Hon Chair, with government shifting the responsibility of providing low-income housing to certain municipalities in line with the NDP recommendations, the question the ACDP is asking is: Will the budget follow the mandate and is that budget adequate to the task of ensuring relevant capacity to get the job done?
It is at the municipal level that planning takes place, so it makes sense that the responsibility should follow the plans. Sadly, many skeptics will see this as just another opportunity for corruption, incompetence and maladministration. We hope this will not be the case.
Local government does not have the best track record and the oversight and monitoring of budgets for the purpose of providing low-cost housing must remain the responsibility and top priority of the department at a national level.
Crucial projects meant to provide houses and toilets to many in rural areas and informal settlements have stalled, we are told. This appears to be endemic throughout the entire housing sector, with provincial governments among the chief perpetrators with underperformance and failure to spend.
We hear the department saying that this is a result of long procurement processes, lack of bulk infrastructure and lack of identification of suitable land for human settlement development. But, people do not want excuses; they want houses and services.
You do face a significant challenge, hon Minister, and the ACDP would like to see you succeed. We welcome government's recognition that relocating informal settlements is not always a solution. We applaud government's response to calls to provide interim servicing and emergency relief in informal settlements through the provision of water and sanitation and through solid waste removal.
The rapid assessments and categorising of informal settlements, meant to assist municipalities in provinces to better understand and respond to the immediate needs of residents, are also a positive step forward. Implementation, however, does need to be improved.
The ACDP would like to bring to your attention the issue of subsidies for special needs group housing for orphans, victims of domestic abuse, the disabled, older people, trafficked persons and others. To provide improved group care and shelter for persons with special needs, nonprofit organisations are in urgent need of available of housing subsidies. I am told that this issue did come before the housing portfolio committee late last year and that the Department of Social Development was also very supportive. However, the process remains very slow.
If the Department of Human Settlements opts for a new research and policy development process, it will take years to complete, with delays causing frustration for those most affected.
The ACDP welcomes the grant introduced to fast-track the eradication of bucket toilets in formal and informal areas and we welcome the Minister's commitment to creating an environment which encourages private-sector investment in low-income housing projects. The ACDP will be supporting this budget. Thank you. [Applause.]