Chairperson, thank you very much for that warm welcome to the House. The Social Housing Bill that we bring before you is long overdue. Social housing is state-subsidised rental housing for medium and low-income people. It services groups who cannot afford to buy a house and groups that are in transition, either geographically or in their life cycle, for example, the young, the upwardly or downwardly mobile, single parents with children, especially women or specific high priority target groups, such as pensioners or physically challenged people.
In our case, social housing specifically targets people who would normally not qualify for state-subsidised housing either because their income bracket is above that, which is normal, or because they previously benefited from subsidised housing.
Social housing has been the most common and successful form of government housing in Europe and the United Kingdom, and is recognised as an important form of government intervention in many other countries.
In a country such as The Netherlands, it constitutes up to 50% of the total housing stock and 80% of rental stock. Support for the rental housing sector has been strong internationally in recognition of the fact that rental housing is a necessary part of any healthy housing sector. In South Africa, social housing has been identified as a key area in government's attempt to create integrated human settlements.
The events of the past month have emphasised to us just how important this form of access to housing is. Foreign nationals who come into our country and settle in informal settlements have no hope whatsoever of ever acquiring affordable houses, either through government subsidy schemes, or through the banks, or through the normal sector rental scheme. If we want to be able to overcome this problem, we have to ensure that we provide access for these people to this sector, by increasing our affordable rental stock.
At our recent Minmec we took a conscious decision that we would prioritise and ring-fence the funding for this segment of our work. The trade union movement has been particularly keen to see us move in this direction, because the bulk of their workforce is in dire need of this form of housing, by virtue of their being a highly mobile workforce.
The most significant aspect of the sector is that the majority of its developments are in central city areas, and is thus the best example of a government-funded programme which has reversed the apartheid city.
Over the years, the social housing sector has grown and has been the beneficiary of significant funding from government. It is, however, characterised by a patchwork of policies, funding and institutions that do not adequately support its work and growth. For these reasons, the Department of Housing has now taken steps to assist with governance in this area and has put in place regulatory processes through the promulgation of the Social Housing Bill and the establishment of the Social Housing Regulatory Authority, all framed by the social housing policy.
Therefore the objectives of the Social Housing Bill being tabled here are to establish and consolidate general definitions and principles, which can then be recognised as the authoritative guidelines for the sector as a whole; to establish the social housing regulator; and to provide for the recognition and accreditation of social housing institutions.
The Bill provides for specific functions and responsibilities for all three spheres of government. It requires of us as the national government to create the kind of legislative, financial and policy and institutional frameworks that will enable the sector to grow, whilst provincial governments are given responsibilities to approve and administer grant funds and monitor project level compliance. Local government, on the other hand, is required to ensure access to land, infrastructure and services as well as initiating the identification and restructuring of zones.
The Bill's major purpose, therefore, is the establishment of the Social Housing Regulatory Authority, the body that, in accordance with the Public Finance Management Act, PFMA, would, amongst other things, be responsible for accrediting social housing institutions, administer and disburse capital and institutional grants, as well as conduct compliance monitoring to norms and standards by the sector. It will have powers to intervene to resolve maladministration issues and take remedial steps where necessary.
These interventions have been necessitated by the recognition that the issues of corporate governance are presently handled poorly and, therefore, affect the overall delivery of our social housing institutions. It is, therefore, necessary that institutions within the sector are geared towards better managing their portfolios in order to provide a better service to our people. The business case for the envisaged regulatory authority has been finalised and approved to enable speedy implementation.
The Bill was submitted to Cabinet during October 2006 for approval after which process it was published in the Government Gazette for public comment. Its consultation process included the setting up of a task team consisting of provincial departments, metros and all other stakeholders, who all participated in the preparation of the official policy and guidelines that culminated in the Bill that we have with us today.
In addition, consultations have also taken place with the Social Housing Foundation, National Treasury, the Department of Public Service and Administration, the National Housing Finance Corporation, Dutch, Canadian and United Kingdom social housing experts, and the National Association of Social Housing Organisations. Further consultations were held with 19 other institutions, including the Development Bank of Southern Africa and a number of other very important stakeholders.
I bring to you, therefore, the final product out of this very extensive consultation. I would like, therefore, to commend the Bill, which is now truly overdue, to the House for approval. I thank you. [Applause.]