Chairperson, I think I cannot disagree with the hon Watson when he says that those who invested early are those who are reaping the benefits. The only problem is that this does not go further to say who in actual fact had the opportunity to benefit and to invest at the time, because the majority of our people were excluded. Property in itself or investment in property was something strange to our people. That is why they could not invest in property. As a result, we need to appreciate the fact that the very same capitalist ideology that you seek to present in this House is the one that has disadvantaged the majority of our people from the mainstream of the economy. [Interjections.] Of course, a few have benefited because by its very nature it creates an environment in which the minority benefits at the expense of the majority. This means that by its very nature it is to the disadvantage of the majority, even in respect of acquiring knowledge on how to access some of the strategic economic instruments and so forth. These are the very same liberal policies that your party advances, which seek to disadvantage our people further.
Therefore, hon Ministers and hon Watson, I think there is one thing we tend to forget sometimes: If you look at the very same property boom or access to property in our country, the time will come when you will have to be honest to say that, even until today, those who have access to property from amongst the majority, the middle class, are highly indebted. Who are they indebted to? They are indebted to the very same policies and systems that your party advances. Consistent with the strategic objectives of the ANC, we seek to build a South Africa that is a nonracial, nonsexist and prosperous one. The Social Housing Bill, which is the Bill we are deliberating on today, seeks to do exactly that.
For a very long time, since the dawn of our democracy, our government has started grappling with how best to integrate our communities and ensure that our people are housed at close proximity to economic activities and development. We will note that the advent of our democracy presented a lot of positive development on the social front. It provided those particular benefits to many people who, for the past decade, were disadvantaged or left at the periphery of the economy. As a result, due to poverty and lack of job opportunities, we observed a lot of movement of people into cities seeking better opportunities in particular jobs in order to invest in property.
For obvious reasons, leaving rural areas for urban areas presented serious challenges to the government, in particular, with regard to the provision of housing. Notwithstanding other factors, this movement of our people to economic centres gave rise to the mushrooming of informal settlements and a demand for rental housing stock, hence the many backyard dwellers in Soweto, Galeshewe, Port Elizabeth and many other places in our country. We have also noted the rental of shacks, of course, which our people see as an investment in Gugulethu, Joe Slovo, Phuthanang and many other informal areas in our country.
Noting that our housing policy makes provision for social housing, we saw our government responding to this challenge by piloting a number of social housing projects, especially in Gauteng and in other places in the country of course. We also saw the implementation of social housing projects through international donor funding. While the objectives were good, this was too fragmented and not properly guided through a legislative framework.
We will remember that not so long ago, in 2001, the President of the Republic made an announcement to the effect that the ANC-led government is committed towards: the regeneration of inner cities in the country; the development of well-located land with the intention of broadening the current housing assistance programme; and accommodating higher density development and addressing the increasing demand for rental housing in our urban areas. This commitment should also be seen and read in the context of our Polokwane resolution of creating sustainable human settlement. This must also be guided by the principles of restoring and furthering human dignity and citizenship, integrated development planning and funding alignment, inner city regeneration and rental housing provision.
The importance of this Bill is beyond our imagination. It does not only seek to regulate or to ensure that government plays its role in as far as capital injection is concerned with regard to the provision of housing. To us as the ANC and as the committee, this piece of legislation has far- reaching objectives which are very, very progressive. Taking into account what I said at the beginning, it is worth noting that this Bill seeks to do exactly that.
In terms of the content and context of the Bill, there will be a total reorientation, hon Watson, in respect of human settlement in the sense that we shall, through this experience, develop a truly nonracial and nonsexist South Africa. At an ideological level, we shall experience a different orientation with regard to our people.
The Bill seeks to inculcate a very important aspect of co-operative ownership and responsibility for our people. Through social housing projects, our people shall not only benefit from the low rental opportunity, but most importantly also from the capacity and the ability to live together and share through the spirit of ubuntu, and not be self- centred. In short, this Bill provides for a co-operative housing option for low-income earners at a level of scale and built form which requires institutionalised management, and which is provided by accredited social housing institutions or other delivery agents in accredited housing projects in designated restructuring zones.
Hon Minister, during deliberations on this Bill at committee level and in provinces' public hearings, our people once more re-emphasised the need for designated zones not to be far from their workplaces. The matter was raised against the backdrop of the role municipalities will, of course, play in the implementation of this Bill. We will note that while we resolve to house our people near their places of work, some municipalities still zone land for human settlement in a manner that is not consistent with our own objectives.
One other matter that came out very sharply during the negotiating stage of the Bill is that many provinces raised the role of the private sector. The matter was raised in the context that while we know that the target population is the low-income earners and the fact that they do not rent to buy, which we understand and agree with, the role of the private sector does not come out clearly. Provinces were quite worried in the sense that once the private sector invests money, driven by its capitalist values in its nature, it wants a return. Therefore, the provinces want to know what the role of the private sector is going to be with regard to injecting its money in this particular issue, and what would, therefore, be the balance between profit-driven investment and social-driven investment. I think provinces saw the need for clarity on this particular matter because if not they might run the risk of the private sector taking away the very same gains that have been achieved thus far. To achieve its housing objectives and to provide coherence to the social housing sector, our government will continue to pursue the establishment of regulations and the maintenance of social housing institutions through a structured and dedicated policy programme. Therefore, members would note that the Bill encapsulates the proposed range of interventions to stimulate the development of this sector. The overall purpose of the policy is to establish a mechanism in terms of which the people's glorious movement-led government can create an enabling environment for the development, delivery and maintenance of the social housing sector required to deliver sustainable human settlement at a large scale in "Mzansi".
We take note of the fact that, as a committee, we will continue to support any programme that seeks to harness, mobilise and galvanise the collective effort of our people. We will support any programme that seeks to teach our people that togetherness is the only way in which they will be able to prosper in life. We will discourage any form that seeks to build in an element of individualism that has no bearing on the social and economic development of our people. Thank you very much, Chairperson. [Time expired.]