DHS Annual Performance Plan and sector impact; water, sanitation, housing access statistics; with Ministry

Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation

05 May 2020
Chairperson: Ms R Semenya (ANC) and Mr C Dodovu (ANC, North West)
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Meeting Summary

Video: JM: PC on Human Settlements and Select Committee on COGTA, Human Settlements, 5 May 2020
Audio: Current statistics pertaining to access to water, sanitation & housing: Stats SA briefing; DPME on MTEF & implications for Water and Sanitation and Human Settlements sector; DHS 2020/21 APP

Annual Performance Plan (APP) of Government Departments & Entities 20/2021

The joint Committees were briefed on the current situation regarding the provision of water and sanitation in South Africa, and heard how the Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation planned to address the challenges over the five-year medium term strategic framework (MTSF) period.

Giving an overview of the human settlements environment, the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation said that over the last 25 years, 3.18 million houses had been delivered through the government’s subsidy programme. About 14 million individuals had been aided by the state’s housing programme. In 2018, 89% of households had access to piped or tap water in their dwellings, and 83% of households had access to improved sanitation facilities.

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported that household growth between 2002 and 2018 was close to 49%, and to meet the increasing need for housing, the number of formal dwellings had increased sharply during this period. The shortfall, however, had been filled by an increase in informal dwellings. Around 14% of households still relied on communal or neighbours’ taps for their main source of drinking water.

The Department of Human Settlements (DHS) said its objectives included delivering 300 000 serviced sites by 2024, 30 000 rental housing units delivered in priority development areas (PDAs), 12 000 community residential units (CRUs), and 1 500 informal settlements upgraded to Phase 3. It also aimed to register 1 193 222 title deeds in order to provide security of tenure.

During discussion on the registration of title deeds, it was pointed out that between 2014 and 2019 the Department had been able to do only 646, and now they were targeting 1.2 million by 2024. Several Members queried whether they had the capacity and budget to meet this target. The Department was also questioned on its special transformation initiatives, and the danger of a spread of informal settlements; the role of provinces and municipalities in making land available for future development; and where the priority development areas were.

The Department was asked to provide answers to the raised issues at the next meeting on 6 May.

Meeting report

DPME: Impact of MTSF on human settlements development

Mr Zunaid Khan, Acting Deputy Director General: Planning Coordination, DPME, gave an overview of the human settlements environment, and said that over the last 25 years, 3.18 million houses had been delivered through the government’s subsidy programme. About 14 million individuals had been aided by the state’s housing programme.

The human settlements section of the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) was focused on three interrelated outcomes -- spatial transformation through multi-programme integration in priority development areas, adequate housing, and improved quality living environments and security of tenure.

The impact required was to achieve spatial transformation through improved integrated settlement development, and linking job opportunities with housing opportunities.

The competitiveness and growth potential of the economy was affected by the state of the water and sanitation infrastructure. According to the Global Competitiveness Index of 2019, South Africa was ranked 87th out of 141 countries for the reliability of water supply. Water resources were a critical component of the country’s ecological infrastructure system, and needed to be managed and protected. In 2018, 89% of households had access to piped or tap water in their dwellings, and 83% of households had access to improved sanitation facilities.

The impact required was that investment in the water and sanitation sector should contribute to the attainment of overall growth in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Natural resources will need to be well managed, and sectors and municipalities would have to respond to the impact of climate change in order to achieve improved access to basic services.

There was a need to improve the audit outcomes to an unqualified opinion and a reduction in fruitless, wasteful and irregular expenditure in both the Department of Human Settlements and the Department of Water and Sanitation.

Adjustments to the fiscal framework would be required, as the COVID-19 pandemic was likely to impact on the overall budget allocation to all departments. This may require the reprioritisation of some of the outcomes and targets in the MTSF.

Stats SA: Sanitation and water issues

Mr Risenga Maluleka, Statistician General: Stats SA, started his presentation by stating that sanitation and water issues were located within the context of population growth, household unbundling, poverty, migration, government capacity and resources.

A general household survey in 2018 had covered six areas: education, health and social development, housing, household access to services and facilities, food security and agriculture. This survey had involved a sample of 20 908 households and 71 137 individuals. It had established that more than half the population lived in three provinces – Gauteng (GP), KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and the Western Cape (WC).

Gauteng remained the most populated province, with approximately 15.2 million people (25.8%), and had shown the greatest increase in population numbers, largely due to both inter-provincial and international migration. KZN was the province with the second largest population, with an estimated 11.3 million people.

Household growth between 2002 and 2018 was close to 49%, and to meet the increasing need for housing, the number of formal dwellings had increased sharply during this period. The shortfall, however, had been filled by an increase in informal dwellings.

Net internal migration showed that GP and WC received the highest number of net migrants. Net migration, including that from outside SA, showed GP receiving around 50% of all international migration into the country.

In 2002, the percentage of households with access to piped or tap water in their dwellings, off-site or on-site, was 85%, and this had increased to 89% by 2018. In the survey, around 14% of households relied on communal or neighbours’ taps for their main source of drinking water. Households in the two poorest income quintiles reported the lowest percentage of access to improved drinking water sources, while households in the wealthiest income quintile reported the highest percentage of access to improved drinking water sources.

The number of households with access to piped water had increased since 2006. However, this coincided with a decline in the percentage of households who paid for the piped water they received. Around 82% of households in Limpopo do not pay for the municipal water. The average weighted Water Infrastructure Quality Index score, on a scale of one to five, was the highest in the Western Cape (4.65) and lowest in Limpopo (3.37).

Regarding sanitation, almost two-thirds of South African households had access to flush toilets, while 82.6% had access to improved sanitation, and 1.4% had no access to sanitation facilities. Improved sanitation included access to flush or pour-flush, a piped sewer system, a septic tank or a pit latrine. It also included ventilated improved pit latrines, pit latrines with a slab, and a composting toilet.

Despite nearly doubling access to improved sanitation since 2002, access remained the most limited in Limpopo. The Eastern Cape (EC) had achieved large improvements in providing ventilated toilets. Poor lighting and inadequate hygiene were the main concerns for households that shared sanitation facilities.

Lastly, for persons who rated their health as poor, access to water was lower than those whose rating was between fair and excellent.

Minister’s comments

Ms Lindiwe Sisulu, Minister of Human Settlements, Water, and Sanitation, commented that when the Department was given input on the MTSF, the statistics which were provided stated that the government had built 3.18 million houses, and yet their statistics now indicated four million. She asked the Statistician General to adjudicate on that so that they could have a common number.

She asked Mr Maluleka that next time he gave an update, he take into account the impact of COVID-19 on the delivery of water, and what the Department had resorted to, such as the number of improved communal tanks. The agreement they had with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) was that they would leave the communal tanks where they were.

She also insisted on the use of the alternative technologies that had been adopted at the conference the Department held, supported by the Bill Gates Foundation, which highlighted the use of waterless toilets or reused water. She said the next time Stats SA was dealing with the issue of water, they should also work out the drought-stricken areas so that they could establish if they were reaching people equitably.

Department of Human Settlements: MTSF priorities

Mr Neville Chainee Acting Director-General (DG): Department of Human Settlements (DHS), referred to the Department’s five-year (2019-2024) MTSF targets. The objectives of the DHS included delivering 300 000 serviced sites by 2024, 30 000 rental housing units delivered in priority development areas (PDAs), 12 000 community residential units (CRUs), and 1 500 informal settlements upgraded to Phase 3. The desired outcome was adequate housing and improved quality living environments.

The DHS aimed to register 1 193 222 title deeds in order to provide security of tenure.

The departmental strategic impact statement was: ‘A spatially transformed integrated human settlements that ensures access to social services and economic opportunities in cities, regions and rural areas,” with the desired outcomes being:

  • Adequate housing and improved quality living environments;

  • Spatial transformation through multi-programme integration in priority development areas;

  • Security of tenure;

  • Functional, efficient and integrated government;

  • Improved expenditure outcomes;

  • Improved sector capacity;

  • Improved programme performance projects; and

  • Responsive policies.

(See attached presentation on MTEF budget, strategic plan targets, and annual performance plan targets).

Discussion

Minister Sisulu asked Mr Chainee to respond to a query that had come from the Eastern Cape, where was money had been transferred from the Treasury to Buffalo City. She asked what the money was for, as there had been no explanation for that.

The Acting DG said that they had what was called the Urban Settlement Development Grant, and the DHS transfers a portion of that grant to metropolitan municipalities. The transfer of this allocated amount was done quarterly. On an annual basis, the DHS undertakes a review, especially if there were metropolitan municipalities that did not spend, or lagged behind in spending. As part of the review process, there was a reallocation that went through the Treasury, and this was reflected in the Government Gazette. All of the provinces, as well as the municipalities, receive that gazette.

Ms N Tafeni (EFF) said that she had not seen the ratification programme in the presentation, and asked if it still existed, or had been taken out of the portfolio.

Ms C Seoposengwe (ANC) referred to the registration of title deeds, and pointed out that between 2014 and 2019 they had been able to do only 646, and now they were targeting 1.2 million by 2024. She asked if they had the capacity and budget to do so. She asked where exactly in South Africa the rental stock was being built -- and how many units. Where were there successful stories of rental payment levels and good maintenance? What was the plan of the DHS and the City of Cape Town concerning human settlements development in the metro, especially considering the lack of land available and other challenges, like wetlands or just inhabitable areas?

Mr A Gxoyiya (ANC, Northern Cape) referred to spatial transformation, and asked what role was being played by the provincial and local governments in making land available. He suggested there was a need to avoid the situation in Kimberley, where there was a human settlement emerging in an industrial area. The Committee had heard about rental houses and the building of units, but nothing had been said about the availability of land, even though there were some who might want to build their own houses. He asked what was meant by upgrading informal settlements.

Mr M Mthethwa (ANC, KZN)) asked what plan they were going implement to ensure the registering of title deeds.

Ms M Mohlala (EFF) asked what the future was for projected targets and interventions, as they would be affected by COVID-19.

Ms E Powell (DA) commented that Stats SA had revealed that Cape Town had the highest access to water and quality of water, sanitation and services. She asked what other provinces could learn from the city’s initiatives. She also wanted to know why there was no budget for title deeds from 2021 to 2023.

Mr M Tseki (ANC) said that the Limpopo access to water issue was worrisome, and needed to be dealt with urgently. Why had the budget for informal settlements been moved between provinces and metros, excluding districts?

Mr S Zandamela (EFF, Mpumalanga) said that he needed a breakdown on the allocations to provinces mentioned on slide 46. He asked the Minister what was being done in terms of the development of the reconstruction and development programme (RDP) houses which were handed over in 1994 to municipalities, such as those in Mpumalanga, because there was no development whatsoever being done there.

Mr X Ngwezi (IFP) said the issues of water in Limpopo, KZN and the North West province needed to be addressed. He asked if the budget for producing title deeds was enough, and commented that in 2012, the Department had allocated a budget to different municipalities for the construction of houses, but this had never taken place. He asked when this was going to happen. Lastly, he mentioned the issue of spatial planning which was resulting in some people being given land in dangerous places. He asked if there had been engagement between COGTA and the DHS to resolve this.

Ms M Mmola (ANC, Mpumalanga) noted that in Programme 2, six provinces were being supported to implement the Peoples’ Housing Process (PHP) in 2019-20, and wanted to know which provinces those were, and why the other three were not supported. She also queried whether the Department had sufficient budget to cope with the title deeds backlog.

Mr I Sileku (DA, Western Cape) commented that he was hearing a lot about priority development areas, but there was no information about were these PDAs actually were. How was the Department going to achieve their targets in these 19 PDAs?

Ms S Mokgotho (EFF) wanted to know why there had been an increase from R42 million to R62 for consultancy in Program Three (Informal Settlements). Regarding the indicators and targets identified for the 2014 to 2019 MTSF, had the Department carried out any analysis of the achievements for that period? Why was there still a higher backlog for sanitation provision in North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo? She pointed out that the 2018-19 annual budget report showed the target for the number of informal settlement upgrading plans had not been met -- only 19 plans had been developed against a target of 500. The reason provided was that the professional rescue teams had been refused access to settlements. She asked what the current status of the number of developed plans was, and what the current challenges were.

Ms Tafeni asked what benefit people derived from having title deeds, as they were still suffering. What was the Department doing about toilets and water in the rural areas, as this was still a problem. People were still drinking water straight from dams and rivers.

Mr M Mashego (ANC) commented that the eradication of informal settlements was an ideal situation, but was not possible in the foreseeable future. There was a need for people to understand what levels one or two of that plan were. Responding to the claim that the Western Cape was the highest performer in terms of the delivery of water and sanitation, he asked how one could compare a province with a smaller population to other provinces like Gauteng, which had a much higher population.

Mr L Basson (DA) commented that the presentation by Stats SA indicated that the situation was getting worse every year, and they did not see any plan from the Department. He asked what their plan was.

Ms N Mvana (ANC) asked if the DHS had a list of the townships that were going to be revitalised, and if so, it could be provided to the Committee.

Co-Chairperson Semenya asked if budget cuts were just random, or were based on performance. Had the Department rectified all the issues regarding beneficiaries that had been raised by the DPME when they were dealing with the annual report? How were they going to handle private developers building exclusive houses in suburbs, and further exacerbating inequalities?

She suggested that the Department responds to the questions at their next scheduled meeting on 6 May.

The meeting was adjourned.

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