Hon Madikizela, I have always worked well with you and we'll continue to work well together. I think we should complete the project and show the Constitutional Court our mettle and that co-operative governance works at all levels. The nearby Joe Slovo project, which is named after the first Minister of the former Department of Housing, is a crucial opportunity for us to show our adherence to the Constitution and our respect for the rule of law.
Premier Zille gave me a call the other day. It is important for this House to hear this because this is the council responsible for the provinces and she was talking about beneficiaries. A number of you mentioned this and I gave you the assurance that we both agree on this. I think I should convey this here as well: Beneficiaries are selling their houses because of the new Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme, or Flisp, that we are putting forward in response to the President's announcement that we will be assisting people in the gap market. People are taking advantage of that, which is good. However, some of them are leaving their houses and then come to take advantage of Flisp. That means they want to benefit twice. Our message is simple: No beneficiary can benefit twice. It is against the law. [Applause.]
Hon Pillay has left. He spoke about using our budgets collectively and optimally so that we send a strong message to Treasury for them to increase our budgets. Even before we ask for more money, we want to make sure that the budget we are currently being given - in this case, the R25,2 billion - is used optimally and efficiently so that there is no waste.
In respect of research, I will engage him on that further. Research needs to be done for us to get better information. A Chair of Human Settlements has now been established and will be opened at the University of the Free State. We hope to take the national Minister of Higher Education with us to the opening of the Chair for Human Settlements. Interestingly, we now have a Bachelor Degree in Human Settlements at Unisa.
Of course, hon Skhosana, your message also falls within the Human Settlements Vision 2030. The disunited South Africa is the result of infrastructural apartheid. The way apartheid was used divided all of us. Apartheid could not have existed without infrastructure, because roads, rail and all those things lead us to different places. We would have a highway and no off-ramp. The people without the off-ramp were cut off, while the farmers down the road had access, and so on. That's how it worked. Without infrastructure, we would not be here - all of us. Therefore the challenge that unites this country and the function thereof is that of infrastructural cohesion. It would be inexcusable on our part to perpetuate the system of apartheid spatial planning. We take that point as we plot our course.
Hon Themba, as a mother you emphasised quality, good standards and beauty. We want to say that Human Settlements is driven by large windows these days. [Laughter.] We make sure that all houses have them, because apartheid houses were characterised by very small windows. Most of them were even smaller than the prison windows on Robben Island! You spoke about the youth and women. We take that on. Of course, those who sell their houses before their time - and this is a message that was expressed by many of you - should be blacklisted and not given other benefits. This includes the contractors who do so.
However, let me point out that we have a problem when it comes to assisting people in the gap market, now that we have Flisp, as announced by the President. I said that 2 million people were going to benefit. The problem is that there are between 600 and 800 people who work for Human Settlements - in our offices and in your offices there. We are trying to get them to benefit from Flisp. But believe you me, the majority of the people who are supposed to benefit are blacklisted because of Edgars, Woolworths and the like! So, we are going to find a way of restructuring their debt to assist them - and not only them but other people who find themselves in a similar situation.
Hon Gunda, you are right that the big construction companies have to be assisted, but as we work with them, we pledge ourselves to make sure that, in terms of the law, they remain with their empowerment partners. So, while we want to change the whole approach in terms of the involvement of big companies, it wouldn't leave our people behind. That would be breaking the law of this House and of other aspects of our government where the law says we must assist the ordinary people. We want to correct the situation but also make sure that people benefit more.
Hon Prince ...
... bengithi Mntwana weNkosi yazi ukuthi leya ndaba yakwaNongoma siyibhekisisile kakhulu. Indaba le yamahostela yokuthi alungiswe uyazibonela nawe ukuthi senzeni laphaya eGauteng. Siye salilungisa leliya hostela laseJabulani manje lisezingeni eliphezulu. Besihamba noMmemezi nangu ulapha kanye nePhini LikaMongameli, uKgalema nguyena owavula leliya hostela ekanye nosihlalo wekomidi. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[... I was saying, Prince, know that we have thoroughly looked into that Nongoma issue. Regarding the issue of renovating hostels, you have seen for yourself what we have done in Gauteng. We have renovated the Jabulani Hostel and it is now of a high standard. We were with Mmemezi, who is also here, and the Deputy President, Mr Kgalema Motlanthe, who opened that hostel together with the committee chairperson.]
Look at the Human Settlements website and you will see what we have done with Jabulani Hostel. There is no place like it. Where there used to be a hostel, you now have the type of houses we have built there - high-rises and so on. Congratulations to our people, who have moved away from being nothing and today they live in places that are better than any university hostel you can find in South Africa. [Applause.]
Hon Mlenzana, siyavumelana nawe [We agree with you]. The sanitation report will be in my hands soon. I want to make sure that that report is acted upon. I want to thank Comrade Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in advance and here in this House for taking the lead and giving us this report. It is still preliminary and there are many challenges contained in that report.
Of course, we also agree with you that the rectification of houses may not become a permanent feature. You called yourself "a rural boy". I wonder whose heart you were trying to win because you don't look that boyish to me. [Laughter.]
Hon Mmemezi from Gauteng, we don't need to speak about Gauteng here. There are big problems, big issues, big budgets and all that.
Siyazi kuyasheshwa laphaya. [We know that things are happening fast there.]
Your biggest problem is our problem too: illegal invasion and illegal occupation. The Constitutional Court is also involved there and we want to make sure that as the courts take decisions, they don't hurt provinces such as Gauteng. While all the other provinces have got to grow, you cannot constrain and restrain Gauteng, because all of you end up going to KwaZulu- Natal, Gauteng as well as the Western Cape. We agree with you that there is a need to look at the situation properly.
Congratulations to KwaZulu-Natal for completing Cornubia. Western Cape, we are looking forward to working with you in Drommedaris. In Limpopo we want to see new towns. Jacob Zuma said the new towns cannot have townships anymore. That is where we are going. So, we agree with everybody, as concluded by hon Dikgale, and say to people: Don't sell these houses before their expiry date. That is the message we would like to send our people: Do not sell your houses before the expiry date. We are co-ordinating with the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs to make sure that there is an integrated approach to what we are doing. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.