Chairperson, as Minister of Human Settlements, I need to say that to build a house, you need a plot. I hope all of you have your own plots. [Laughter.] Greetings to the hon members, invited guests, ladies and gentlemen, everyone in the nine different provinces listening long-distance to this Budget Vote, comrades and friends, the President of the Republic, Mr Jacob Zuma, made the following observations during his state of the nation address in February this year, and I quote:
Whilst many South Africans celebrate the delivery of houses, electricity or water, there are yet many others who are still waiting. The legacy of decades of apartheid, underdevelopment and colonial oppression cannot be undone in only 17 years.
Subsequently, the Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, during his Budget Speech stated the following, and I quote:
Total spending on housing, water, electricity and community amenities amount to R122 billion for the 2011-12 financial year, rising later to R138 billion in the 2013-14 financial year.
Consequently, our goal of creating sustainable human settlements is steadily taking shape, albeit a far distance from where we ought to be. Thus, we note the following: a Human Settlements budget beyond housing is practically emerging with improved co-ordination. There is greater clarity on the nature and severity of the problems confronting the country's residential drive. The accelerated delivery of quality houses remains undiminished.
Let us look at the period under review. The President and I signed a performance agreement, namely the sustainable human settlements and improved quality of household life, otherwise known as Outcomes 8, which encompasses the following: accelerating the delivery of housing opportunities, access to basic services, effective utilisation of land and improved property market. Let me briefly deal with each of these deliverables.
Regarding the upgrading of imijondolo, the slums or informal settlements, out of a total of 2 700 that exist countrywide, 1 000 of these have been identified for upgrading. The formalisation of 206 of these informal settlements has been completed. A further 335 are in the pipeline.
The National Upgrading Support programme is currently being rolled out to ensure that 49 municipalities have the necessary capacity. South Africa's population is just under 50 million people, more than half of which is urbanised. Our strategy on urban planning and development is therefore undergoing a radical shift in order to adequately respond to urbanisation.
Many job seekers in urban areas are not looking to stay in a permanent home but are seeking rental accommodation. Thus, there is an increased demand for affordable and well-located rental accommodation.
We have developed a project pipeline with a mix of public-private sector rental stock. The following are examples: the Umlazi community rental unit programme in KwaZulu-Natal, the Brooklyn social housing programme in Cape Town, Amalinda institutional housing subsidy in Buffalo City, the Cavendish inner-city private sector rental in Johannesburg and a small-scale private rental stock for backyard dwellers in Zola Township in Soweto, where I come from, in Gauteng.
All of these are aimed at creating 80 000 rental opportunities by 2014. The leadership of the Social Housing Regulatory Authority, SHRA, established last year, must continue to play a key role in all these efforts. As their Minister I want to say a great deal is expected of the Board of SHRA.
It is important to note, under this deliverable, that all the South Africa's metros, with two district municipalities, have recently been accredited to drive Human Settlements' projects. This means that, for the first time ever, funds will be directed straight from the national department into the coffers of these municipalities respectively. They include the City of Johannesburg, the City of Tshwane, eThekwini Metro, Ekurhuleni Metro, Nelson Mandela Metro, the City of Cape Town, and Francis Baard and Pixley ka Seme District Municipalities in the Northern Cape.
Regarding the improvement of access to basic services, we play a supportive role to the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs in the provision of basic services such as water, electricity, refuse removal and sanitation.
Regarding the effective utilisation of land, I want to say that according to our mandate, the department is expected to acquire more than 6 250 hectares of suitable land by 2014. On a positive note, through our institution, the Housing Development Agency, HDA, led by Taffy Adler, the department has already achieved this target long before 2014. Beyond this, more than 20 000 hectares of land for suitable housing have been identified by the HDA.
Regarding the improved property market, I want to say that by November 2010 the department received overwhelming support in the form of proposals to implement the R1 billion guarantee fund from many private-sector stakeholders. I want to thank all contributors for their submissions. The department found merit in each proposal. While many were useful, we opted for the Mortgage Default Insurance, MDI, as its core implementation strategy. This insurance has great potential to contribute towards the attainment of the 600 000 loans of our strategy.
It is envisaged that the mortgage insurance product will be available through the banks as of April 2012. I would therefore urge the National Housing Finance Corporation and the banks to accelerate the delivery of affordable houses that they have concluded in terms of the Memorandum of Understanding, MOU.
The increased accessibility and affordability of homeownership can help to stimulate the construction sector, which will provide much-needed jobs. This resonates with our economic policy, the New Growth Path.
The material suppliers are cautioned to contain the cost of their products and to avoid any form of collusion which promotes anticompetitive practices. Home builders, particularly the poorest of the poor, may not and should never be exploited. We have established our delivery and accountability structures in the form of the Human Settlements Implementation Forum. Human Settlements is the co-ordinating department of this forum.
Other participating stakeholders are the Departments of Water Affairs, Rural Development and Land Reform, Public Enterprises, Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the South African Local Government Association, Salga, all the provinces, and all accredited municipalities, as I mentioned earlier.
In relation to the target of approximately 200 000 subsidised houses and housing opportunities, the provinces, despite some major obstacles, have already spent 98% of the funds allocated to them. Our campaign, "Let's follow the money", helped us to be watchful of expenditure trends throughout the year. This applies to both operational and capital expenditure.
In November 2010, a collective decision was taken with all provinces to reallocate funds from underperforming provinces to advancing ones. The benefits of this included a stronger drive and focus on project management abilities; forward planning, including the development of credible pipeline projects, ensuring that the limited resources dedicated to the department and provinces are not forfeited to the national Treasury, and better financial prudence in provinces to eliminate any possibility of overspending or underspending, even including fiscal dumping.
Let me talk about our national hotline. The Department of Human Settlements continues to be a key issue raised by members of the public who call the presidential or ministry's hotline. Housing ranks in the top three issues raised by complainants.
A positive aspect emerging from the presidential hotline is that 99,5% of the more than 5 000 calls relating to Human Settlements have been resolved. In this respect, we would like to congratulate the staff and management, under the leadership of our director-general, Mr Thabani Zulu, who is present here today, for rising to the challenge of responding to the burning questions raised by people who have problems. After all, this should remind us that we are the servants and not bosses of the people. Let us not forget that.
With regard to procurement, an investigation into procurement in the department is also currently under way, with specific emphasis on overpayments to suppliers. In one of the cases under consideration, one supplier, for example, admitted to overpayment and has opted to pay back the department an amount of almost R300 000. Whilst this is applauded, such a situation should not have occurred in the first place. It is important that invoices and payments should be synchronised and nothing must deter us from fighting corruption and rooting it out whenever it manifests itself. Our resolve remains firm in this regard and I will return to this issue later.
Let me deal with impediments and risks affecting the Department of Human Settlements' development strategy. The Special Presidential Co-ordinating Council confirmed and underlined five challenges affecting the creation of sustainable human settlements. These are the following: the need to address the legislative environment that is hindering progress, focusing attention on alignment of critical mandates and functions; the mobilisation of nonfinancial resources, including land, as I indicated; the exploration of alternative funding models; and, last but not least, paying attention to capacity problems, including project management and bulk infrastructure.
Having listed these points, let us now focus on just one, namely, bulk infrastructure. The risk of bulk infrastructure to our projects poses a serious problem. Of all the impediments, none keeps us awake at night more than bulk infrastructure. It poses a real risk to the department's projects if the following infrastructure elements are not in place. You cannot build houses, and you can end up with a plot without houses. [Laughter.] These infrastructure elements are mega water-treatment plants, major electrical power stations, sewerage works for sanitation, extensive storm-water drainage systems and road construction, including street lights. The Minister of Public Works is here and we appreciate that. [Interjections.]
As a consequence, there are projects whose implementation may be impacted negatively upon, for example 34 000 houses in Lufhereng in Gauteng; Zandvliet in the Western Cape, where sewage is a problem; Lephalale in Limpopo; Cornubia in KwaZulu-Natal and Thornhill in the Eastern Cape, which require dams. Nevertheless, on a positive note, the timely introduction of the Urban Settlements Development Grant, which was announced by Minister Gordhan, is a step in the right direction. Quite clearly, more needs to be done. I have got a big job on my hands.
Let's talk about the Human Settlements Vision 2030. In our 2010 budget speech, we introduced the concept and strategy of Human Settlements Vision 2030. Progress is being made in this regard. This includes the national campaign to mobilise all stakeholders. More serious conversations with key private-sector players are under way to urge them to continue to stay involved in the delivery of human settlements initiatives. The department plans to kick-start a national mobilisation campaign so that ordinary South Africans can come forward and say, I too can and would like to contribute. Human Settlements Vision 2030 is essentially about the youth of today, who are the homeowners of tomorrow. A successful round-table discussion with leaders of all major youth organisations in the country recently took place in preparation for a Human Settlements Youth Summit later this year.
Let me talk about deracialisation of residential space in this country, with our troubled past. One of the key interventions of the Human Settlements Vision 2030 is to deracialise the residential communities in South Africa. Instruments within our control will be utilised to realise this. Two such legal instruments are the Social Housing Act and the Estate Agency Affairs Act, which is under review by a Cabinet interministerial committee.
Through the Social Housing Act we have declared 75 restructuring zones in 7 provinces, to enable us to drive inner-city development. That is my passion: to see people occupying these cities that were left open by many people. For the 2011-13 period, R1,2 billion is allocated for restructuring grants through SHRA.
The well-planned inner-city projects that we launched in Emerald Sky in Buffalo City, Tau Village in Tshwane, Cavendish in Johannesburg and now recently the Drommedaris project in Brooklyn in Cape Town are examples of this kind of approach. These initiatives profile important location value advantages. Critical amenities like libraries, police stations, schools, shopping malls, transport interchange nodes and clinics are practically within walking distance. Many of our inner-city initiatives enhance neighbourhoods that already exist. I quote the words of Mr John Titus, a beneficiary at the Drommedaris social housing project in Brooklyn:
This is the happiest day of my life. We are so happy. I did this for my children, to give them a better life. I just know we are going to be so happy here.
Dit is baie duidelik dat die werk wat ons doen vreugde in mense se lewens bring. Ons is bewus dat daar baie mense is wat nie so gelukkig soos die Titus-gesin is nie. Daar is nog baie werk wat voor ons l, maar met goeie samewerking en vennootskappe met die mense kan ons meer behaal. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[It is very clear that the work we are doing is bringing joy to peoples' lives. We are aware of the fact that there are many people who are not as fortunate as the Titus family. A lot of work still lies ahead of us, but with good co-operation and partnerships with the people, we can achieve more. [Applause.]]
Yes, for those of you who don't know that I come from Soweto, that is our tsotsi-taal [language]. [Laughter.]
The Joe Slovo construction development project, following the sod-turning at the beginning of March 2011, represented a breakthrough in a troubled project, just around the corner here, which has been under the control of the Constitutional Court. The good news is that consensus has been achieved with all those involved. It is also a new example of a densification project utilising government subsidies.
When I visited Joe Slovo in August 2009, uMama Nonqaba Lujalajala sat me down to listen to her pain of many years' living in a shack. The commitment I made to her on the spot was: "Le mini iyeza nakuwe." [You will one day experience the same thing.] As we speak here today, Joe Slovo is a construction site. "Le mini ifikile kuMama Lujalajala nyhani." [The day has indeed come for Mrs Lujalajala.]
Although the Constitutional Court has proclaimed that we must build 1 500 units, on our own we increased that to 2 886 units.
Egameni lika Mama Lujalajala Ndithi Musungxama, Le mini iyakude ifike nakuwe. [On behalf of Mrs Lujalajala, I ask you not to be in a hurry. You will one day experience the same thing.]
Let me talk about what we call the 80-20 split in the Department of Human Settlements in terms of our development grant. As from 1 April 2011, the national Human Settlements budget is allocated in an 80-20 split: 80% to the provinces, as usual, and 20% directed from national level for specific national intervention projects. As a start, the following projects have been identified as national priority intervention projects, funded from the 20%: Duncan Village in Buffalo City, Eastern Cape, Lufereng, Sweetwaters, Khutsong and Diepsloot in Gauteng. I send a message to Mama Mashamaite. I visited her house in Soweto. "Le mini iyeza nakuwe." [You will one day experience the same thing.] I hope she joins me when we do the sod-turning in Diepsloot quite soon, because her house is waiting for her. We have also done research to put money into Cornubia in Ethekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, Lephalale around Medupi station in Limpopo, and Drakenstein in the Western Cape. The investment being made in all these intervention areas is to the tune of more than R800 million in 2011-12 and R1 billion in the outer year.
With our Human Settlements legislative programme, the 2011-12 financial year will see pieces of legislation being taken through Parliament. It includes the Rental Housing Amendment Bill, the Housing Protection Measures Amendment Bill and the Housing Amendment Bill, which is supposed to be realigned with the mandate of Human Settlements.
Let's focus on our budget for 2011-12. The budget for 2011-12 has increased to R22,5 billion, which is a 38% increase from 2010-11 and is expected to grow to R26,6 billion in 2013-14. Over the 2011 medium-term year, the conditional grant to provinces will grow from R14,7 billion to R16,2 billion in 2013-14.
The Housing Disaster Relief grant, which was utilised to facilitate housing assistance in emergency situations, is being discontinued in 2011-12. Over the 2010-11 period, an amount of R1,2 billion has been provided to fund the rural households infrastructure. We are working in partnership with the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform, Mr Nkwinti.
The National Treasury has provided funding for a new grant, namely the Urban Settlements Development Grant for cities, which will allow eight metropolitan municipalities to improve efficiency to maximise the development outcomes and achieve a co-ordinated approach to built- environment management. Over the 2011 medium-term period amounts of R6,4 billion for 2011-12, R7,6 billion for 2012-13 and R8,3 billion for 2013-14 have been allocated to this grant.
The department's main cost driver remains the Human Settlements Development Grant, together with the new Urban Settlements Development Grant for cities. In respect of these grants, the total allocation of R21,2 billion in the 2011-12 financial year represents about 94% of the department's total allocation.
Let me talk about the fight against the scourge of corruption. Let us turn to this problem which is wasting our time. I wish I was not reporting this to you here. I have a job to do, and it is not to chase criminals. Visible progress has been achieved by the Special Investigating Unit, SIU, led by Mr Willie Hofmeyr. Criminals have been arrested. Corrupt officials and councillors have been dismissed. Monies from incompetent and fraudulent contractors have been recovered. I want to send a message to councillors because an election is coming. People are elected to serve their people. Don't turn government into a business.
The SIU is currently investigating the top 20 questionable contracts nationally, to a value of R2 billion. Two of the investigations into the contracts have been completed and case dockets have been registered. These cases are now with the Department of Public Prosecutions.
Five syndicates - we are not talking of individuals - are targeted in various provinces. In one instance, the arrests were made in Gauteng. One of the suspects arrested is a councillor in Tsakane in the Gauteng area, together with his accomplices. In KwaZulu-Natal, three departmental officials were arrested for selling houses that were part of the enhanced programme. These officials have also been dismissed from the department. The criminal cases in this regard are still pending.
Working together with the premiers in the various provinces and our colleagues, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, our actions led to the arrest of an assistant director in this department, together with his accomplice, a member of the public, for renting out low-cost houses that did not belong to them and pocketing the money.
I have a message to the people to whom we provide houses: This money is hard-earned. Don't sell these houses and don't provide them as "livestock" for people who are willing to abuse them in this manner. If you do, the possibility is that the law will catch up with you.
One of our stubborn challenges is the rectification of shoddy workmanship. This is work that should not have been done in the first place. It is a waste of resources and time and is costing money. We fully endorse the statement of the Auditor-General when he said, and I quote:
We should establish a mechanism in government to detect these malpractices in time, because investigations are a waste of time when you deal with sophisticated syndicates.
Hon Minister, your time has expired.
I have five minutes remaining in my other time slot. May I use them?
You certainly have. Do you want to take it now?
Yes.
Hon Minister, I think you can conclude in the five minutes that you have at the end of the speeches and then respond to whatever you have to.
Let me conclude. Human Settlements Vision 2030 advocates for and is premised on an effective developmental state, as opposed to a welfare state. The current increasing dependency and pressure on the state are not sustainable for the country going forward.
Chairperson, on a point of order: Is the Minister going to take this off his five minutes or not? You are reducing the five minutes that you have.
Yes, he is going to take it off the five minutes. Mr Farrow, you must address the Ministers through me and not directly. [Interjections.] No, you did. You asked him directly.
Chairperson, on a point of order: The whole point of a debate is that at the end of the debate the Minister is there and has time to respond. The more time he takes in respect of his initial address, the less time he has to respond. Therefore, he does injustice to the debate.
Mr Davidson, I suggest the hon Minister has said that he would like to complete what he is saying now. If it takes him three minutes, then he has two minutes to respond. Let us keep it at that. Let us not make this into something ... [Interjections.]
Madam Chair, you miss my point. This is the debate and the Minister should have time to respond to points made in the debate. With respect to your ruling, two minutes is hardly adequate time to respond to the debate. He therefore does the debate injustice.
It is not up to you to decide how many minutes he will take to respond.
Madam Chair, with respect, these things are canvassed thoroughly in the Chief Whips' Forum. The whole idea of giving the Minister time to respond is exactly that - time to respond to the debate. That was agreed at the Chief Whips' Forum. With respect, you are going against the decision of the Chief Whips' Forum.
I think I have already ruled. I will rule again. The hon Minister will finish what he has to say and I request the Minister to conclude as soon as possible so that he has time to respond to the debate. Is that acceptable?
Mr Davidson, we worked together in Gauteng, when I was your Premier, and I would have thought you would be considerate to me. [Laughter.]
In conclusion, somewhere, at some time in the future, there will have to come a cut-off point in the government's subsidised housing, where people can begin to do things for themselves. We cannot blame the poor and turn our backs on them when they are faced with harsh economic realities. The bulk of the work highlighted here has been done as a result of contributions that have been made.
I am coming to expressing my thanks to the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements, the team in Human Settlements, the director-general and his team of HODs, communities across the length and breadth of the country, and our staff who carry out their work with enthusiasm.
Regarding our staff, allow me to acknowledge three members of staff who are here with us today. They are the winners of the department's competition: Anna Mphahlele, a messenger, Martha Matini, a photocopy operator, and Meriam Mutama, a cleaner. They are joined by the Titus couple, who recently met with us at Drommedaris. [Applause.]
My message to Mama Nonceba Lujalajala, who has been appointed by me to be the watchful hawk on the Joe Slovo project and who is a beneficiary waiting for her house, is: "Ixesha lakho liyeza, mama. Ndiyabulela." [Your time will come, madam. Thank you.]
Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers, Deputy Ministers, hon members and honoured guests, South Africa has entered its second decade of freedom with clear evidence of the deepening of democracy, the construction of a national democratic society and the acceleration of the ANC programme to improve the quality of life for all the people.
Adequate shelter and services are basic human rights which place an obligation on government to ensure that this is attained for all people. In particular, government's focus must be on the urban poor and the rural masses through dedicated self-help and community-action programmes. For this to happen, government must remove all impediments hindering the attainment of these goals, to ensure social integration and cohesion through the creation of integrated communities.
In 2004, Cabinet adopted a comprehensive housing plan, aimed at promoting and enhancing the creation of integrated, co-ordinated and sustainable human settlements. Since the launch of the plan, various initiatives have been launched which sustain themselves, such as the farmworker housing- assistance programme and the establishment of the Housing Development Agency.
ANC policy brought about a concept shift from housing to human settlements, after the 2009 national and provincial elections. The conceptual shift arose because of the need for a new approach - a paradigm shift beyond housing. The shift is about homes. It is not just about a change of name. It is about a change in mindset, resource allocation and programmes.
The President, in his state of the nation address in June 2009, articulated this when he said, and I quote:
As part of infrastructure development, we will provide suitably located and affordable housing and decent human settlements. We will proceed from the understanding that human settlements is not about building houses. It is about transforming our cities and towns and building cohesive, sustainable and caring communities, with closer access to work and social amenities, including sports and recreation facilities.
This holistic and comprehensive response relates to moving towards inclusive and sustainable community development and optimal access to these communities. This approach informs the ANC's response to human development. The philosophical approach recognises the importance of creating habitable, attractive and efficient settlements which places the human being at the centre of any community development and recognises the heritage and the culture of its people, including making provision for those with special needs, children, women and people living with disabilities.
In January 2010, the Cabinet lekgotla adopted an outcomes-based approach to service delivery. Each outcome has a limited number of measurable outputs with targets. Each output is linked to a set of activities. Outcome 8 speaks directly to human settlements, setting targets for creating sustainable human settlements and improving the quality of the lives of households.
Given its mandate - facilitating and co-ordinating sustainable human settlements - the Department of Human Settlements should be seen as an anchor, fundamental to the social transformation of society, implementing policy directions and ensuring that social transformation and nation- building are achieved.
Andizi kutsho nto malunga ne-Medium Term Expenditure Framework kuba uMphathiswa sele ethethile ngayo. Kwintetho yakhe engobume besizwe, uMongameli ubalule ... [I won't say anything about the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework; the hon Minister has talked about it. In his state of the nation address, the hon President mentioned ...]
... that the strategic objectives are to ensure security of tenure and access to basic services for 100 000 households by 2014, improving the delivery of rental accommodation, rolling out the infrastructure development programme, including projects of the provision of water, electricity and housing and spending R2,6 billion on water services in 2011 in the priority areas, which are the provinces of Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape.
Siza kuzilandelela ke ezi zinto, Mphathiswa ohloniphekileyo. [We will follow up on these things, hon Minister.]
The Medium-Term Strategic Framework positions human settlements as key to achieving two outcomes, which are the expansion of social and economic infrastructure and the building of cohesive, sustainable communities. The policy-induced shift from housing to human settlements was informed by the realisation that housing is not just about building a shelter overhead, but rather it is about economic growth and social development.
It is in this context that human settlements must be seen as an instrument and object of development. The goals of settlement policies are inseparable from the goals of every sector in social and economic life. Human settlements development acts as a catalyst for economic growth, development and poverty alleviation. This includes the broader concept of ownership. It includes land and housing as a productive asset and creator of wealth. The national housing subsidy scheme became a critical part of the poverty- eradicating strategy. It represents the biggest single government transfer to poor households and has a greater impact on the quality of people's lives. Ownership, theoretically, provides some financial security and enables the transfer of property, a family asset, from one generation to another.
UMphathiswa sele endikhathulele. Andizi kuba sathetha kakhulu ngohlahlo- lwabiwo-mali, kuba sele ethethile ngezi zigidi zezigidi. Ndiza kugxadaza. [The hon Minister has done a lot for me. I won't talk too much about the budget, because he has talked about these millions of millions. I will be brief.]
The following infrastructure grants constitute the transfers. Firstly, there is the Human Settlements Development Grant, which is R14,9 billion. The service delivery output for this grant is to ensure that houses are completed and site-serviced. Secondly, there is the Urban Settlements Development Grant, which is R6,3 billion. The service delivery output for this grant is to ensure that bulk infrastructure is installed.
Siza kuyilandelela ke, Mphathiswa. [We will follow up, hon Minister.]
In terms of capital expenditure, a total of R231 million is allocated to the Rural Household Infrastructure Grant. The grant was established in 2010 with the aim of eradicating water and sanitation backlogs over a three-year period. The grant facilitates community involvement in the creation and maintenance of facilities, thereby creating employment and ensuring sustainability and cost effectiveness.
In this regard, the Rural Household Infrastructure Grant could play an important role in aligning the department with 2011 job-creation initiatives, as announced in the 2011 state of the nation address. The grant is set to increase to R517 million in 2013-14. However, in 2010, only 50% of the allocated grant was spent, mainly due to implementation challenges related to the shift in function.
With regard to the impact assessment of the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, the agreement between Human Settlements, Public Enterprises, Public Works, Rural Development and Land Reform is a positive step. The Ministers have agreed that in order to achieve the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals, a robust mechanism must be introduced to harvest public land and the tiers of government and to secure such land for human settlement development purposes. The delivery agreement outlines the action plan to achieve the objectives or to release state land and to guide the efforts of their respective departments.
Ndiyavala ngoku. [Kwahlekwa.] Sikwazile ukusebenzisana nesebe amatyeli amaninzi. Zikhona izinto esithe sabonisana ngazo eziseza kuqhubeka kule mali siyinikiweyo. Sifumanise ukuba kukhona ukwehla komgangatho wezi nkqubo zilapha, kodwa ke sisaxoxisana nesebe. Sibon' ukuba masiyazise iPalamente ukuba asiyiyekanga nje. Siyibambile, siyaqhubeka nezoo ngxoxo. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[I'm concluding now. [Laughter.] We managed to co-operate with the department several times. We have talked about the things that we will still continue to do with our allocated budget. We have found out that the standard of the programmes here is low, but we are still discussing this with the department. We felt that we must let Parliament know that we have not left it unattended. We are dealing with it; we are continuing with the discussions.]
There are challenges that we as the committee have identified and observed. In the first instance ... uMphathiswa uthethe ngomba wokulungisa. Nathi asiyiginyi kamnandi, kodwa siyavumelana kuba sisigqibo esincedisayo ukulungisa ezi zindlu. Ngoko ke siyavuma ukuba uMphathiswa aqhubeke azilungise ezi zindlu. Siye sahlala namaphondo sixoxa, savumelana ukuba inkqubo iyahamba iya phambili.
Okwesibini ... (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[... the hon Minister has talked about the issue of renovation. We are also not really happy, but we have agreed because it is a decision that helps us with regard to the renovation of these houses. Therefore, we agree that the hon Minister goes ahead and renovates these houses. We have met with the provinces and we have agreed that the programme must continue.
Secondly ...]
... the challenge facing the human settlements sector is inadequate intergovernmental co-ordination for accelerated housing delivery.
Yingxaki enkulu leyo. Sihambile saya kumaphondo. Siyibonile ukuba iyingxaki le nto. Amaphondo awathethi noomasipala, oomasipala beengingqi abathethi noomasipala basemakhaya. Yeyona ngxaki esithe sathi xa sihlala phantsi noMphathiswa saxoxa ngayo. Kodwa ke kukho izivumelwano zokuziswa kweenkonzo ezityikityiweyo phakathi koMphathiswa nesebe, njengoko sele sitshilo ukuba liyintsika. Zityikityiwe ke ezi zivumelwano. Simcelile uMphathiswa ukuba azizise xa sibuya kweyeSilimela. Sifuna ukuzijonga ukuba zithini na size sikwazi ukuba siwongamele lo mba wokusebenzisana koorhulumente.
Enye ingxaki yeyokuba ziyathengiswa izindlu. Phaya emakhaya siyabacela ukuba mabangazithengisi izindlu abazinikwe ngurhulumente. Njengokuba sele etshilo uMphathiswa, siyamxhasa xa esithi aba bathengisa izindlu mabavalelwe kwesimnyama isisele bangaze baphume. Bahlale apho umlibe... [Kwaqhwatywa.]... ngoba ayikho into yokuba athi urhulumente ezama ukuthi kule ntwana anayo ayabele bonke abantu, kubekho abantu abadlala ngemali yakhe. Mabavalelwe.
Enye into esibone ukuba iyingxaki yile nto yokungalungelelani kwezinto eziluncedo zoqoqosho nentlalo. Sesivile ukuba uMphathiswa uzityikityile izivumelwano zokuzisa iinkonzo nabanye abaPhathiswa.
Enye ingxelo esinayo yeyokuba kukho le nto ibithethwa nguMongameli yookopolotyeni ukuba mabahambele phambili. Sinenkqubo ke ekuthiwa yi-PHP. Asaneli ke thina siyikomiti. Sithi le PHP siyayamkela, kodwa ookopolotyeni mabaqhubekele phambili nabo. Sicela uMphathiswa azise umgaqo-nkqubo wookopolotyeni, sikwazi ukuwujonga ze siqhubeke sibheke phambili. Ukuba uyakwazi ukuxoxisana noMphathiswa wakwa-DTI makababuyise ookopolotyeni bezindlu size sikwazi ukuba sibalawule. Siwubuyisile umthetho woxwebhu ngelungelo lobunini besahlulo somhlaba. Sicela uMphathiswa alande ookopolotyeni bezindlu sibongamele ngokwethu apha kweli sebe.
Enye ingxakana esithe sayibona, uMphathiswa asele eyithethile, yindlela amaphondo ayichitha ngayo imali. Isiphethe kakubi kakhulu le nto, kodwa ke siyacenga asiyekelelanga, kwaye noMphathiswa uyasizama, uyasincedisa. Uthi mabeze kuxela, kwaye bayaxela.
Okubalulekileyo, xa ndiqukumbela ndiyivala le ngxoxo, kukuba ukuhlaliswa koluntu kudlala indima ebalulekileyo nasekuqinisekiseni ukuba uhlahlo- lwabiwo-mali ludlala indima ebalulekileyo ekuphakamiseni iinjongo zopolitiko ze-ANC ekuphuculweni kweemeko zasekuhlaleni. Oku kuqulethwe kwisiseko sokubaluleka kohlahlo-lwabiwo-mali nokusetyenziswa kwezibonelo eziya kuphuhlisa ziphumeze iinkqubo zexesha elide nelifutshane zeenjongo zikarhulumente okhokelwa yi-ANC.
Okubalulekileyo apha kukuba isebe lisekela khona iziphakamiso zalo xa bekuqwalaselwe uxanduva lwazo zonke iziphumo zokufanelekileyo nokuziinjongo zopolitiko. Oku kubalulekile xa kuthelekiswa neenjongo eziphambili zomgaqo- nkqubo oya kusetyenziswa kwithuba elifutshane nelide elijonge ukuzalisekisa iinjongo zorhulumente okhokelwa ngumbutho wabantu.
Mgcinisihlalo, nawe Mphathiswa, Mnu Sexwale, sincoma ubunkokheli benu noSekela Mphathiswa uNksz Zoe Kota, uMnu T Zulu, umlawuli-jikelele kwisebe, amaphondo nazo zonke izakhiwo eziqhuba iintlelo zokwakhiwa kwamakhaya ngentsebenziswano. Sinethemba lokuba oomasipala abathe baxhamla kolu hlahlo- lwabiwo-mali baza kusebenza nzima. UMongameli uthethile, sonke siyajayiva. Enkosi. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[That is a big problem. We went to the provinces. We saw that this is a problem. The provinces are not communicating with the municipalities, and the district municipalities are not communicating with local municipalities. This is a major problem that we discussed when we had a meeting with the hon Minister. However, there are service delivery agreements that have been signed between the hon Minister and the department, and as we have said, it is the pillar. These agreements have been signed. We have asked the hon Minister to bring them when we come back in June. We want to scrutinise them so that we know how to manage this issue of cooperation within the different spheres of government.
Another problem is that the houses are being sold. We are pleading with all at home not to sell the houses that have been subsidised by the government. We support the hon Minister when he says that those who sell the houses must be arrested and incarcerated without the possibility of parole. They must be incarcerated for life ... [Applause.] ... because it is not right when the government shares the small budget that it has with everyone, only to find out that there are people who misuse the money. They must be arrested and incarcerated.
Another thing that we see as a problem is the lack of balance in respect of socio-economic resources. We've heard that the hon Minister has signed service delivery agreements with some Ministers.
Another report we have reflects what was said by the hon President and that is that cooperatives must continue to operate and be progressive. We have a programme called the PHP. We, as a committee, are not satisfied with this programme. However, we welcome the PHP, but cooperatives must also continue to operate. We request the hon Minister to introduce a policy that governs the functioning of cooperatives, so that we can scrutinise it and take it forward. He should negotiate with the hon Minister of the Department of Trade and Industry to bring back the housing cooperatives so that we can monitor and control them. We have reinstated the law governing sectional title ownership. We request the hon Minister to bring cooperatives back so that we can monitor and control them in this department.
Another little problem that we have observed, which the hon Minister has already mentioned, is the manner in which the provinces utilise the budget. This makes us unhappy, but we haven't stopped pleading; even the hon Minister is trying to help us. He says they must come and report and they do.
The most important thing, as I conclude this discussion, is that the Department of Human Settlements plays a vital role in ensuring that the budget plays its vital role in raising the ANC's political aims in improving conditions in the community. This is contained in the basic importance of the budget and the implementation of subsidies which will develop and achieve the long and short-term goals of the ANC-led government.
What is important here is that which the department based its recommendations on, after considering the responsibility of the suitable achievements which are also its political aims. This is important when it is compared to the key objectives of the policy that will be used in the short and long term to fulfil the goals of the government led by the people.
Hon Chairperson, and hon Minister, Mr Sexwale, we commend your leadership together with that of the hon Deputy Minister, Ms Zoe Kota, Mr T Zulu, the Director-General of the Department of Human Settlements, the provinces and all the institutions involved in the various programmes of building homes with cooperation. We hope that the municipalities which have benefited from this budget will work hard. The President has spoken, and we are all dancing. Thank you. [Applause.]]
Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, hon members, distinguished quests and the public at large, I want to make a public deal with the hon Minister. If you speak about the not-so-good things in the department next year, I will sing the praises of the department. But, for now the roles are unfortunately reversed. On Thursday it would have been exactly one year ago that I indicated during the 2010 budget debate that it may be too soon to pass judgement on Minister Sexwale and Deputy Minister Zoe Kota, with regard to the creation of sustainable communities.
Since then, the Minister in particular has had many opportunities to show that it was not business as usual. I gave him the benefit of the doubt then, but I am afraid, hon Minister, that you have now come to a crossroads as the political head of human settlements. The decisions you make in the next few days and weeks will determine the legacy you will leave behind as Minister of Human Settlements. We know, and it has been confirmed in budget debates over the last few days, of the chaos and almost disintegration of, among others, the Department of Education, Home Affairs, Health and Co- operative Governance. Besides the regular reporting on suspected corruption within the delivery of houses, this department appeared to be functioning relatively well, and I have to admit, hon Minister, that in my personal interaction with you, you have indicated your good intentions and emphasised on every occasion that you wanted to be different ... [Applause.] ... and were not going to tolerate acts of corruption within your department.
Similarly, in interactions with the Director-General, or DG, and many senior officials within the department, the same message seems to come through, often unfortunately without tangible results. It therefore gives me no pleasure to stand here today and say that the Department of Human Settlements is no different from the others mentioned, and that the department is in a crisis. I say that the department is in a crisis and members from the governing party will probably disagree, much like mayor Amos Masondo did with the billing crisis in the Johannesburg Metro earlier this year. [Interjections.] Why do I say this, hon Minister? Well, let me tell you, and let the people in the gallery and the public out there be the judge of my statement.
Successive housing Ministers have been at pains to trumpet the number of houses built by the state since 1994, although no definitive proof could be provided. I have almost on every occasion - when I had the opportunity - queried the actual number of houses delivered as reported. In the run-up to the 2009 election, the department erected huge billboards proclaiming that some 2,4 million RDP houses had been built. Recent documents claim that in excess of 3 million houses were built up to 2010, notwithstanding that countrywide no more than 230 000 units are claimed to be under construction or built on an annual basis.
Following on the state of the nation address in 2008, Minister Sisulu told us that good news is essential for the soul because it gives hope, and I do agree with her. The good news that the hon Minister was referring to was that the department had produced 2,4 million houses. She continued and said:
Our good news is not just the numbers, but this important fact: That we have broken through the backlog barrier and have produced more houses than there are people in our backlog. This in effect means we are now over the apex. This is the first time in our history that our backlog has been less than the number of houses produced. Put differently, we have housed more people than those needing houses.
Chairperson, my response then was that the Minister neglected to tell us that once you have reached the apex, there is only one direction to go, and that is downhill. Little did I know how prophetic those words would turn out to be, a mere three years later!
Allow me to explain why I say that the Department of Human Settlements is in a crisis. In a recent presentation to the portfolio committee by the National Home Builders Registration Council, NHBRC, the following statistics were shared with us: They estimated that approximately just over 3 million houses were built between 1994 and 2010. Please note that there is no mention of incomplete or blocked projects and, with the exception of houses delivered in rural areas and through the people's housing programme, all subsidised houses since 2002 were supposed to be registered with the NHBRC. Despite this, we are informed that only 409 100 units, ie 13% of the supposed delivery, were actually registered with the NHBRC.
Alarm bells should have gone off a long time ago. Why were subsidised housing projects not registered by provinces, as required by the legislation? Knowing that there should have been an annual delivery, why did the NHBRC, as a regulatory body responsible for the quality of houses, not ask questions about the non-enrolment of projects? Therefore, is anybody in the provincial departments, the national department or indeed the NHBRC going to be held accountable for this noncompliance? I doubt it, hon Minister.
In their calculations for the rectification, the NHBRC assumed that just over 409 000 houses that they claim were registered are all in good order and are therefore excluded from rectification. The private sector, who has dealt with the NHBRC, will probably contest this because there are many nonsubsidised houses that, despite being monitored and inspected by NHBRC or not, as the case may be, are not in good order and also need rectification of some sort or another. They therefore estimated that 40% - ie just over a million - of the remaining 2,6 million houses, will need rectification to some degree, and 20% - ie about 609 000 - will have to be demolished and rebuilt completely.
They calculated the total cost to be R58,7 billion at current prices. Adding enrolment and professional fees to that escalates the costs to R64,4 billion. But hold on, this is not a crisis yet. What has been left out of the equation is the cost to relocate and house the beneficiaries whose homes have to be either rectified and/or demolished, provided that suitable land close to these projects can be found. The Chairperson of the portfolio committee recently joked and said: "If this trend continues, we may have to call the department the 'department of rectification'."
Last but not least, the hon Minister has indicated that there is R1,3 billion available in this financial year for rectification. This means that it could take the next 40 years to just complete the rectification, provided that all future houses are up to standard. When one adds the escalation to the current cost of R64,4 billion over the next 30 to 40 years, the total projected cost of R70 billion for the controversial arms deal looks like a basement bargain by comparison. What hasn't been factored in is the lost opportunity cost for those 1,6 million beneficiaries who should have been housed, but now have to wait - probably indefinitely - for adequate shelter.
The hon Minister spoke earlier about the possible sunset clause for subsidised housing due to its unsustainability. While I agree with the sentiment under normal circumstances, how can it be morally entertained when the current backlog, which we supposedly surpassed in 2008, have just doubled due to the fact that we have to reinvest scarce resources into something that has been paid for already? Naturally, the delivery of new subsidised houses is bound to decline as it must be done in parallel to the rectification of existing houses, and it may very well become impossible to ever catch up with the backlog.
It is also inevitable that we may find more and more approved beneficiaries reaching the golden age of 100 years and still on a waiting list, such as we have recently experienced, or people who die waiting for their promised home.
What the department's strategic plan lacks is a coherent strategy to address this problem. While provincial business plans indicate different amounts allocated for rectification, there does not appear to be a well- thought-out approach to plan and implement a strategy that will systematically deal with the rectification of existing stock while simultaneously providing new homes for new beneficiaries. In this regard, I wrote to the chairperson of the portfolio committee on the 13 February, requesting that the Minister appear before the committee to share with us how the department intends to address this travesty. I trust that this will happen in the very near future.
The lack of sanitation, particularly in rural areas, has been recognised and Treasury established the Rural Household Infrastructure Grant to be administered by the department. A total of R1,2 billion has been allocated over the 2010 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, period, with R100 million for the past financial year. Of this, only R47 million has been spent. As usual, there are many challenges that have been cited, some perhaps legitimately. However, one reason for this poor performance is the fact that one service provider, the Independent Development Trust, IDT, a government agency, was given a 60% lion's share of this contract, yet they spent only 38%. The strange thing is that the department acknowledged that the appointed service provider does not have sufficient experience in implementing sanitation projects, but they still went ahead and gave them the contract. To date, no action has been taken against them to terminate their contract. Is it surprising, then, that they failed to deliver? Once again, it is the poorest of the poor who carry the brunt of this ineptitude. Ladies and gentlemen, I dare say we have a crisis on our hands.
I wish to take this time to thank the Chairperson and the members of the portfolio committee for the manner in which we have worked together. I also wish to thank the Minister, the Deputy Minister and the senior officials for their co-operation with the committee. Not withstanding all these problems, there is co-operation from them, but I just wish there would be more action from them. I thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister and honourable members, in his farewell speech to the late Judge Herbert Msimang, President Zuma said:
There have been a number of judgments where the legislature had been directed to review certain pieces of legislation and calling for the service delivery departments to enhance delivery. These we appreciate as necessary interventions which serve to deepen our democracy. One of these judgments is the Joe Slovo informal settlement matter, which the Minister has already alluded to, but we in Cope observe that this seems to have annoyed and frustrated the Minister of Human Settlements. He seems to be accusing the Constitutional Court of usurping the functions of the legislature and the executive.
As we all remember, the N2 Gateway Housing project in Cape Town was launched in March 2005. The aim of the project was to replace informal settlements along the N2 highway with formal houses and flats. It started as an excellent housing model that is referred to as the "comprehensive housing plan pilot project", but today the same cannot be said of the project.
The Auditor-General's report, completed in 2008 and tabled in Parliament in April 2009, revealed that the project had, among others, "not been managed economically, efficiently and effectively". The following other shortcomings were listed by the report: the identification and securing of sufficient land was not finalised prior to construction; detailed geotechnical surveys were not completed prior to starting the project; the selection of beneficiaries was not finalised before construction began; the time-frame for the completion of the project was not realistic; affordable housing was not provided for the identified target market, and funding arrangements were not finalised and secured before the project began.
Now, Cope would still like to know - and this is in spite of what the Minister has said already - whether the department has dealt with all the issues raised by the Auditor-General before rebuking the courts, or whether it has dealt with the failure to meet the timeframes or with the planned design changes that have a direct impact on the costs and timeframes, or dealt with the dissatisfied residents of the N2 Gateway who are complaining about the N2 project being a dumping place without any basic services. Residents are also complaining that the N2 Gateway project has not transformed their lives. Children are not safe, houses are falling apart, and residents have to deal with health issues, overcrowding and crime.
Also of concern to us is the inadequate coordination and alignment of programmes between the three spheres of government. From the latest reports given to the portfolio committee on what is called the provincial business plan, and outcomes and targets, the Eastern Cape, for example, has allocated R279 848 million, the equivalent of 12,85% of its budget, to informal settlement upgrading. But according to Statistics South Africa, the Eastern Cape as a rural province does not have a substantial informal dwelling problem, yet it has given so much of its budget to this item. In comparison, as a rural province, the Eastern Cape intends to spend a mere R135 537 million, the equivalent of 6, 2% of its budget, on rural housing. We would have considered that more important than, for instance, the upgrading of informal settlements for a rural province like the Eastern Cape. Taking the example of the same province, a whole 10% of its budget is to be spent on rectification, in other words, correcting shoddy work done previously. Although new jobs will be created by such rectification, funds will still have been wasted. What does the national Department of Human Settlements say? Other rural provinces such as Mpumalanga and North West intend to spend very little on rural housing - 2% and 4,6% of their total budget respectively. Compare this with the other typically rural province, Limpopo, which is to spend 58,3% of its budget on rural housing and only 4% on informal settlement upgrading. This, in fact, should be the trend in all the rural provinces - that is, spending more on rural housing and less on informal settlement housing.
The Rural Housing Infrastructure Programme aims - I am sorry, but I am suffering from, the flu here - through a Schedule 7 grant to provide basic services to the remote rural areas by providing on-site sanitation and water facilities when necessary to rural communities. A total of R350 million has been allocated for the current financial year. The beneficiaries are supposed to be involved in the implementation of the programme, as well as the CBOs, NGOs and other bodies in the community, so as to instil a culture of ownership towards sustainable communities. This is a very noble idea indeed, and it is what Cope promotes in its policies. [Laughter.]
Thulani, thulani! [Please keep quiet!] We say, we shall be a government of the people by the people for the people, but also with the people. [Time expired.]
Hon Chairperson, 2014 is the target date scheduled by the Department of Human Settlements for the eradication of the existing 2 700 informal settlements in the country. The IFP would like the Minister to advise this House if that deadline will still be met by the department. We have also noted that there is no allocation in the budget for the formalisation of informal settlements.
Hostels such as those situated in Thokoza, Alexandra, Benoni as well as Imbali in Pietermaritzburg are badly run down and in desperate need of maintenance and upgrading. Why is there no budget allocated for this? All the recent service delivery protests that have been happening around the country started because of poor service delivery in the area of human settlements. Bulk infrastructure should be made available before any natural catastrophe occurs like a South African tsunami.
The backyard dwellers are another group that is being neglected by the Department of Human Settlements. We would like to see some directives from the department as to how we are going to resettle those people. We should at least get a directive on how to supply backyard dwellers with basic services such as electricity, water and sewerage.
The Reconstruction and Development Programme, RDP, housing scheme is plagued by poor building practices, largely due to fraud and corruption within the department in relation to the tender process involved with RDP housing schemes. Rectification because of inferior workmanship, which has resulted in extra costs of many billions of rands, are wholly unnecessary.
Kulesi sixakaxaka sezinkinga sokuchitheka kwezimali ibikuphi i- National Home Builders Registration Council, NHBRC. [When funds were being mismanaged, where was the National Home Builders Registration Council, the