the responsibility of conducting structural assessments and remedial plans for formal houses that were damaged by the floods, winds, and fires, as per their mandate prescribed on the Housing Consumers Protection Measures Act, 1998 (Act No. 95 of 1998).
• To ensure that such measures are implementable across all provinces, the NDHS has developed Emergency Housing Guidelines that outline the type of disaster interventions that should be provided by the department. The Guidelines also outline the collaborative role of the Provincial and Municipal Disaster Management Centres (PDMCs, DDMCs & MDMCs), in assisting the NDHS to respond effectively and efficiently to disasters.

Reply:

Based on the response or the information provided to my office by City of Johannesburg, it must be noted that in the last two (2) financial years (2021/2022 and 2022/23) the city has embarked on a process of developing the area using Informal Settlements Upgrading Grant (ISUPG). The City appointed a consultant to develop a professional upgrade plan in order to normalise the Kya Sands Informal Settlement into a formal township (i.e. to densify and present a tangible plan for re-development and re-blocking of the settlement).

The plan is categorised as a Category B1 settlement where in-situ upgrading will be utilised. In-situ upgrading means that the settlement will be developed in the same area where it is located as there is enough land and space. Households located in the North-Western sections of the settlement will need to be relocated as they are located within, the 1:100-year flood line.

(b) The Department of Human Settlements within the City of Johannesburg is providing interim basic services such as refuse collection, sanitation and water on a weekly basis.

Reply:

The KZN Provincial Department of Human Settlements indicates that there are two factors that contributed to the delays of the Umbulwane Area H Housing Project-

(i) STORMWATER MANAGEMENT

In November 2018 to February 2019 severe weather patterns led to the Umbulwane area experiencing extended heavy rainfall, which resulted in the existing stormwater arrangements not able to limit/mitigate the extensive flooding of portions of the project, impacting on several houses under construction. The KZN NHBRC immediately stopped the construction activities until an appropriate and sustainable solution was found.

Following the tabling of the investigations that were conducted by both the NHBRC as well as the Project Engineer, meetings were held with all the stakeholders to discuss the findings and provide suitable and sustainable solutions in order to urgently implement and unblock the project. The Implementing Agent and the Project Engineers subsequently provided the remedial and upgrading requirements along with the maintenance plan.

(II) BULK SERVICES

During the installation of the bulk services, an application from the District Municipality, via the Alfred Duma Local Municipality citing that they did not have the funds to install bulk water and sewer arrangements. The KZN Department realised that if these issues were left unresolved, the structures on the ground would be subjected to vandalism and illegal occupation.

The KZN Department then made funds available to resolve both the storm water management issues, as well as the bulk connection services to allow the project to proceed.

The KZN Department took on the responsibility that should have been taken by the uThukela District Municipality (Bulk services) as well as the responsibility that should have been performed by the Alfred Duma Local Municipality (Storm water management) to unblock all challenges causing the project to be stalled. The Implementing Agent is anticipated to return to site and resume construction activities by 15 March 2024 and complete the project by March 2026.

The status of project the is as follows:

Internal Services

Water Reticulation : 100%

Sewer Reticulation : 100%

Storm water control : 100%

Internal Roads : 100%

Sewer Pump Station: 95%

Top structures

Slabs : 400

Walls : 145

Roofs : 105

 

Reply:

1. According to the Northern Cape Provincial Department responsible for Human Settlements the department acquired the Eskom building through the Housing Development Agency (HDA) for the reported R 16 million.

(a) A projected cost analysis was prepared by LESEDI Technical Engineering CONSULTING (PTY) LTD for the HDA in August 2021 and the cost for the project conversion was estimated at R120 million.

(b) A current cost analysis has not been done.

2. A signed inter-ministerial agreement between the National Department of Human Settlements (NDHS) and the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) affords the NDHS and its entities the first right of refusal from DPE to acquire disposable assets before availing them to the open market. The HDA as an Enabling Agent of the NDHS is tasked to acquire some of the properties availed by ESKOM for the purposes of provision of sustainable and affordable housing to communities. The HDA has identified a gap in the market for student accommodation in the various tertiary institutions in and around Kimberley. The HDA has therefore targeted the Eskom Towers building in Kimberley, for acquisition and redevelopment into student accommodation.

Student accommodation is renowned for being one of the less volatile asset classes thus providing investors an opportunity to plough funds with high prediction-confidence. The positive social-economic impact of this development besides job creation and an added revenue stream for the municipality has been an indication that investment in the ESKOM building is an advantage for development by the government.

Reply:

1) No. The information requested is personal information relating to the candidates who applied for the post of Director-General, and it is protected in terms of Section 14 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act No. 108 of 1996) and the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013.

2) No. The verification from the South African Police Service Criminal Database confirmed no criminal record.

Reply:

The Housing Subsidy System (HSS) reveals that since 2013 to date, the Department with the support of Provinces and Municipalities built the houses illustrated in the table below.

	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23
EC	12 646	13 469	13 198	12 491	11 123	9 817	8 757	5 427	6 833	5 550
FS	6 920	5 308	5 322	4 064	3 330	3 695	2 290	1 890	1 647	311
GP	22 352	14 984	14 968	16 003	17 606	9 623	12 153	9 495	7 354	6 982
KZN	29 151	29 312	26 552	22 467	20 290	20 564	15 737	10 315	12 033	9 325
LIM	3 080	2 149	8 476	10 251	9 050	10 513	8 135	4 518	4 269	4 808
MPU	8 126	8 293	9 226	3 670	8 739	8 522	6 710	4 522	2 955	1 900
NC	2 464	2 133	1 337	1 449	809	541	620	221	591	173
NW	9 362	9 206	10 873	9 152	6 552	6 523	6 739	2 847	2 734	3 918
WC	11 835	10 348	10 355	9 793	8 380	7 828	8 184	6 354	6 200	5 665
TOTAL	105 936	95 202	100 307	89 340	85 879	77 626	69 325	45 589	44 616	38 632

Reply:

(1)(a) Section 14 of the Constitution states that the National and Provincial Departments of Human Settlements have a concurrent function of housing, necessitating strong collaboration between the three sectors in the planning and execution of human settlement development.

Hence, the Department collaborates with the Provinces, Municipalities, and pertinent sector Departments in the planning and development of Smart Cities.

(b) In accordance with the Division of Revenue Act (DORA), the Minister annually allocates funds to Provinces and Metropolitan Municipalities for the execution of National Housing Programs. The grants are allocated to the Provinces and transferred in line with the approved , who are mandated by DORA to submit grant business plans. The Provinces together with the affected municipalities will identify the human settlements projects in Smart Cities that require funding. These projects must be in line with the relevant policy and programme prescripts in the Human Settlements Code, 2009. This is the setting in which investments in smart cities are directed.

(2)(a) The Department monitors the grants it makes to the Province and the Metros in terms of performance. According to the terms of the Division of Revenue Act (DoRA), Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), and Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), performance analyses are conducted on a monthly and quarterly basis and submitted to the National Treasury in accordance with the applicable guidelines. The National Department conducts several performance accountability sessions, such as quarterly performance reviews and MinMec meetings, and regularly communicates the performance challenges identified as impacting the Province and the Metros.

There are also structured visits undertaken by the National Department to verify reported performance and in certain circumstances,the verification visits are undertaken as and when the need arises. Letters of non-compliance are routinely addressed to the Province or Municipality that contravened the guidelines, and the Department does step in when either one of them contravenes the provisions of the Division of Revenue Act.

(b) By declaring the Lanseria Smart City area as a region in terms of the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA), 2013 (Act No. 16 of 2013), all three spheres of government are required to develop a Regional Spatial Development Framework (RSDF). This means that, in accordance with Section 19(d) of the Act, all three spheres of government must work together to create a Regional Spatial Development Framework (RSDF) that outlines the intended land use patterns in the area. The City of Tshwane must guarantee spatial integration, especially rural-urban integration, to accomplish this.

(c) The Mogale City is an Intermediate City and is earmarked for housing accreditation. The Provincial Department of Human Settlements will thus ensure the capacitation of the municipality as part of the process of accrediting the Mogale City.

(3) Section 18 of the SPLUMA defines a region as “A circumscribed geographical area characterized by distinctive economic, social, or natural features which may or may not correspond to the administrative boundary of a province or provinces or a municipality or municipalities”. To address the issue of divided jurisdictions and to implement national land use policies or priorities in any geographic area, the Department will collaborate with the Gauteng Province and municipalities to pursue the declaration of the Lanseria Smart Development as a region and the timetable and budget will be determined

Reply:

a) The partnership with the Republic of Ghana is a bilateral relationship that seeks to;

Establish and formalise exchanges on adequate and affordable housing delivery. The Department of Human Settlements has had ongoing exchanges with the Ministry of Works and Housing of the Republic of Ghana, mostly at international meetings, advancing the creation of sustainable human settlements.

The partnership also becomes a platform to facilitate the establishment of networks between sector actors outside of government to forge public-private collaboration that will enable the delivery of affordable housing. Moreover, the platform was instrumental for bringing together business entities to respond to the growing need for human settlements infrastructure that is required at scale and pace, in response to the trends of rapid urbanisation.

The Minister of Human Settlements undertook to advance the cordial relations between the two countries to deepen exchanges in respect to approaches in the provision of adequate housing and undertook an official visit in this regard during October 2023.

b) Some of the best practice models witnessed in Ghana include, but are not limited to;

• Employer assisted housing, through which public-private partnerships are developed (government and a private companies/ employers) with the view to build houses for a predetermined category of employees who would ordinarily not be able to build houses for themselves.

• Blended finance from government and private sector sources to raise capital in a complimentary manner in order to fund joint business ventures.

• Property practitioner regulations and management, which regulates the affairs of all property practitioners, spells out the obligations of the property practitioners towards housing consumers and strives to maintain professional standards in the property practitioners’ sector.

These areas will be explored through further knowledge exchanges between the two countries.

Reply:

1. (a) The Free State Provincial Department of Human Settlements included 96 blocked projects in the current business plan of 2023/24 financial year. Out of the 770 projects that have been reported as blocked, 96 of them have been targeted for implementation in the current financial year. The projects are currently at various stages of implementation. The completion of these projects will differ from one project to another based on the complexities of each one.

(b) This financial year alone, the province targeted to implement 96 out of 770 projects, which constitutes 12 percent of the blocked projects.

2. The list of blocked Projects is attached .

Reply:

(a) A temporary shelter should ideally not be occupied for more than 24 months. The National Department will develop policy guidelines in conjunction with the sector to determine the maximum time a household could be housed in a temporary shelter

(b) With reference to shelter that collapsed in Ntsitho Village, Ward 3 of Instika Yethu Local Municipality, the National Department did a physical verification of the affected household on 06 December 2023. The appointed service provider has been issued with a request to construct a new TRU with concrete foundation for the affected household.

.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER

QUESTION NUMBER: 4144

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 01 DECEMBER 2023

K DITSHEGO

ACTING DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL: INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS UPGRADING AND EMERGENCY HOUSING

DATE:

Recommended/not recommended

N DUMALISILE

ACTING DIRECTOR-GENERAL:

DATE:

____________________________________________________________

Approved/Not approved

M.T KUBAYI, MP

MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

DATE:

Reply:

According to the Case Management Register for the past 3 financial years, including the current financial year the Department did not receive complaints or allegations from municipal officials relating to fraud, corruption and maladministration.

Municipal officials can report allegations of housing fraud and corruption by making use of the following reporting mechanisms:

• DHS Special Investigations Directorate: 012 421 1503/1416/1535
• DHS Call Centre: 0800 146 873
• DHS Reception/Call Centre walk in reporting at 240 Justice Mahomed Street, Sunnyside, Pretoria
• National Anti-Corruption Hotline: 0800 701 701
• The Presidential Hotline: 17737

.

Reply:

According to information received from Provinces, the department received applications for housing assistance across provinces. Applications are selected and approved based on the government criteria from Municipalities for allocations on what is available for beneficiaries.

The list below provides information of Women, Youth headed households and previously homeless people who have been living in informal settlements with no proper houses.

EASTERN CAPE for the period, delivered and recorded.

Women	236,391 units
Youth	23,328 units
Previously Homeless People	Nothing was recorded under this category

FREE STATE reported.

Women	116,363 units
Youth	3,235 units
Previously Homeless People	Nothing reported under this category.

GAUTENG for the period, delivered and recorded.

Women	10,848 units
Youth	3,359 units
Previously Homeless People	Nothing reported under the category

KWAZULU NATAL for the period, delivered and recorded.

Women	32,344 units
Youth	6,381 units
Previously Homeless People	49,574 units

LIMPOPO reported.

Women	11,898 units
Youth	4,813 units
Previously Homeless People	There is no information on that.

MPUMALANGA for the period, delivered and recorded.

Women	9,407 units
Youth	127,988 units
Previously Homeless People	Nothing reported under the category

NORTHERN CAPE for the period, delivered and recorded.

Women	31,600 units
Youth	1,444 units
Previously Homeless People	Nothing reported under the category

NORTH-WEST reported.

Women	173,900 units
Youth	16,648 units
Previously Homeless People	There is no information on that.

WESTERN CAPE for the period, delivered and recorded.

Women	170,171 units
Youth	12,074 units
Previously Homeless People	Nothing reported under the category

Reply:

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Provincial Departments had their own waiting lists that were not digitised and were held in various offices.

a) Steps taken:

1. The National Department has developed the National Housing Needs Register (NHNR) which is utilized at provincial and municipal level to enable citizens to register their need for adequate shelter.
2. The Provincial Departments use the NHNR to identify potential beneficiaries to ensure that the allocation process is fair and transparent, and that queue jumping is eliminated.
3. The identification process uses a prioritisation criterion for beneficiary selection to reserve the subsidised units for the most vulnerable. The priority cohort includes:

• Elderly beneficiaries (60 years and older).
• People living with medically certified disabilities.
• Beneficiaries who are on the National Housing Needs Register for the longest period (15 years and longer).
• Backyard dwellers (only for new/Greenfield projects).
• Approved Military Veterans.

b) Delays can be alluded to the following:

1. There have been several budget cuts over the past years due to the shrinking fiscus which has led to the reduction of completed housing units, meaning that a lesser number of beneficiaries stand to benefit from the housing projects.
2. In some cases, households move from one area to another, therefore when a project is completed, the initially registered households become untraceable.
3. In some Municipalities, Councillors are still hesitant in the utilisation of the NHNR for allocation purposes- This is a matter that we are addressing through our Councillor Induction Training that is rolled out throughout the country and delivered by our Capacity Building Unit.
4. Some people assume that after completing the NHNR, they have applied for an actual housing opportunity, whereas the application process begins with filling in the subsidy application form which is issued by the Province or Municipality when a project is going to be built close to your place of residence- In response to this challenge, we conduct consumer education in collaborate with Provinces and Municipalities.

Reply:

(a) Actions taken by the National Department of Human Settlements to help create jobs and spend resources on procurement for black persons and vulnerable groups.

On 27 January 2022, Cabinet recommended that, all sector departments and State entities should prioritise mass employment. In response to this call, in February 2022, the Department issued a Circular to the Heads of Provincial Departments of Human Settlements and Chief Executive Officers of Human Settlements entities, advising them on the requirement to prioritise the Mass Employment Programme in their respective Annual Performance Plans.

At National Department Level:

• In terms of procurement spending allocation, the national Department of Human Settlements is targeting the procurement of goods and services from Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Level 1 to 4 firms. The B-BBEE Level 1-4 firms are mainly small-medium- and micro-enterprises (SMMEs). It must however be noted that due to the nature of competition and services required, it is not always practical to purchase goods and services from the targeted B-BBEE levels.

• The Department’s procurement is done in terms of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act in terms of which for procurement less than R50 million, bids are scored a maximum of 20 points for Historically Disadvantaged Individuals while for procurement of more than R50 million the maximum score is 10 points.

(b) The department’s contribution to social and economic transformation through job creation and allocating a share of its budget to historically disadvantaged individuals was done through the procurement process as follows:

• For 2019/20 financial year, the National Department of Human Settlements procured forty five percent (45%) of goods and services from suppliers and service providers who are on B-BBEE Level 1-4. The procurement allocation is shown below:

2019/20
TOTAL SPENT	R 130 728 311,00	%
Women-Owned Enterprises	R 30 263 319,21	23,15%
Young Persons Owned Enterprises	R 10 998 341,15	8,41%
Military Veterans	R 455 156,07	0,35%
People with Disabilities Owned Enterprises	R 1 146 564,90	0,88%
	R 42 863 381,33
Level 1	R 51 841 046,61	39,66%
Level 2	R 3 644 208,69	2,79%
Level 3	R 2 600 000,00	1,99%
Level 4	R 836 187,50	0,64%
	R58 921 442,80	45,07%

• For 2020/21 financial year, the National Department of Human Settlements procured forty two percent (42%) of goods and services from suppliers and service providers who are on B-BBEE Level 1-4. The procurement allocation is shown below:

2020/21
TOTAL SPENT	R118.901.737,52	%
Women-Owned Enterprises	R15.218.642,06	12,80%
Young Persons Owned Enterprises	R6.676.519,21	5,60%
Military Veterans	R22.570,00	0,02%
People with Disabilities Owned Enterprises	R252.611,25	0,21%
	R22 170342.52	18,6%
Level 1	R36.816.605,46	30,96%
Level 2	R3.828.546,14	3,22%
Level 3	R2.569.319,93	2,16%
Level 4	R6.569.319,93	5,52%
	R49 783 791,46	41,9%

• For 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 that were on B-BBEE Level 1-4. The procurement allocation is shown below:

2021/22
TOTAL SPENT	R111.024.641,19	%
Women Owned Enterprises	R26.683.931,58	24,03%
Young Persons Owned Enterprises	R18.926.372,73	17,04%
Military Veterans	R0	0,00%
People with Disabilities Owned Enterprises	R1.555.614,17	1,40%
	R47 165 918,48	42,5%
Level 1	39.381.810,68	35,47%
Level 2	14.753.893,24	13,29%
Level 3	3.914.289,44	3,53%
Level 4	2.938.823,60	2,65%
	R60 988 816,96	54,9%

• For 2022/23 financial year, the National Department of Human Settlements procured ninety seven percent (97,68%) of goods and services from suppliers and service providers who are on B-BBEE level 1-4. The procurement allocation is shown below:

2022/23
TOTAL SPENT	R134.338.215,89	%
Women Owned Enterprises	R50.739.311,49	38%
Young Persons Owned Enterprises	R75.168.797,70	55,95%
Military Veterans	R0	0,00%
People with Disabilities Owned Enterprises	R535.252,00	1,05%
	R126 443 961,19	94,1%
Level 1	50.147.760,18	37,33%
Level 2	69.859.296,11	52,00%
Level 3	6.170.453,66	4,59%
Level 4	5.055.854,34	3,76%
	R131 233 364,29	97,68%

• For 2023/24 financial year April to August 2023, the National Department of Human Settlements procured ninety nine percent (99.45%) of goods and services from suppliers and service providers who are on B-BBEE level 1-4.

The procurement allocation is shown below:

2023/24 April - August
TOTAL SPENT	R35.653.241,02	%
Women Owned Enterprises	R23.787.507,04	66,72%
Young Persons Owned Enterprises	R18.066.659,29	50,67%
Military Veterans	R0	0,00%
People with Disabilities Owned Enterprises	R71.317,46	0,20%
Level 1	R31.657.270,38	88,79%
Level 2	R3.674.984,78	10,31%
Level 3	R0	0,00%
Level 4	R123.675,86	0,35%
	R35 455 931,02	99,45%

(b) Details of sector achievements of the specified categories of disadvantaged populations since 2019

• The National Department further coordinates sector-wide information on employment and training, which is subsequently on a quarterly basis consolidated and reported on mass employment and training issues.
• The Human Settlements subsidy programme is broad, as it caters for both rural and urban communities which township communities. As such, value chain opportunities particularly for business owned entities such as Contractors, Material Suppliers, Professional Resource Teams are spread across the various Subsidy Programmes.
• Since 1 April 2022 of the lapsed 2022/23 financial year up to the end of Q1 of the current 2023/24 financial year, a total of 259 275 job opportunities have been created within the sector. These figures are however not audited.

(b)(i) Military Veterans: During 2021/22:

• KwaZulu-Natal: The Province was supported to train thirty (30) Military Veterans companies, jointly with the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC), on construction and related fields. After completion of training, successful companies were assisted with the NHBRC registrations. Prior to this, KZN had appointed a Military Veteran’s company in 2016 to build houses for Military Veterans. The same company was also provided with technical and administrative training to ensure that they deliver, however the Province had to appoint three additional contractors in 2022/23 Financial Year to scale up performance.

• Eastern Cape: The Province was supported in the establishment of a Military Veterans Cooperative called Matrosov, which works closely with the contractor to build Military Veterans houses in the Chatty 491 Project in Port Elizabeth. A Military Veteran was also appointed as the CLO and some of the Military Veterans were responsible to provide security to the project.

b)(ii) Provinces and Metros on Human Settlements Conditional Grants

• The National Department continuously encourages Provinces and Metros to annually set aside and allocate at least 40% of their annual conditional grants allocations to business entities/ companies owned by designated groups, with specific reference to three grants, the Human Settlements Development Grant (HSDG), Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership Grant (ISUPG), and the Urban Settlements Development Grant (USDG) 2021-2022.
• Provinces and Metros are continuously supported to ensure transformation in this regard, including on prioritizing allocation of human settlements projects to business entities of designated groups. The National Department monitors Provinces’ and Metros’ compliance in this regard, with the performance information consolidated, analyzed and reported on, on a quarterly basis.
• The sector performance in job creation through awarding of contracts for human settlements projects to designated and vulnerable groups since 2019 to 2023, as submitted by Provinces, Meros and Human Settlements Entities, is as outlined below. These figures are however not audited.

Human Settlements Development Grant (HSDG)

• For 2021-22 financial year, R2 billion was allocated to businesses of designated groups, yielding 46% achievement of the 40% set aside.
• For 2022-23 financial year, R3.4 billion was allocated.
• For 2023-24 financial year, since April-June 2023, R1 136 861 has been allocated.

Urban Settlements Development Grant (USDG)

• For 2021-22 financial year, R1.4 billion was allocated for companies of designated groups, yielding 36% achievement of the 40% set aside.
• For 2022-23 financial year, R1 164 345 million was allocated, which included April-June 2023, which is the last quarter of the Metros financial year, with R30 494 spent.

Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership Grant (ISUPG)

• For 2021-22 financial year, R1 million was allocated to companies of designated groups, yielding 36% achievement of the 40% set aside.
• For 2022-23 financial year, R2 million was allocated.
• For the current 2023-24 financial year, since April-June 2023, R98 346 has been allocated.

On an annual basis, Provinces and Metros have collectively allocated o:

• In 2021/22, R3.5 billion was allocated to companies owned by designated groups.
• In 2022/23, R3.7 billion was allocated.
• In 2023/24, R1 235 207 has been allocated.

b)(iii) Human Settlements Entities

National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) 2021-2022

• The National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) plays a major role in creating an enabling environment through provision of housing construction finance and enterprise development.
• For 2021/22 FY: The entity’s value of disbursements for business entities of designated groups was R284 million. 123 SMME’s were supported through the Enterprise Development Programme. R90.3m worth work packages for SMMEs were issued. Out of SMME’s that participated, 42 are women owned entities and 15 include youth owned entities through the NHFC interventions. In total, R374 million was set aside by NHFC.
• For 2022/23 FY: NHFC allocated R274 million through the value of disbursements for Designated Groups. The value of disbursements targeted towards B-BBEE compliant companies - Level 4, 3, 2, 1 Contributor (R'm) was R669 million. The value of disbursements targeted towards black owned entities (R'm). Moreover, women were the most beneficiaries of the First Home Finance (erstwhile FLISP) subsidies that were approved and disbursed. In total, NHFC allocated R1.186 billion.

Social Housing Regulatory Authority 2021-2022

• For 2021/22 FY: The 2021/22 training programme covering a wide range of topics in relation to the programme, saw over 1 201 participants enlisted, of which 572 of attendees were female, 395 youth and 11 were persons living with disabilities. Various awareness sessions were also held focusing on designated groups to ensure their participation in the future social housing development. The existing body of knowledge and information has been formally constituted into materials and toolkits and such unpacked for broader audiences. SHRA spent 81% of its budget on majority owned black business. 93% of the capital grant award were made to majority black owned and controlled businesses.
• For 2022/23 FY: Procurement spent for designated groups women (40%), youth (20%) PWDs (5%). On procurement spent for women was 48.49% and youth 3.42%, with nil expenditure on PWDs. Construction Procurement Spent for designated groups through the Capital Consolidated Grant (CCG) women (40%) yielding (48.9%) and youth (20%) yielding 6.39%, again with nil expenditure on PWDs. Construction Spent for designated groups through Institutional Investment Grant (IIG) target of (40%) yielding 41%. Construction Spent for Black Owned through CCG target of (70%) yielding 70%.

Housing Development Agency (HDA)

• For 2021/22 FY: Procurement spend for designated groups women (40%), yielding 8.12% youth (20%) yielding 2.92% PWDs (5%) yielding 0.53%. Procurement spend targeted at businesses owned by BBBEE level 1-4 (60%) yielding 70.7%.
• For 2022/23 FY: Procurement spend for designated groups women (40%), yielding 52% youth (20%) yielding 23% and PWDs (5%) yielding 5.56%.

National Homebuilders’ Registration Council (NHBRC)

• For 2021/22 NHBRC through the Social Transformation and Empowerment Programme (STEP) trained 9154 individuals on various technical skills. 61% of the total number of individuals trained are women. BEE spend target of 65% yielding 73.72%.
• For 2022/23 FY: NHBRC through the Social Transformation and Empowerment Programme (STEP) trained 8517 cohort of women, youth, people with disabilities and Military Veterans through the contractor training and development as well as the technical skills programme. Procurement spent for designated groups women (40%), yielding 43.24% youth (20%) yielding 34.08% and PWDs (5%) yielding 0.23%.

Community Schemes Ombuds Services (CSOS)

• For 2021/22 FY: CSOS conducted 73 training and awareness raising sessions against a target of 18. CSOS spend 77.05% of its overall budget on BBBEE level 1-2 (R42. 374 million) and BBBEE level 3-8 (R9.340 million) black owned or controlled companies and non-compliant R5.707 million). Collectively, the procurement spent is R 58,851 Rm.
• For 2022/23 FY: CSOS procurement spent for women owned entities for the target of (40%) yielding 41.5%, youth (20%) 9.1%.

Property Practitioner Regulatory Authority (PPRA) 2021-2022

• For 2021/22 FY: The PPRA was able to reach over 5000 through workshops and awareness raising physically and through virtual platforms. PPRA mobilized 2000 interns, predominantly youth through the Services Seta funding
• For 2022/23 FY: The PPRA introduced and reviewed number of transformation and empowerment programmes which includes amongst others, the Principalisation (Incubation) Programme; Regularisation Programme, Consumer Awareness Programme, Work Readiness Programme, Internship Programme – ‘one learner, one property practitioner”.

Reply:

Following her assignment to the human settlements portfolio in 2021, Minister Kubayi declared the unblocking of human settlements projects as part of her apex priorities as these deny qualifying households their right to adequate housing and dignity. Thereafter the Minister directed her department and its sector partners (Provinces and Municipalities) to unblock all blocked or abandoned projects over a period of three financial years, namely, 2022/23 – 2024/25.

Subsequently, all provinces collectively identified a total of 320 blocked and incomplete projects which were placed in their 2023/24 Business Plans and later approved by the Minister with the requisite budget.

The human settlements sector defines a blocked and incomplete project as; A project where no progress delivery has been made for a period of 12 months following the first payment to the contractor. Blocked and incomplete projects include serviced sites and houses at different levels of construction namely, slab level, wall-plate level, roof level, etc.

The most common factors that lead to the blocking of human settlements projects are illegal land occupations, geotechnical variations, construction mafias, community unrest, the escalation of material costs, the lack of bulk infrastructure and link services including poor performance by contractors (some of whom would have abandoned sites).

The Department continues to monitor and support the progress of provinces on the unblocking of blocked and incomplete human settlements projects through physical site visits and the Provincial, Municipal and Human Settlements Entities Performance Reviews that are held each quarter.

In addition to the above, the Department has encouraged all sector partners to;

• Create mechanisms through which they will develop, empower and support small, medium and micro enterprises.
• Strengthen their Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and contracts to enforce penalties and consequences against non-performing contractors and;
• Terminate the contacts of non-performing contractors as a last resort.

Reply:

The Human Settlements MinMec resolved on 15 September 2023 to launch Title Deed Fridays, a campaign dedicated to the issuing of title deeds to beneficiaries of state-subsidised housing by politicians and administrators at the national, provincial and local levels.

The Ministry and Department of Human Settlements keeps track of the number of title deeds on hand, title deeds handed over to municipalities and the number of title deeds handed over to beneficiaries. This information is solicited from provincial departments regularly to ensure that we are able to track progress against updated information.

Reply:

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Provincial Departments had their own waiting lists that were not digitised and were held in various offices.

1) Progress:

a) The National Department has developed the National Housing Needs Register (NHNR) which is utilized at provincial and municipal level to enable citizens to register their need for adequate shelter. The Provincial Departments use the NHNR to identify potential beneficiaries to ensure that the allocation process is fair and transparent.

b) The NHNR contains the integrated National and/or Provincial lists of households/ individuals that must go through the application process to become eligible beneficiaries.

2) Housing lists are captured on the NHNR, which has identified weakness. There are still allegations of beneficiary list manipulation. We are in a process to have a digital platform that reduces the risk of manipulation, that is transparent and increases accountability

Reply:

a) The Minister, (b) the Deputy Minister and (c) the departmental officials did not attend the Rugby World cup final in France in October.

Reply:

There is no Free State RecoveryPlan by Public Protector that am I aware of.

Reply:

a) Whether the memorandum of understanding between the National Housing Finance Corporation and the Department of Public Services and Administration has been signed regarding the Government Housing Scheme, which will make non-mortgage financing available to lower income government employees and give them access to First Home Finance to purchase houses in both urban and rural locations.

Yes, the National Housing Finance Corporation and the Department of Public Services and Administration signed the Memorandum of Understanding in November 2021. The Primary objectives of the MoU are to:

• Establish a relationship that will enable qualifying government employees’ access to First Home Finance subsidies.
• Strengthen the contribution of First Home Finance towards leveraging increased home loans to government employees.
• Increase home ownership among government employees.
• Ensure a co-ordinated approach in marketing First Home Finance to government employees.
• Establish the basis of interaction between the parties.

The MOU does allow Government Employee Housing Scheme (GEHS) members to access First Home Finance subsidy with non-mortgage products to purchase or build homes in both urban and rural areas.

b) If so, what total number of government employees are anticipated to gain from the revised First Home Finance policy?

According to the June GEHS report, as at the end of June there were 204 650 potentially qualifying employees. This number reduced from 319 440 as at the end of March 2023, because of salary adjustment that became effective on 1 April 2023 that resulted in a number of employees in Salary Level 7 and upwards earning a gross income above R22 000 per month; and therefore, ineligible for First Home Finance subsidy. This number reflects total employees in Salary Levels 1 up to 6 because their monthly gross income falls within the R22 000 upper limit for First Home Finance.

The MOU signed between the DPSA and the NHFC was on the implementation of FLISP, which was later rebranded to First Home Finance. The MOU was signed based on the then draft revised FLISP Policy and is being implemented.

The aspect that includes the NHFC, DPSA, NDHS and NT pertains to the NHFC assuming a bigger role of providing certain GEHS services for the benefit of government employees is still in the process.

Reply:

Background:

The Department has a policy for the upgrading of informal settlements. The policy underpins the programme on informal settlements upgrading, and its key objective is to facilitate a structured in-situ upgrading of informal settlements. Furthermore, the programme seeks to promote the development of a healthy and secure living environment by facilitating the provision of affordable and sustainable basic municipal engineering infrastructure to the residents.

A further consideration is that the upgrading of informal settlements should enable futuristic growth while recognising and formalising tenure rights of residents, allowing community empowerment, promoting social and economic integration as well as building social capital through a participative process that addresses the broader social needs of communities.

The Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership Grant (ISUPG) is meant to provide both interim and permanent basic services such as water, sanitation, gravel roads and other basic services.

Table 1: Phases and Outputs of the Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership Grant.

Phase	Description	Outputs/Deliverables
1	Conducting Social Facilitation & Pre-Feasibility Studies	Social Compacts and Preliminary Design Reports.
2	Land Acquisition, Formalisation & Detailed Engineering Designs	Registered land parcels, Proclaimed Townships Register and Engineering Designs.
3	Constructing Permanent Bulk Infrastructure & Municipal Engineering Services	Permanent Water, Sanitation, Electricity, Roads Infrastructure and Serviced Sites.

a) & b) According to the information received from the following Provinces:

No.	Province	Municipalities	Projects	Phases of upgrading	Relocation / In-situ
				Projects upgraded to Phase 1	Projects upgraded to Phase 2	Projects upgraded to Phase 3
	Eastern Cape	Mbizana	Mbizana Highlands, Mbizana Downtown	Not applicable	5	Not applicable	Projects still under planning (land-scoping, township layout plan).
		Amahlathi	Stutterheim Upper Izele, Cathcart Daliwe, Stutterheim Bongolethu
	Free State	Matjhabeng	Roma, DND, Virginia Moleding Unit 3 & 7	Not applicable	Not applicable	4	In-situ
	Gauteng	Midvaal	Boitumelo, KwaBrown, Skansdam, Sicelo Shiceka Ext. 5	Not applicable	11	Not applicable	Projects still under planning (surveying and registration of households)
		Emfuleni	Bophelong (Chris Hani), Tshepiso North Ext. 3, Boitumelo Informal Settlement
		Mogale City	Vaalbanl, Oriental Hills, Smokedown, Weltevreden Festive
	KwaZulu Natal	Newcastle	Johnstown, Blaauboschlaagte and Cavan	Not applicable	Not applicable	4	In-situ
		Kwadukuza	Madudumbe, Etete, Sihle Phakathi
		eThekwini	Etafuleni
	Limpopo	Feta Kgomo Tubatse	Burgersfort Ext. 71 & 72	Not applicable	Not applicable	6	In-situ
		Elias Motsoaledi	Masakaneng and Rossenekraal
		Modimolle	Alma and Vaalwater
	Mpumalanga	Ehlanzeni	Harmony Hill Ext. 2, Mashishing Ext. 9 and 10 and Komatipoort	Not applicable	Not applicable	10	In-situ
		Nkangala	Hlalanikahle Ext. 3 section C & L, Siyabonga Phola and Plot 86-88, Nooitgedaght 300 JS
		Gert Sibande	Kinross Ext. 33, Lebogang Ext. 27, Nyibe/ New Ermelo
	North-West	Madibeng	Buffelsfontein and Mooinooi Mamba Ext 13	Not applicable	Not applicable	4	In-situ
		Rustenburg	Boitekong Ext16
		Naledi	Naledi Ext 29
	Northern Cape	Sol Plaatjie Municipality	Lerato Park 5, 6, 7, 8 and Ivory Park.	Not applicable	Not applicable	5	Relocation
	Western Cape	Drakenstein	Schoongezicht	Not applicable	Not applicable	4	In-situ
		Overstrand	Gansbaai Masakhane
		Knysna	Hlalani and Vision

(c) The National Department of Human Settlements received a total of R4 419 331 billion including a rollover of R298 242 million from the 2021/2022 financial year. At the end of 2022/23 financial a total of R3 930 757 billion was spent.

The National Department is currently verifying the information from Metros and once the verification process is finalised the information will also be shared with the Member.

Reply:

(1) (a) According to the information provided to my office by the Housing Development Agency (HDA), the companies were appointed and contracted by the HDA in accordance with the prescribed supply chain regulations to provide professional technical consulting services for the Informal Settlements Upgrading Programme in the Eastern Cape.

Upon completion of the procurement processes, the Professional Technical Consultants (PRTs) were given instructions to carry out work in accordance with the approved terms of reference, and a virtual inception meeting was held on 30th November 2021.

It is important to note that the professional contracts between the HDA and the companies do not include provisions for any pre-payment. Therefore, any payments made by the HDA to these companies, as claimed by the Honourable Member, were made in accordance with Part C3 of the terms of reference, as per the contracted scope of works. This section clearly outlines the payment milestones, duration, and payment schedules associated with the deliverables being claimed.

The Agency vehemently denies any allegations of pre-payments and unequivocally asserts full compliance with the prescribed procedures and contractual obligations while disbursing payments to the aforementioned companies.

(2) No action was required against the employees.

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:

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