With regard to increasing the rate of affordable rental housing delivery, the department will provide rental units through social housing institutions and the construction of community residential units to ensure that hostel residents have access to affordable rental accommodation. Our people must take note that we cannot succeed with these magnificent two-storey to four-storey hostels if people are not paying. Please, good people, good things must be paid for.
The department will work in partnership with stakeholders such as the Gauteng Partnership Fund, private-sector companies like Old Mutual and Sanlam, and the Department of Public Service and Administration, including municipalities, to ensure the achievement of the rental accommodation targets. In the province of Gauteng, this target is 19 352, based on the agreement signed with the President.
We welcome the announcement by the Minister that South Africans who earn between R3 501 and R15 000 will now qualify for government assistance. This is one of the groups that have been denied the opportunity to get houses for a long time. I hope people will be honest enough to give credit where it is due, namely to the ANC-led government, which keeps opening up opportunities for all. The group I am talking about is the one termed the "gap market", for it falls outside of the government-subsidy bracket but at the same time is unable to afford access to the mortgage products available from commercials banks. Now, because of the President Zuma-led government, the gap market will be addressed through the implementation of the Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme.
We identified various pieces of well-located land within Gauteng. Already requests for proposals have been issued to the market so that we can develop such parcels in partnership with the private sector. We will have a mixed-land-use approach to cater for both residential and commercial needs. These interventions seek to dismantle the spatial patterns of apartheid and build an inclusive and nonracial society, in line with the governing party's policies and manifesto.
The location of new settlements on the periphery of an urban area undermines urban agglomeration and often provides poor access to social amenities and job opportunities. This further exacerbates poverty and inequality. The practice also results in substantial cost implications for municipalities in terms of the provision of basic services to the new settlement.
Gauteng is a small province, with limited well-located land for human settlement development. In the 2012-13 financial year, the department planned to acquire 15 properties that were well located for low-income and affordable housing. In order to mitigate illegal invasion and the occupation of vacant land, the department will inspect 300 properties for the safeguarding of the Gauteng provincial government's vacant land, while 4 020 properties will be recommended for vesting within the Gauteng provincial government.
Illegal land invasion, the occupation of RDP houses and the hijacking of inner-city buildings should be condemned at all times. We cannot allow such practices to become the norm in our country and we must deal with such tendencies in a more vigorous way. It is therefore important to have a process of reviewing various pieces of legislation to make sure that they are not abused by unscrupulous individuals who are determined to create anarchy in our society.
Our law enforcement agencies must assist us in dealing with people who are breaking the law. There should be no law or any clause that protects or encourages the hijacking of land or RDP and city buildings. As lawmakers, if we do not act soon, our own houses will be invaded while we are on holiday and, after 48 hours, courts will protect the invaders. One wonders what a judge's attitude would be if invaders decided to invade that judge's house while he or she was away on holiday! Remember, people sometimes overpower the security people we have put in place.
Our plan to change various urban townships is under way. Through the Alexandra Renewal Project, we have already delivered 15 516 different housing units.
The following projects are being implemented and are proof indeed that things are moving in Gauteng: In the far west of the province, we have many housing projects. Because of time, I won't list them all. Moving to the West of Johannesburg, the Burgersdal informal settlement in Westonaria is situated on dangerous dolomatic land and comprises over 15 000 houses. The department has initiated plans to relocate that informal settlement to the Middelvlei-Droogheuwel area. We are also moving very fast with the Westonaria mixed-housing project. Middelvlei-Droogheuwel is situated in Randfontein and comprises 9 000 housing opportunities. An agreement has been reached with all stakeholders, including those in Randfontein, to earmark 50% of these units for allocation or to accommodate the relocation of the Burgersdal informal settlement.
To this end, phase 1 of this development, namely Mohlakeng Extension 11, has been built and 500 houses are already accommodating 250 beneficiaries from the Burgersdal informal settlement. In Burgersdal - the old township - there is ongoing work to upgrade current infrastructure through the reconstruction of intersections, segmented paving, the repair and finishing of roads and the construction of sidewalks. A lot of work is taking place. In fact, Burgersdal is a construction site at the moment.
We have been able to finalise projects, such as the upgrading of Burgersdal's police station, Simunye Extension 2, bulk services and electrification. We prioritised, completed and handed over these projects to the respective departments and municipalities.
In conclusion, we support the Minister's budget and commit ourselves to working tirelessly to ensure that prospective beneficiaries have access to housing in Gauteng. [Applause.]