Breede Valley & Ga Rankuwa/Mabopane Petitions Progress; Implementation of DDM in DHS

Meeting report

The Chairperson noted the apology of the Minister and the Director-General, who were both attending Cabinet meetings; the apology for the Deputy Minister was also noted. On the agenda was the Department of Human Settlements’ briefing on the petition that Parliament received from the Councilor, and the second item was the progress report on the Ga-Rankuwa/ Mabopane petition. The agenda was adopted and the Chairperson called upon the Department of Human Settlements (DHS) to make its presentation on progress regarding the Garankuwa/Mabopane (Mawiga) petitions.

Ms Ngaka Dumalisile, Acting Director-General, DHS, introduced the Department’s delegation that would assist with the presentation and answer questions during deliberations. Present in the meeting were Dr Nana Mhlongo, Mr Vusi Tshose, Ms Rashnee Atkinson, Mr Xolelwa Makhasi, Mr Vuyani Gule, and Ms Zoleka Ndudane. Dr Nana Mhlongo, Acting DDG: Research, Policy, Strategy and Planning, was assigned to present who then delegated to Ms Rashnee Atkinson, Chief Director: Human Settlements Planning.

Breede Valley: New Mandela Square

The Committee was taken through the presentation by Ms Atkinson.

Background

A petition was received by the Portfolio Committee for Human Settlements from Councillor Moses Mangali of Ward 16 in the Breede Valley Municipality indicating serious concerns about the lack of service delivery in the ward as well as that top-structures have not yet been constructed for New Mandela Square 652.

Following the presentation made by the Western Cape Department of Infrastructure (WCDoI) on 1 November 2023 to the Portfolio Committee, it was proposed that the National Department of Human Settlements (NDHS) assists in facilitating a process to determine a proper way forward to construct the top-structures and the province be required to allocate funding from its grants to resolve the challenges in Breede Valley. This implies that the business plans must prioritise the project in its business plans

Overview and location

The project is located on municipal owned land and will consist of 620 Semi-detached units, 26 free-standing units and 8 Public Open Space erven.

The Municipality has identified the Zwelethemba/Emagwaleni area north of New Mandela Square as a decanting site to enable relocation. The remainder of the qualified beneficiaries living in New Mandela Square will then be relocated to the Transhex Mega project which will consist of 8 000 sites of which Phase 1 will consist of the development of 3 000 sites

New Mandela Square 652 and Transhex are located in the Greater Worcester Priority Development Area (PDA)

Intervention by National Department

NDHS convened meetings with the Breede Valley Municipality and the Department of Infrastructure (WCDoI) on the 16th, 21st and 23 November 2023:

-Background and scope of the project

-Status of the project

-Roles and responsibilities of the three spheres of government

-Subsequent actions and action plan

The physical meeting between the National Department of Human Settlements, Western Cape Department of Infrastructure and Breede Valley Municipality took place on 30 November 2023. The site visit took place the following day, on 1 December 2023.

Action plan developed with timeframes and roles and responsibilities

Key concerns and challenges

1. New Mandela Square 652 - 3-4 households (HH) per site whereas site was designed for 1 HH
2. No beneficiary list available for New Mandela Square
3. No enumeration was done since 2018 - influx of households to the area
4. The Municipality has not yet started with the beneficiary administration and a relocation strategy for New Mandela Square 652.
5. No dedicated project management capacity
6. New Mandela Square is inaccessible for any contractor to construct units unless the area is decanted
7. Other areas identified for relocations from New Mandela Square to decant and to construct houses but at the same the Municipality needs to repackage the project for New Mandela Square and submit to province – hence it has not been not in the business plans (multi-year)

Implementation plan

It was agreed that the implementation plan should mainly focus on the following:

-Enumeration, relocation strategy and relocations (decanting)

-Confirmation of quality of current engineering services for New Mandela Square 652

-Determine funding requirements and roles

-Construction of top structures for New Mandela Square 652.

Actions/steps identified to run concurrently to reduce the anticipated timeframes.

The Municipality indicated that New Mandela Square 652 cannot be seen in isolation as there are currently development plans for the surrounding areas which have an impact on New Mandela Square.

See attached for full presentation

Western Cape Update to the Portfolio Committee: Breede Valley Petition

Ms Kahmiela August, Chief Director: Planning, Western Cape Department of Human Settlements, delegated to her colleague, Louis Welgemoed, regional planner: Brede Valley, to present.

Various engagements that have been taking place since 2023 are as follows

• Technical engagements were undertaken between DOI: BHS, Breede Valley, and the National Department of Human Settlements on 9, 16, 21 and 23 November 2023. Technical engagements identified the need for a two-day work session and site visit by the technical team from the National Department to evaluate the situation on the ground.
• Two-day Technical engagement and site visit was undertaken from 30 November to 01 December 2023. The technical exercise resulted in the submission of a briefing report to the Deputy Director-General: Research, Policy, Strategy and Planning, Ms N Mhlongo at the National Department of Human Settlements.
• DOI: Human Settlements (HS) approved the release of R 2,772,000.00 to fund further feasibility studies and to begin the packaging of Project 3528 Zwelethemba North of Mandela (2000) Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme (UISP) that, when implemented, could allow for the decanting of the New Mandela Project site and in turn facilitate the provision of top structures by opening space in Project 3255 New Mandela Park.

 Required actions in the short and medium term are

• DOI: HS to expedite the delivery of top structures at the Transhex Catalytic Housing Project to allow qualifying beneficiaries from New Mandela Park project to be housed there according to the normal Municipal allocation process. At present, the DOI: BHS plans to deliver 150 top structures in the 2025/26 financial year and an additional 200 top structures in the 2026/27 financial year (Draft Business Plan dated 15 February 2024).
• Breede Valley Municipality, with support and assistance from Provincial and National Departments to undertake the following actions:
  • Enumeration of New Mandela Park and the development of a relocation and decanting strategy for New Mandela Park.
  • Confirm the status of existing engineering services at New Mandela Park.
  • Manage and direct Master Plan development for Zwelethemba Neighborhood to ensure coherent and aligned implementation of all human settlement-related projects (e.g., Eastern Bypass, Northern of Mandela & Aspad UISP, Emagwaleni upgrading, etc.).
• Breede Valley Municipality to prepare the Project Feasibility Report (PFR) Application for Project 3528 Zwelethemba North of Mandela for submission to the DOI: BHS before June 2024. The Breede Valley Municipality is requested to prioritise the creation of a Temporary Relocation Area (TRA) as the first phase of this project. The TRA is then proposed to be used for the decanting of the New Mandela Park project.

(See presentation attached)

Discussion

Adv M Masutha (ANC) said that he sees red flags regarding the update at hand. It lacks accountability, urgency, political will, and commitment. What assurances do the people of Mandela Square have? What is being achieved? It seems like the National Department lacks a lot of confidence in the project and is very diplomatic about it by not calling out the province and the Municipality. The presentation claims to be joint however he finds two opposed observations. He told the Department that the nation is disillusioned and frustrated by the lack of progress.

Dr N Khumalo (DA) said that the presentation is a good representation of the many challenges that the Departments of Human Settlements across the country face and it calls for some reflection around how these challenges are dealt with. Regarding the lack of urgency that Adv Masutha speaks of, there should be more urgency regarding the housing beneficiary list, however, all the gaps that were identified in previous meetings have been addressed. It would be good that, as a Committee, it does not point fingers but instead contributes towards solutions.

The Chairperson said that after listening to the presentation, she is very worried about the Breede Valley Municipality and that she would like the Provincial and National Departments to convince her how the Committee keeps giving such a municipality the accreditation to provide human settlements for people if there is no capacity and there is a lack of accountability. Though she agrees with the work that has been done, the actual work that was supposed to be done has still not been completed. There have been visitations to Mandela Square, and the area allocated to have houses built on, five houses have been built and there is only one beneficiary. Additionally, the Chairperson asked both the National and Provincial Departments if they are receiving the necessary cooperation from municipalities.

The Chairperson noted that the Breede Valley municipality was invited to the meeting however, it did not attend.

Responses

Ms August said that on the accreditation question, the province does not have the accreditation of the Breede Valley municipality in its 2024/25 accreditation plan. The council needs to submit input to the province of the intention to apply for accreditation. 

Ms Atkinson said that the Department has been frustrated with the process of trying to find a way to make this process happen. The frustration started with the Municipality because no urgency has been seen from its side regarding New Mandela Square. The next step is that the Department has received business plans for 2024/25 and indicated to province and the Municipality that they would like to see further allocations to New Mandela Square 652. The next step is to ensure that the priorities are reflected, specifically New Mandela Square.

Ms Dumalisile said that the Committee Members' observation is correct; the Department is frustrated and will be working very closely with the Municipality to ensure tangible progress. The presentation does indicate that the Department should start yielding results by the end of June.

Adv Masutha said that National must take responsibility at some point because there are a lot of points where it could have intervened but chose not to.

Dr Z Mkhize (ANC) said that he agrees with the comments by Adv Masutha. The long and short of it is that everyone is frustrated, national is frustrated, the province feels powerless, and the Municipality is not sure what should happen. In the next meeting, the Minister should be invited to come and present a solid plan that solves the issues that have been identified.

The Chairperson said that the Department of Human Settlements must come back on 20 March to present a concrete plan on this matter after it has convened amongst itself. If the province cannot do its job, how will National make sure the people of New Mandela Square get houses? The Committee needs answers. The province is also responsible for reporting back to the Committee should the Municipality not want to cooperate in terms of the processes that it has to follow up on. Also, both the Minister and the member of the executive council must go and address the people of Brede Valley regarding this matter and make a conscious effort to work with the community.

The Chairperson also noted the recommendations made by Committee Members.

Progress Report: Four Mawiga petitioners

Ms Dumalisile was assigned to present and the Western Cape Department and Municipality were excused from this part of the meeting.

This progress report covered one component of the matters regarding the MAWIGA Community the  Department is currently resolving. The Four MAWIGA Petitioners is about allegations of maladministration, illegal sales, and property transfers by City of Tshwane (COT) Municipality officials and the North West Housing Corporation. 

• The following four Petitioners were the victims of the alleged maladministration, namely:
• Mr. Ernest Kgasoe (2281 Unit 8, Ga-Rankuwa).
• Mr. Michael Mere (2827 Zone 2, Ga-Rankuwa).
• Mr. Bongo Sepeng (992 Zone 7, Ga-Rankuwa).
• Ms. Marie Ledingoane (309 Block X, Mabopane).

The Petitioners submitted a petition to the Human Settlements Portfolio Committee, outlining the following matters and requesting the intervention of the Committee. The properties of the petitioners belonged to the Bophuthatswana Homeland, under the Bophuthatswana Housing Corporation, which were later inherited by the North West Housing Corporation (NWHC) under the new dispensation. In 1999, the NWHC encouraged the occupants to purchase the properties for ownership and while awaiting their title deeds, the petitioners were evicted from their properties by people claiming to have bought the same properties from COT and the matter has dragged on for 16 years. Two investigations were conducted – by COT in 2014 and by the Public Protector in 2018, but the remedial actions were not adhered to. Based on the matters outlined above, the petitioners requested intervention from the Human Settlements Portfolio Committee & this the matter over which the Portfolio Committee has been engaging the National Department of Human Settlements to resolve.

(See presentation attached)

Discussion

Adv Masutha said that with regards to the question of financial compensation as a more affordable and practical solution, in terms of the rejection by the aggrieved complainant, what were the reasons and what was the alternative that was put on the table? What was the Public Protector’s recommendation? The offer to provide alternative land, was it about size or location that resulted in the complainant rejecting the offer?

Mr A Tseki (ANC) said that the presented report does not reflect that the Department has been working with the aggrieved. Can the Department present another report again in seven days that talks to what the Committee has agreed?

The Chairperson said that it was unfortunate that the petitioners were not present in the meeting to give reasons as to why they had rejected the 50 square metered houses. The basis of the petition was for the Committee to assist them in getting shelter, because the processes take long therefore the Committee needs to assist them in getting them shelter.

Ms Dumalisile welcomed a way forward on the matter and requested that the North West Department of Housing be included, as it has made progress on the matter of Mr Kgwase.

The Chairperson moved to the last item, the District Development Model which was supposed to have been presented by the Chief Director of International Relations, Mr Vusi Tshose.

The Project Implementation of the District Development Model within the Department of Human Settlements

Background

• The DDM was approved by Cabinet in August 2019 as an operational model for improving Cooperative Governance aimed at building a capable, ethical developmental state.
• The DDM is championed by the President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa.
• The responsibility to manage the institutionalisation of the model with the cooperative governance system of the country is undertaken by the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (DCOGTA).

DDM Principles

Improve the current planning paradigm and discipline vertically and horizontally in government through a differentiated approach to COVID-19 response and interventions.

Maximise impact and align plans and resources at our disposal through the development of “One District, One Plan and One Budget”

DHS is expected to implement DDM as a tool for achieving MTSF targets, as well as the Performance Agreement of the Minister.

DHS has delegated senior managers in department to each of the 44 districts and eight metros and is coordinated in each province by a DDG

Roles and responsibilities of NDHS district representatives

The National Department of Human Settlements District Representatives are expected to undertake the following tasks for the district they have been allocated to:

1. Represent the Department in District-level coordination structures
2. Work with provincial counterparts for information sharing and support
3. Act as the national contact person on human settlements issues for that district
4. Obtain human settlements district profiles

Implementation of the human settlements dimension of the District Development Model will be coordinated by a Deputy Director-General for each province. Each Deputy Director-General will be responsible for:

a. Co-chairing engagements with Provincial Departments of Human Settlements to trouble-shoot and resolve challenges emerging in the implementation of the One Plan and COVID-19 response plans related to human settlements;

b. Participate in Provincial Coordination Structures of the District Development Model, and

c. Obtain district-level human settlements plans and information per province, as well as progress reports;

institutional arrangements

The Deputy Director-General for the branch: Entities Oversight, IGR, Monitoring and Evaluation – or any other delegated official - is responsible for the overall coordination of the DDM including the following activities:

-Ensure proper coordination within the Department of Human Settlements

-Liaise with the Department of Cooperative Governance on all issues related to the implementation of the District Development Model and ensure flow of information between the two Departments;

-Support the gathering of information with relevant line function units and institutions in support of the development of the Human Settlements District Profiles, business plans, informal settlements profiles, and data from the Housing Subsidy System, demographic profiles and COVID-19

-Provide support to the District Political Champions (Minister and Deputy Minister)

-Provide support to the Deputy Directors-General for provincial coordination.

-Provide support to the Human Settlements District Representatives as required.

-Ensure flow of information between the Department and National Joint Operations and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) on the implementation of the District Development Model as required.

-Liaison with the Department of Cooperative Governance and invite them to participate in the PHSHDAs Steering Committees.

Key challenges

-Provinces/Metros do not prioritise projects in PDAs nor select a PDA in the business plan.

-Existing contractual commitments could be a contributing factor to the low percentage of investment in PDAs through the Human Settlements Grants.

-It is another challenge to obtain sector investment information.

Way forward

-To engage the Metros, SALGA and other sector departments to obtain information on investment in PDAs.

-Benefit would be that the data will assist in providing a holistic picture of how spatial transformation through investment is progressing in South Africa

(See presentation attached)

The Chairperson thanked Mr Tshose and asked for any engagements from the Members, and there were none.

The Chairperson also thanked Ms Dumalisile and her team for availing themselves for the meeting.

The meeting was adjourned.