Chairperson, once a person has a house, particularly if a person has a title deed, that person becomes an owner. Then the maintenance becomes the responsibility of that particular person. The issue of maintenance arose from the issue of rental stock because in that case the property still doesn't belong to you - it either belongs to the municipality or to government, so the maintenance there should continue because you are renting.
But if you rent to buy, as soon as you take ownership you, the owner, should continue with the maintenance. We cannot have an issue of maintenance in general. It's only those units that were built by the government with the rental stock where there is maintenance. As soon as they get transferred to individuals, the individuals themselves must maintain their houses.
So, it is really difficult to know about the issue of the database, because we are allowing municipalities to audit in terms of their housing needs. There is no way that we can close it. It should be open-ended to allow people as they apply for the houses to continue.
What you could talk about is the consolidated database, the housing demand database. This is exactly what the department is working on, so that we can have a database that helps people understand where they are in terms of the waiting list. You can press a button and know. This is so that housing delivery can be on a first come, first served basis and there won't be people jumping the queue. I thank you.
UMBHEXESHI OYINTLOKO WEBHUNGA: Ikhona nje indawana, Mphathiswa, endingayibuzanga, ngakumbi emva kokuba undiphendule kakuhle kangaka. Siyayibona inkqubela e-N2 naseDelft, kodwa umbuzo wam uthi: Njengokuba siza kwakha izindlu eziphucukileyo ngoku, ingaba niya kuyithathela ingqalelo na into yokuba iplani le ifanelekile, kubekho izitalato, ukuze izindlu ziyeke ukubelekana nje kuba kusithiwa ngooveziinyawo?
USEKELA-MPHATHISWA WOBONELELO NGEENDAWO ZOKUHLALA: Kunjalo kanye, lungu elibekekileyo. Sifuna ukuba kubekho izitalato, kwaye sakhe amakhaya, hayi iidomatri, ngoba esele sizakhile ngoku izindlu ziziidomatri.
Sifuna ukwakha ngendlela apha eya kwenza ukuba abantu balime izityalo kwaye abantwana babe neendawo zokudlala ... (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[The CHIEF WHIP OF THE COUNCIL: There is a question, hon Minister, that I did not ask, especially after you have responded to me so very well. We do see the progress at the N2 Gateway and Delft but my question is, now that we are going to build decent houses, have you taken the suitability of the plan into consideration, that there are streets, so that there are no back- to-back houses based on the fact that they are called RDP houses?