Chairperson, the mission of the Department of Human Settlements is to establish and facilitate a sustainable process that provides equitable access to adequate housing for all within the context of the affordability of housing, services, access to social amenities and economic opportunities. This mission resonates well with the DA's open- opportunity society for sustainable human livelihood and housing as an integral part of human life.
Everybody strives to own a house. Surveys conducted in South Africa indicate that housing is one of the most important issues that affect all South Africans, irrespective of race and status. Everybody needs a house they can call home and be proud of and where they can raise a family in a safe and secure environment. However, this department is faced with countless challenges, which include unachieved targets and increasing budgets with simultaneously decreasing service delivery targets. This is also emphasised in the Auditor-General's report and the Financial and Fiscal Commission's report and is attributed to poor planning and implementation of housing and lack of accurate and reliable data.
The DA acknowledges the need for housing, especially for the poor, who cannot afford to build houses for themselves. We believe that the government should help those who are vulnerable by providing an environment where they can have access to housing opportunities, while also building partnerships with those who can at least afford to build their own houses by providing incentives and mechanisms. The government needs a paradigm shift from creating dependency towards building partnerships, participation and responsibility in housing delivery.
Bold decisions should be taken to end the cycle of entitlement and introduce a self-help mechanism. Political will is required. We all acknowledge that the existing model of housing delivery is unsustainable and is draining the fiscus. Innovative and alternative means of housing should be explored to meet the ever-increasing backlog of 2,2 million. It is a ticking time bomb. People need sustainable human livelihoods which are of quality standard. They need amenities and to be close to jobs.
The Urban Settlements Development Grant, which is one of the main grants for the upgrade of urban informal settlements, is falling short of its target. More than 50% of this grant was not spent in the last financial year. Of the R6 billion allocated, R3,5 billion was not spent.
The Rural Households Infrastructure Grant is another important grant that deals with rural basic infrastructure and services. Only 20% of this grant was spent in the last financial year. Of the allocated R257 million only R57 million was spent while the backlog in rural basic services is escalating. Nevertheless, the budget for this financial year has been increased to R479 million. Urgent plans must be put into place to ensure that this new allocation is spent on dealing with the rural sanitation backlog.
The purpose of Breaking New Ground is to ensure that housing provision creates wealth and poverty alleviation while also ensuring economic opportunity for the poor. Measures should be put in place to ensure that the backlog of 1,4 million title deeds is reversed, not only in the Reconstruction and Development Programme houses but also in the former states of the Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei. People here have been promised title deeds for 20 years. To date, they are still waiting and falling victim to unscrupulous estate and property agents who are involved in corrupt activities. The Minister should prioritise these households. People are denied economic opportunity if they don't have title deeds. They remain trapped in poverty and are vulnerable to abuse.
The rectification programme is simply a form of fruitless and wasteful expenditure. An amount of R930 million is budgeted for rectification this financial year. This amount should rather be used to develop more new houses and not towards fixing the mess of shoddy workmanship. Last year the Minister made a call that contractors who were guilty of shoddy workmanship be blacklisted and dealt with. We welcomed that, but only 24 have been blacklisted. There are many more, Minister, and you know that.
The National Home Builders Registration Council fails to perform its mandate. I have conducted oversight of two projects, one in Umlazi B10 in KwaZulu-Natal and another in Bram Fischerville in Soweto, where I was shocked to see people's living conditions as a result of poor workmanship. People's houses are collapsing. They are in sewerage lines and in flood lines. In one house alone they had to spend R30 000 on rectification. Shame on the NHBRC and the department for making the poor pay.
The state of the nation address has highlighted the massive infrastructure upgrade in human settlements, which was promised as a priority project. The department is spending 20% of its budget on these projects. However, these projects are filled with challenges and battle to get off the ground. The challenges include the lack of intergovernmental co-ordination and co- operation, protracted environmental impact assessments, town-planning processes, land, basic services, bulk infrastructure, incapacity and poor procurement and project planning. This is unacceptable, considering that these projects have been prioritised and funded.
Bureaucracy bottlenecks and red tape are hampering housing delivery. It takes almost up to three years to complete a housing project. This is costly to developers. It costs them 30% extra to get through the process. This is due to chain management inefficiencies and institutional and legislative challenges, according to the Financial and Fiscal Commission's report.
A paradigm shift is required in housing delivery as the National Development Plan also highlights the issues of active citizenship and participation. The people should begin to be involved in housing delivery, rather than be passively dependent on the state, waiting for government to supply. People should be encouraged to take joint responsibility with government in the meeting of housing demands.
We welcome the introduction of the Finance-Linked Individual Subsidy Programme, as well as the guarantee fund. This will ensure great relief for the gap market and affordable housing market. However, we caution that this should not be at the cost of the provincial fiscus. Adequate planning and budgeting by provinces is required.
Lastly, the issue of fraud, corruption and maladministration remains a major challenge in housing delivery. The Special Investigating Unit should be roped in and congratulated and commended for the work they have done so far, but much more needs to be done. On one of my oversight visits, to Philippi East, I uncovered a very big RDP scandal. It was alleged that an ANC councillor was selling RDP houses for R7 000.
Minister, let me offer you the DA alternative. The DA encourages the championing of self-help mechanisms and moving away from a dependence on the state. People should be active participants. The government should be just an enabler and creator of an adequate environment and conditions.
We also believe in the People's Housing Process. It should be reassessed and reimplemented, because it is a viable means of ensuring beneficiary participation and responsibility. This is a viable partnership between government and citizens. In the process, a densification model should be championed. This must be coupled with proper education and engagement with beneficiaries.
Sustainable livelihoods mean the creation of jobs, the development of amenities and finding alternative means of housing delivery. For example, there should be the delivery of site and service; mixed integrated settlements that are rentals, bonded and subsidised; and alternative building technologies and types that are environmentally friendly and can save energy, water and development costs.
In conclusion, the DA agrees that there is a need to help the poor. However, the continued dependency on the state is unsustainable. We need to empower citizens to get out of the poverty trap and dependency. We recognise the fact that there is no government that is perfect or has all the solutions and answers on its own. However, where we govern we strive to achieve and provide quality, decent services to the people, especially the poor. [Interjections.]
Let me share with you what we have done in the Western Cape, where the DA governs. [Interjections.] Firstly, we have introduced the paradigm shift of involving beneficiaries in housing development opportunities, and 35% of the PHP self-help programme has been successfully implemented. We are promoting security of tenure through the effective transfer to beneficiaries of a 15% reduction in title deed transfers. We are using alternative building technologies to save on energy costs - 15% of the units developed are already energy efficient, while 50% of our housing projects meet integration and sustainability criteria. We are pursuing strategic partnerships with the private sector. We have cut down on bureaucracy and red tape to make housing accessible. [Interjections.]
We have a credible housing demand database. We have developed a residential incremental densification policy to provide sustainable, dignified human settlements. [Interjections.] We acknowledge our achievements, but much more still needs to be done to reach the dream of quality housing for all. [Applause.]