Chairperson, let us be reminded that in the state of the nation address our hon President said the poor must be given preference. The delivery of homes is crucial to address poverty and homelessness. Rural families still continue to live in shacks, temporary housing and mud homes. While we acknowledge the great strides the country has made, more has to be done to address the backlog in housing.
Hon Minister, the MF notes that in many of our areas integration has already taken place in new projects. We must ensure that integration is reflected. However, all communities must be given their fair share of the beneficiary list. Is there a guideline for consistent, nonracial allocation and what policy underpins this so that provinces can achieve a nonracial society?
The MF welcomes the housing subsidy of R83 000, but we are not clear on whether there are agreements with the banks to make this policy work. It is important to know what the targets are and whether the banks have committed themselves for the current financial year. If a bank has a tight credit policy, this will not work. We must be mindful of the fact that if people were blacklisted, they would be sidelined. Indeed, there must be a programme for debt rehabilitation. This would deal with giving people homes and also with stimulating the economy.
The issue of shoddy workmanship must be given great attention. Here the synchronisation of the three levels of government is of the utmost importance. The national and provincial departments and municipalities all have building inspectors and they must do their work. Contractors and officials who are doing things wrongly must know that they will be thrown out and that there are people watching them all the time. This will help us to deliver quality. The proper quality of materials is also important. What level of national checks and standards are proposed to ensure that they will stand the test of time?
We must take heed of the Manase report in eThekwini municipality, which has paralysed the delivery process. People must be held accountable. However, it is important to move on swiftly and put the matter behind us. The main focus must be on delivery marching forward and we must recognise the positive attitude of the MEC in KwaZulu-Natal, Ravi Pillay, in this process.
Another challenge in KwaZulu-Natal is that our land is very hilly. It is complex and costly to build homes in such a situation. This must be taken into consideration and built into the policy framework.
How we control and manage increasing informal settlements is a crucial difficulty. How effective is the Anti-Land Invasion Unit? What kind of research and intelligence is going into the problem of the shack lords? They even bus people in to occupy a piece of land, because they are charging them money for this act of land invasion. No tight action is taken against these people who run a lucrative business based on illegal activities. If action was taken against them, people would be reluctant to buy material and build, knowing the structures will be demolished. It should not seem as if they have licence to build.
There is a high demand for the problems of those who live in transit camps and informal settlements to be addressed. If budget funds are not made available, the poor will undoubtedly continue to live in difficult circumstances. The MF supports the Budget Vote. [Applause.]