Chairperson, hon Minister of Basic Education and the Deputy Minister of Human Settlements ...
... ngithanda ukunibingelela, kanjalo namalungu.
Sihlalo, ngivumele ngidlulise ukubonga kuwo wonke umphakathi kuzo zonke izifundazwe eziyisishiyagalolunye ngokuvotela i-ANC. Yize noma eNtshonalanga Kapa i-DA iwinile, kodwa kunamalungu omphakathi avotele i- ANC. Kangangokuthi ngikhuluma nje amanye amalungu ezinhlangano eziphikisayo asalele emagumbini abagula kakhulu ngenxa yemivimbo yokhetho.
Kumalungu amaqembu aphikisayo akhona kule Ndlu, izihlathi zawo zehlile kuhle kwamawolintshi amunciwe. [Uhleko.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[... I would like to greet you, as well as the members.
Chairperson, allow me to convey my gratitude to all the communities in all nine provinces for voting for the ANC. Even though the DA won in the Western Cape, there are those members of the community who voted for the ANC. As I'm talking now, some members of the opposition parties are in the intensive care units because of the after-effects of the elections.
The members of the opposition party who are in this House are so disappointed. [Laughter.]]
Chairperson, I will start with the democratic consultation by and the presentations to the committee. The committee held a series of meetings during which deliberations were held on both Bills. The Department of Human Settlements was invited to make presentations to the committee on a number of occasions.
Provincial mandates and committee members solicited views from each provincial legislature. The public and stakeholders were allowed to make substantial inputs. Provincial mandates were considered in the select committee meetings. Key issues and challenges from a provincial perspective were raised by members of the committee.
The Department of Human Settlements, Parliament's legal representatives, the SA Local Government Association, Salga, and the Chief State Law Adviser's representative engaged robustly on those issues. Key misunderstandings with regard to the two Bills were dealt with and members came to understand the need for the ombud service and Sectional Titles Schemes Management Bill to be separated. Sectional title ownership has emerged globally as a primary solution to the increasing need for urban housing against the background of population growth and the demographic trend towards urbanisation. It is not only suitable but is in fact the only solution for the process of urbanisation taking place in South Africa.
The sectional title format offers the advantage of higher-density housing, using the land supply - which is becoming increasingly scarce - more effectively. It provides true ownership of housing with all its social and economic benefits to more people at affordable costs. It also provides improved proximity to schools, employment, shared amenities and services, otherwise not individually affordable.
With private home ownership being the primary constituent of increased wealth for ordinary citizens, it has become a priority that the needs of emerging homeowners be accommodated. Therefore, sectional title housing is increasingly becoming a popular option, especially for young home buyers.
However, from the history of sectional title in South Africa and other countries, it is clear that sectional title and community ownership is bound to fail unless supporting structures and rules and management practices are put in place to ensure the viability of such schemes. Up to now the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform controlled both the registration of deeds and all technical aspects in terms of the Sectional Titles Act, drafted in 1985 and 1986, particularly the approval of sectional plans and the registration of transfer of rights in sectional title property.
The provisions of the existing Act had become very outdated and were amended piecemeal over many years, making them somewhat inaccessible and without the facility to add any value to the management of present-day sectional title and community schemes.
The responsibility for the management and governance aspect of sectional title schemes is transferred from the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform to the Department of Human Settlements, with a Cabinet decision to have all housing-related legislation overseen by the latter department.
The Sectional Titles Schemes Management Bill, which is being debated today, therefore takes the management provision in the Sectional Titles Act and puts it into a new, separate statute under the Department of Human Settlements. The Bill updates all the provisions and substantially improves their layout and accessibility and gives managers and sectional title owners all the provisions they need in one relatively short statute. The management provisions are more logically set out and renumbered, with the result that this Bill is drafted significantly differently from its predecessor and with the interests of sectional title housing consumers in mind.
The Sectional Titles Schemes Management Bill proposes to provide for the establishment of body corporates to manage and control sections and common property in sectional title schemes and, for that purpose, to apply rules applicable to such schemes; to establish a sectional titles schemes management advisory council; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
The Bill basically deals with the capacities, functions and powers of bodies corporate and the fiduciary position of trustees. It furthermore covers the effect of the variation of quotas; legal transactions with regard to common property and units; the duties of owners; recovery from owners of unsatisfied judgment against bodies corporate; non-liability of bodies corporate for debts and obligations of developers, and the appointment of administrators.
The Bill makes provision for the establishment of a sectional titles schemes management advisory council to advise the Minister as well as for the procedure of appointing members of the advisory council and the making of regulations.
Sectional title and community scheme ownership requires tolerance and a permissive attitude towards fellow owners whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc, may differ from one another. It entails a capacity to recognise and respect the beliefs and the patience to tolerate the practices of others.
Integrating diverse backgrounds into stable and successful living schemes invariably presents challenges, with cordial relations among members deteriorating and giving rise to problems and disputes, which need to be effectively resolved.
The second of the two Bills being debated today, namely the Community Schemes Ombud Service Bill, will address these needs. The ombud service will be established as a national public entity, with executive authority vested in the Minister of Human Settlements. It will develop and provide a framework for the avoidance and resolution of disputes in community schemes and the custody of community scheme governance documentation, as determined by the Minister of Human Settlements.
The ombud service will establish a simple and inexpensive recourse that will ensure independence, fairness and impartiality and that will promote uniformity and consistency in the handling of disputes. It will also provide a remedy for the protection of the right to good administration.
In performing its functions, the ombud service will promote good governance and community skills and provide education, information and documentation to raise awareness among owners, occupiers, executive committees and other persons or entities who have rights and obligations in community schemes.
The ombud will become the protector of the property owner's rights and will ensure that the rules of the scheme are fair and that they meet the legislative requirements. The ombud will deal with the complaints and resolve disputes by appointing full-time and part-time adjudicators to impartially handle investigations, hold hearings and make determinations, with both parties to a dispute being bound by the determinations of its office. The adjudicators' decision can be appealed in the High Court, but only if the appeal is based on legal issues.
As a national public entity, the ombud service will be required to comply with the principles of good governance and management, as set out in the Public Finance Management Act, and to submit a quarterly report to the director-general and an annual report to the Minister and to Parliament.
The intention is that the ombud service be implemented in such a way that local communities of South Africa will be able to access it. At the same time, unnecessary bureaucracy will be avoided and the infrastructure of the service will be kept as compact as possible.
Both of the Bills we are tabling today will assist the Department of Human Settlements ... In conclusion, the ANC supports the two Bills. [Time expired.]