Hon Chair, as you know, the Housing Act was passed in 1997. Since then Ministers have come and gone, but the issue of housing remains largely unresolved and the present model does not resemble what a proper modern human settlement model should be.
Since 1997, the government has failed to create a sustainable national housing development process leading to proper human settlements. The people of Lwandle know only too well that this department has routinely failed to effectively monitor the performance of provinces and municipalities and to build their capacity in respect of housing development.
Regrettably, the department's own strategic goals of accelerating the delivery of what it calls "housing opportunities", improving access to basic services, providing a framework for more efficient land use and improving access to the property market, have also not been adequately realised. Thus the backlogs have grown ever larger.
The department's goal of overseeing the implementation of the household sanitation programme also lacks legs and communities remain as agitated as ever. Years of talking have also not yielded much progress in respect of improving access to housing finance and developing an extensive partnership with the financial sector. The dream of an improved quality of household life has not yet replaced the nightmare most people continue to experience.
The department's goal of providing upgrading plans for informal settlements is likewise seriously lacking in stamina and has left millions of people in a state of abject misery.
Cope believes that households in informal settlements must be upgraded at a very rapid pace, using a viable and creative mix of funding models. The need to provide access to secure tenure and basic services is imperative for the times in which we are living.
The National Development Plan, NDP, correctly requires the workings of the spatial economy to be altered so that, each year from now, urban settlements do indeed become functionally integrated, balanced and vibrant. We need to see pilot projects in each and every city consistent with these goals by the end of this year.
Policy and funding reforms have to occur at once, considering that the NDP already outlines what needs to be done and this is the only action, therefore, that is needed.
The Minister must urgently inform this house when and where a functioning and equitable residential market will come into effect. Thank you. [Time expired.]