Human Settlements delivery issues: Ministerial briefing, Social Housing Regulatory Authority progress report, Committee Report adoption

Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation

23 November 2010
Chairperson: Ms B Dambuza (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

The Minister of Human Settlements delivered a medium term report on the performance of the Department of Human Settlements (DHS) and gave a broad overview of service delivery issues nationally. The Minister indicated that some provinces had not achieved their 50% benchmark for spending of their capital budgets, as reported by the Minister of Finance on 18 November 2010. Only Limpopo and Northern Cape were above the 50% benchmark, with poor performance in Western Cape, the Free State and KwaZulu Natal. However, it was expected that some provinces would make a significant recovery in the next financial term, and intervention strategies had been arranged during the recent MinMEC meetings, with provinces to be given the necessary support to obviate fiscal dumping at the end of the financial year.

The Minister then elaborated on the major challenges confronting the Department, noting that these concerned the provision of bulk infrastructure, project management capacity, the lack of a fully integrated approach to human settlements, the need for additional funding in respect of some provinces, and the problems relating to the rectification of shoddy houses and the unblocking of blocked projects. He highlighted the pressure on the Department resulting from the continuous migration from rural to urban areas, and the existence of 2 700 informal settlements, and emphasised the urgency of creating viable and sustainable human settlements.

The Department reiterated the urgency during its briefing on the Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA). It was noted that SHRA had been established to regulate and support the performance of the social housing sector, in order to accelerate the delivery of sustainable and financially viable social housing projects. It was noted that the Council for SHRA had been constituted, that a Chief Executive Officer had been appointed, and that appointment of other staff, and the setting up of the necessary processes, were on track. The Council was currently finalising the Social Housing Regulations, for submission to the Minister and Parliament.

Members raised serious concerns about the underspending in provinces, and the tendency for fiscal dumping, for late release of funds to municipalities, who then could not spend, and the necessity for funds to be returned to National Treasury, whilst service delivery was not addressed. All Members raised their concerns about the urgent need for bulk infrastructure, and the problems encountered when top structures were erected without the necessary bulk services being provided, which led to people having to be relocated. Many Members also discussed the problems of underdevelopment in rural areas, and the need to address the influx of people from rural to urban centres, and welcomed the establishment of new towns in rural areas. They agreed that it was vital to adopt an integrated approach and asked how this would be done. They urged that skills must be developed in the construction sector, that people in rural areas should also be taught construction skills, and noted that the DHS could play a significant role in job creation. The problems encountered in the rectification programme and the unblocking of blocked projects, especially in the Eastern Cape, were highlighted, and Members also urged the need to upgrade hostels, to rejuvenate inner cities by developing buildings for rental housing, and to address problems arising from the Environmental Impact Assessments delays and the National Home Builders Registration Council.

Members adopted the Minutes of previous meetings and adopted the Committee’s report on the Recommendations of the South African Human Rights Commission into its investigations into the 2009 xenophobic violence.

Meeting report

Chairperson’s opening remarks
The Chairperson welcomed the Minister of Human Settlements and the Departmental representatives. She asked that the Minister should address the Committee broadly on the political aspects of service delivery by the Department of Human Settlements (DHS).

Address by the Minister of Human Settlements, Hon Tokyo Sexwale
Hon Tokyo Sexwale, Minister of Human Settlements, delivered a medium term report back on the provincial performance of the Departments of Human Settlements, and also gave a broad overview of service delivery issues nationally. He noted that of immediate concern was the statement released by the Finance Minister on 18 November 2010, which had revealed that provinces showed various forms of under-spending in their mid-term budget reports. On aggregate, provinces had spent only 33% of their combined capital budgets, which was a decline of 23.5 % in comparison to the same period in the previous financial year. The Minister noted that the poorest performers in terms of underspending were the provincial Departments of Human Settlements in Western Cape, the Free State and KwaZulu Natal (KZN). However, Limpopo and the Northern Cape were safely above the 50% benchmark for spending. He did, however, expect that Gauteng and KZN, which had specific problems relating to migration and urbanisation pressures, would make a significant recovery by the end of the current financial year. He envisaged that, in the interests of overall delivery, it might be necessary to transfer funds from some provinces to others, and there had been an agreement by MinMEC in this regard. The necessary support would be provided to provinces to spend appropriately, to avoid fiscal dumping towards the end of the financial year.

The Minister expanded on the main challenges with which the Ministry was confronted. He noted that there were more than 2 700 informal settlements around the country. The most serious challenge was the provision of bulk infrastructure to human settlement projects. He reiterated that there could be no viable, let alone sustainable, human settlements without an urgent roll-out of large scale electrification projects, water pipelines and sewage processing plants, roads, streetlights and storm water drainage. It was necessary to eliminate the past problems that arose through providing structures above the ground without the essential corresponding bulk services below the ground. Massive additional costs were incurred when this had not been done. It was critical for project management to find people with the necessary skills and expertise, and he emphasised the advantages of adopting the kind of integrated project management processes that had proved so successful in the building of stadia and related infrastructure for the FIFA World Cup.

The Minister added that there were shortcomings by other government departments that adversely affected the attempts to achieve an integrated approach to human settlements development. The Minister noted that the mandates for the roll-out of large-scale bulk infrastructure projects did not lie with the Ministry of Human Settlements. Thus, there was a need for a more integrated, planned and coordinated approach across all relevant national Departments. There was also a need for additional funding in some provinces. The need to rectify shoddily-built houses, and the unblocking of blocked projects diverted capacity and capital away from new projects, and negated progress in service delivery. Corruption and criminal activity had also impacted on service delivery. The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) had been instrumental in bringing some culprits to book. The SIU had also focused on syndicates, including those involved in the hijacking of buildings in Central Business Districts (CBDs). There had been an intensification of anti-corruption measures around the allocation of homes to beneficiaries.

Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA): Department of Human Settlements (DHS) briefing
Mr Richard Dyantyi, Special Advisor to Minister Sexwale, summarised the legislative and policy context of the Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA). A comprehensive plan for the development of sustainable human settlements was articulated in the Breaking New Ground (BNG) Framework of September 2004, the Social Housing Policy of 2005, and the Social Housing Act of 2008. The mandate of SHRA was to regulate and support the performance of the social housing sector, in order to accelerate the delivery of sustainable and financially viable social housing projects, in line with the government’s human settlements programme. In his budget speech of April 2010, the Minister had emphasised the importance of social housing, and had committed the Department to certain undertakings in this year. This included the establishment of SHRA, ensuring that it became operational, and that it was responsive to Outcome 8, which targeted the delivery of 80 000 social housing or rental units.

Mr Dyantyi noted that SHRA was now located in the old Social Housing Foundation offices in Houghton. A Council of nine members had been appointed, including the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson. He noted that some Members of this Portfolio Committee had sat on the interviewing panel. The Council had held several meetings to date. The Council had constituted four Board Committees, including the Investment Programme Sub-Committee. A Chief Executive Officer had been appointed, and the recruitment of the Corporate Services Manager was under way. The Investment sub-Committee had granted approval for a number of interim social housing projects for the current financial year. The Council was currently finalising the Social Housing Regulations for submission to the Minister and Parliament. Staff, systems and procedures were being sought to resource the SHRA. Mr Dyantyi encouraged the Committee to interact with the Council in the new year. This invitation was reiterated by the Minister.

Discussion

Ms A Mashishi (ANC) thanked the Minister for the informative briefing. She was pleased on the progress reported in Limpopo, her home province. She noted his comments on the potential for the establishment of a new town in the district of Lephalale around the new Medupi mega power station, and she was optimistic that the former poverty in the Waterberg district, arising through lack of jobs, would be alleviated.

Ms Mashishi asked for clarity on the provincial distribution of the 8 000 projects which the Minister had mentioned.  She also wanted clarity on the 50% benchmark for medium term expenditure and delivery in provinces, and on the underspending reflected in certain provinces.

Mr A Figlan (DA) expressed his appreciation for the success of the human settlement project at Cosmo City in Gauteng which integrated both the poor and middle class levels of society. He drew attention to the problems being experienced in Tarkastad, Eastern Cape, in respect of the rectification process. He said there were 200 houses which had four walls but no rooves, with people apparently having been informed that there was no money to complete the houses. Furthermore, there were more than 300 houses built three or four years ago, which had not been allocated to beneficiaries, which showed shoddy workmanship. Much money had been spent on the installation of 1 200 toilets but these had not been connected, again apparently for lack of funding. He was very concerned about this situation. He wondered if it was due to lack of capacity at the Department, or if the Department was saving on training.

Mr Figlan referred to the Minister’s remarks on the need to prioritise electrification. He highlighted that one village in Eastern Cape remained without electricity, and the voters were questioning why.

Mr Figlan noted the statement that on average, the provinces had spent only 33% of their combined capital budgets in the human settlements sector. He asked whether these provinces had been asked to submit explanations, during the recent MinMEC meetings.

Mr K Sithole (IFP) also questioned the underspending in some provinces, and asked what mechanisms had been put in place to address the issues.

Ms D Dlakude (ANC) was also concerned about the underspending, noting the acute need for human settlements, and she asked what plans the Minister had in place to ensure delivery to people on the ground. It would be problematic if money had to be returned to National Treasury at the end of the financial year because there had not been delivery.

Mr Sithole, who was from Gauteng, was concerned about the challenge of migration to the cities in this province, and also about the provision of bulk infrastructure. He noted the high population in Gauteng, and enquired what particular planning had been done for this region.

Mr Sithole was concerned about the lack of development in rural areas, especially in KZN.

Ms Dlakude thanked the Minister for the presentation and his emphasis on the need for bulk infrastructure nationally. Her chief concern was also about rural areas. Whilst she appreciated the Department's efforts to promote the development of new cities, she was of the opinion that new cities should be developed in all currently rural areas. This would curb the migration from rural to existing urban areas, since people would be able to find employment closer to their homes.

Mr A Steyn (DA) referred to Mr Dyantyi's briefing on SHRA, and his statement that the Council was currently finalizing the regulations. He said that the Committee had received a copy of regulations gazetted by the Minister, and wondered whether these were to be replaced by new regulations from the SHRA Council.

Mr Steyn noted the Minister’s statements that some provinces were likely to be able to spend their budgets by the end of the financial year, but also noted that the Minister had drawn attention to the problem of fiscal dumping. He commented that this was a perennial problem, and the trend was for provinces to spend large portions of their budgets only close to the end of the financial year. Such bulk spending was not feasible and indicated bad planning, fiscal dumping, and a tendency on the part of the provinces to transfer large amounts of money to the municipalities, who then in turn could not spend the money. This resulted in inefficient spending. It was necessary to guard against all these problems, which had been raised with the Ministry for a number of years. Although there had been some improvements in the previous two years, the situation now seemed to be regressing.

Mr Steyn also expressed his concerns with the Housing Development Agency (HDA). When the HDA legislation came before the committee, it was stated that the HDA would be exclusively responsible for the identification and holding of suitable land. The Committee had in fact added a provision that the HDA had to play a prominent role in integrated development, and must consult with other government departments to facilitate human settlements planning, including ensuring that the necessary infrastructure was in place. However, this was not happening. During recent interactions between HDA and the Committee, it was indicated that one of the problems was finance in order to procure land. Although the HDA had signed agreements with some provinces and municipalities, integrated planning was still not taking place, as noted by the Minister. He agreed that the lack of cooperation from other government departments impeded delivery, since  projects could not proceed without other infrastructure being in place. He had hoped that the National Planning Commission in the Office of the Presidency would address this as well. However, after some 18 months, there still seemed that nothing constructive was being done towards integrated planning.

Mr Steyn also referred to the Minister's comment about developing a new city in Limpopo near the Medupi mega power station. The trend of locating people on suitable land near the cities overburdened the existing infrastructure, and led to the same problems. He urged lateral thinking, to do something similar to the Limpopo plans to develop new cities, but also said that everything else had to be put in place, including jobs, so that people would be encouraged to move there.

Mr Steyn was pleased at the accreditation of the major municipalities.

Mr Steyn noted that the Committee recently received a report back on the rectification programme in Eastern Cape, but was concerned that despite the intervention team being there for about a year, rectification and previously blocked projects seemed again to be on the verge of being blocked. This raised the question of what the intervention team had been doing, whether they had built any capacity, and whether the unblocked projects could be completed, and he noted that if they were unable to resolve the problems, then their value must be interrogated.

Ms G Borman (ANC) thanked the Minister for his energy, and said that progress was being made. However, she agreed that infrastructure was a major and critical concern, noting that she had experience of the problems encountered when development did not go hand in hand with infrastructure. She asked for an indication of the costs involved in addressing this issue. She said that informal settlements were not suitably planned, and questioned what the planning was to avoid people having to be relocated when infrastructure had to be put into place.

Ms Borman noted that the Committee required figures and facts, to assist it to play its oversight role and to see that there was delivery and that backlogs were being eradicated.

Ms Borman had a special interest in the situation in KZN, and the informal settlements where low cost housing and integrated settlement were taking place. She was impressed with the integrated development of Cosmo City.  She was also interested to see how the World Cup Project planning could impact on the challenges faced in service delivery, and agreed that cooperation from other departments was vital.

Mr Sexwale said he had taken on board the comments of the Committee. However, he cautioned that conclusive statements about spending or delivery could not be made in the middle of the financial year. He had given a medium term report, which was intended to alert the Committee to what was running satisfactorily, and what was of concern. These reports were useful for governance purposes, but could be either good indicators or could be misleading. Some of those provinces leading at present could lag behind later, whilst those with slow spending could catch up, as shown by his experience as former Premier of Gauteng.

In response to the specific concerns about under spending, Mr Sexwale noted that this had been addressed at the recent MinMEC. The Ministry called upon each province to report on its plans for recovery. The Director General of the DHS and his team were looking into the matter, and a follow up meeting with top management would be held shortly to examine the recovery plans. Before the recent MinMEC, a technical MinTEC had been convened to advise on the future plans, and would monitor progress very closely.

Mr Sexwale noted that in regard to the 8 000 projects, the Ministry did not distribute those projects, but the provinces received funds which they allocated to the projects they were undertaking.

The Minister noted the positive comments about the integrated development at Cosmo City and said that was the direction in which the DHS was moving. Future developments would hopefully exceed the successes in Cosmo City. He noted the problems in Tarkastad and other instances of problems in rectification. The problem could be linked to over-projecting and over extending the budget. Another major factor had been that some construction companies failed to complete some of the work, and then disappeared or were dissolved. The Ministry and DHS had been trying to trace the developers and hold them responsible, as they had been paid without completing the work properly.

Mr Sexwale noted the comment on rural-urban migration, but said that South Africa showed patterns similar to the rest of the world. Most people would be living in urban areas by the end of the century. This urbanisation trend could not be reversed. However, the Ministry of Rural Development and Land Reform had been tasked with addressing rural issues and attempting to stem the tide of migration, and the DHS was working closely with its counterparts to address issues in rural areas. Bulk infrastructure remained a challenge, as population figures were low and villages were widely-scattered. However, demographics would change over time. He agreed  that human settlements should be developed around medium sized towns in each province. He cited the achievements of China in establishing cities for its vast population, and said that the initiatives in Malaysia and Singapore proved what could be done under challenging circumstances, if there was proper planning. He stated that ideally, he should not be negotiating with other departments about electricity, water, roads and sewage, but instead there should be one major and integrated project for development of new towns and villages.

Mr Sexwale noted that Minister Trevor Manuel and the National Planning Commission, together with the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR), were critical to the national integrated development plan. It was imperative to have one overarching plan in which human settlements could be located, instead of sectoral negotiations between ministers. The cost implications for integrated development were enormous, and the performance of the economy was a deciding factor since the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) determined what would be allocated.

In response to the query about the Housing Development Agency (HDA), Mr Sexwale noted that the HDA took part in MinMEC. Outcomes 8 had required it to deliver 6 000 hectares of land. HDA had in fact exceeded that target, and had reported that 33 000 hectares of land suitable for human settlement had been located. He agreed that its mandate should be broadened, as the HDA was limited, in terms of the HDA Act, to locating land, yet it could and should be given a motive to increase its work, including finding new buildings suitable for the harnessing, renovation and improvement of inner cities, in line with the DHS’s proposed new strategy. Reclaiming such buildings provided an excellent opportunity to collaborate with private sector companies to address the housing crisis. In Johannesburg alone, there were eight suitable buildings, where no new bulk service infrastructure was needed. People earning between R3 500 and R7 000 would qualify for accommodation. He invited the Committee to the launch of the next project, saying that it had attracted youthful tenants. One building in Johannesburg had been converted to accommodate 900 families, almost one-third of the delivery target. The purchase of buildings was seen as a new opportunity to collaborate with private sector financial institutions and the National Housing Finance Corporation.

Mr Sexwale agreed that project management was critical in all provinces. He noted that the success of the FIFA World Cup was largely due to the achievements of the project management team, which had been unparalleled in speed of delivery and logistics. All decisions and implementation had been done centrally, and such project management expertise was now being taken to Brazil. It was very frustrating that this integrated approach was not currently being used in the delivery of human settlements, since the poor and vulnerable should not be the victims of guesswork. He reiterated that an overarching integrated national approach should be adopted by departments, provinces and towns. Provincial and municipal infrastructure must be streamlined to prevent problems such as having to break down top structure to install infrastructure. Private sector investment was also being hindered by the lack of infrastructure.

Mr Sexwale then commented on informal settlements, saying that their essence lay in lack of planning, where the erection of shacks gave rise to ghettoes and squatter camps, while serious problems were posed by the raiding of prime land. Bulk infrastructure had to be provided. There had been numerous court challenges around informal settlements. It was “frightening” that the Johannesburg City Council was being held liable for the rental of occupied buildings. He supported the recent eviction and arrest of illegal tenants, under instruction from the Minister of Police, as this sent out the right message to offenders. More buildings needed to be freed up to house people in an appropriate way. If the appropriate measures were not taken, then people would continue to migrate to the cities, squatting on land illegally, and demanding that bulk infrastructure be provided, whether it was desirable or not. This led to a maze of juxtaposed pipelines and high tension powerlines. A plan for the removal of informal settlements was contained in the Human Settlements 2030 plan, but it was necessary to stem the tide of people coming to the cities. He said that the Courts should not be granting judgments in favour of illegal occupants of land, pointing out that there were now 2 700 informal settlements in South Africa, an increase of more than 1000 % since 1994, largely because of powerful Court rulings in favour of illegal settlers. People were then claiming the right to alternative housing, and syndicates were taking advantage of these laws, which were meant to cater for poor people who qualified in terms in the Grootboom
ruling, not those who were squatting, nor those who could pay. He urged the necessity for the Courts to interact with the DHS, noting that the Court rulings had severe budgetary implications.  

Ms T Gasebonwe (ANC) asked how the DHS was dealing with the issue of bulk infrastructure, particularly for water, and how the capacity of municipalities would be built up to allow them to run projects for human settlements development.

Mr Sexwale responded that one of the biggest pressure points in South Africa was the issue of water, which was high the national agenda. Gauteng had acute problems with rising water levels from the mines as well as the quality of the water. The Minister of Water Affairs was well aware of the water needs linked to human settlements. She was formerly a Premier and had experience of bulk infrastructure. He was hopeful of establishing a good working relationship.

Mr Steyn asked for clarity on the HDA Act, stressing that the Committee had specifically sought an amendment that would allow the HDA to get involved in project management of the building of stadia for the FIFA World Cup, rather than merely limiting the HDA to sourcing land. The HDA should therefore be interacting with other role players when a project was planned, and should, for example, ensure that there were budgets for schools and roads, in line with its extended mandate. He understood the frustrations around the lack of integrated planning, and having to approach other Ministers for certain services, as demonstrated by Committee Members’ comments about their own constituencies. He noted that not only should there be project management prior to development, but during construction. The National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) should be the first line of reporting when a project was implemented, but it was failing, and this needed to be addressed.

Mr Sexwale responded that there were processes in place to restructure the NHBRC. Many people had raised issues around houses which had been built without the NHBRC having conducted inspections. The NHBRC should be performing its mandate in all provinces.

The Minister then asked the Director General of the DHS to check the exact wording of the Act, and to ensure that the HDA was implementing the provisions of that Act fully. The HDA had not addressed any further responsibilities of its mandate during the MinMEC meeting, as it commented that it no longer had a job to do, having completed the identification of suitable land.

Mr Steyn noted that one of the grants showing very low spending was Housing Disaster Relief. During the appropriations budget discussions, additional funds for disaster relief had been approved for KZN, yet it was one of the provinces spending less than 35% of its budget. He sought clarity on this point.

Mr Sexwale said that disaster relief funding was limited to being spent on disasters. The DHS would have to look at making amendments to the legislation, so that exceptions would not be made. KZN should account for how the money had been spent. It had mentioned that certain invoices still had to be submitted.

Ms M Njobe (ANC) said that the Committee supported the integrated approach the Minister had elaborated upon, but she asked what examples in the world were being used as role models.

Ms Njobe asked whether there was any way to curb the tendency of rural to urban migration.
In the South African context, there was a large rural population, the majority of whom were poor and were of a particular race, due to apartheid era planning. She wondered if the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform had any way to direct budget to rural areas. She was very interested in the concept of new towns, noting that she had raised this issue during Committee meetings in the past. She wondered whether South Africa could not pioneer the establishment of new towns with the potential for the creation of industries and jobs, which would encourage people to migrate to the new towns rather than to Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. She referred to plans in Ghana for electrification and creation of industries where people lived, to keep them from flocking to Accra, suggesting that similar approaches be adopted in South Africa.

Mr Sexwale noted that Ms Njobe had spent many years in exile, and possibly had more experience in which countries could provide a good model for integrated development. He had no direct experience on the matter, and would prefer not to leave his job in South Africa to travel abroad. However, he confirmed that there was a planned approach. At the last MinMEC meeting a decision had been taken to investigate the situation in China but Malaysia, post-war Angola, Kenya, and one or two countries in Latin America. He and other Ministers would visit China in 2011, and were also considering looking at Cuba and America. However, in the light of apartheid’s structural planning anomalies, that displaced people and separated them according to their colour, and that promoted huge disparities, there was no other country that was identical to South Africa’s own situation. Historically, people lived in the suburbs or in settlements far away from the cities, which was why the cities emptied at night. Challenges of costs, logistics and planning must be addressed in a uniquely South African way

Ms Njobe pointed out that it was necessary to ensure that the necessary skills were developed in all areas, to avoid the situation where people tended to build their own houses in rural areas, which could not withstand the weather during the rainy season, leading them then to apply for disaster relief. Proper training would firstly overcome this problem, and secondly would create jobs and skills. The establishment of technical colleges to teach skills in construction, which were constantly in demand, was also necessary.

Mr R Mdakane (ANC) said the issue of bulk infrastructure was critical for human settlement delivery. If the basics were not in place, then the targets would not be reached. He said there should be engagement with the Further Education and Training (FET) sector on project management skills training, and the training of plumbers and electricians. The DHS was an anchor department that should be assisting in the creation of jobs. There was a backlog of 2,2 million jobs, but this must be compared to the lack of infrastructure, and he urged that the housing backlog provided ideal employment-creation opportunities for thousands of people. The construction industry appeared to be going downhill, and this must be addressed.

The Minister further emphasised that the days of regarding human settlements as social welfare were gone. The DHS was engaged in construction of top structure and infrastructure every day, and it was aware of the serious economic issues around creating jobs and stimulating the economy especially in the construction, manufacturing and retail sectors.

Mr Mdakane noted that a further concern was the condition of hostels, many of which were collapsing, and the few hostels remaining should be upgraded, as they were becoming centres of criminality, due to their poor condition.

Mr Sexwale believed that there should be a special fund for upgrading hostels, rather than hoping that something would come of the housing subsidy funds. The transformation of hostels had been agreed upon and was endorsed by the President, and some had been renovated already. The Minister of Finance had raised ten issues around the budget for next year. A Task Team had been set up to examine those ten issues, and the outcomes of their deliberations were awaited. A fund for the upgrading of the hostels should be included in the mega infrastructure project.

Mr Mdakane felt positive about the development of new cities, like the one planned in Limpopo, and commented that the existing cities emptied at night, because of the “dormitory” type of developments in South Africa’s urban landscape, where people lived far from the city. There were many places in the Central Business Districts which could be converted for accommodation and rental purposes. Cities could not contribute to the economy if they were only active for only eight hours a day. The eradication of informal settlements would require a lot of planning and resources. He hoped the Minister would be able to use his influence in the Executive to promote the idea of integrated planning, which was being discussed yet was not happening on the ground. He also hoped that the Department would address the issues inhibiting delivery in 2011.

Mr Sexwale referred to the problems of integration that had been expressed by all Members, and agreed that the integration should be enforced, not left to negotiation. He reiterated that the lessons learnt from the FIFA World cup should be adopted. This had been endorsed by Deputy President Motlanthe, who was also the head of the Anti-Poverty Campaign, and it was agreed that the National Planning Commission, under Minister Trevor Manuel, should play a central role in integrated planning. This was an absolute necessity for human settlements. Government had announced that it would be spending R800 billion on infrastructure, and it was critical that proper project management strategies were in place.

The Chairperson said another issue of critical importance to the Committee related to Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), with some municipalities using them as an excuse for lack of action. In Eastern Cape, land had been purchased in 2002 at Fisher’s Corner to resettle a vulnerable group, yet since then there had been no development, which was attributed to the EIA process. The Committee had demanded a report from those responsible, but the Parliamentary Legal Unit advised that there was in fact nothing preventing the municipality or DHS from proceeding with the development. The Committee hoped that its visit would spark some progress, yet two weeks ago the Committee had received another report indicating no further progress.  She requested that the Minister must intervene in the matter.

Mr Sexwale agreed that sometimes EIAs did cause delays, citing the example of the prime land in Diepsloot in Gauteng, which had been earmarked for a huge development, but which then could not proceed because of the presence of bullfrogs that had to be protected. He commented that EIAs should also take the interests of people into consideration, as they were also part of nature, and a balance had to be found in the future.

The Chairperson noted that the Committee would wait for the second draft of the regulations.

The Chairperson agreed that enrolment of units and projects with the NHBRC was also critical. Provinces were not responding to this, even though the National Department had allocated funds for that purpose. This Committee was very frustrated about the matter, and would be making strong recommendations, and would also appreciate the Minister looking into the matter.

The Chairperson raised the issue of the establishment of a response unit to deal with problems directed to the Committee by members of the public. She noted that every week, the Committee received a pile of complaints, and phone calls were made constantly to the Committee Secretary. She believed that the DHS needed two staff members to handle these matters. The Committee hoped to interact with the Minister regularly in 2011, and would meet with him prior to the formal presentation of the strategic plan, to reach a common understanding of the challenges that had to be addressed.

Other Committee Business: Adoption of Minutes and Committee Report
The Committee considered and adopted the Minutes of its meetings on 5 May 2010, 2 June 2010, 8 September 2010 and 27 October 2010.

The Committee then adopted, with minor amendments, its draft Report on the South African Human Rights Commission recommendations arising from that Commission’s investigations into issues of the Rule of Law, Justice and Impunity, arising out of the 2008 Public Violence against Non-Nationals.
 
The meeting was adjourned.


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