Chairperson, I just want to remind the hon member from the IFP that most of the houses he was talking about that we are rebuilding and renovating were built under uMjali, the IFP government. [Applause.] [Laughter.]
Chairperson, hon Ministers, hon Members of Parliament, chairperson of the committee, hon member Dambuza, distinguished guests, and my son, Aphiwe and his colleague, it gives me great pleasure to have this opportunity to take part in this important Budget Vote. Allow me to thank all those who are unable to be with us but will follow this debate onscreen. May I also welcome team Human Settlements, led by director-general Thabane Zulu, as well as the chairpersons and CEOs of housing institutions. This list will not be complete if I did not include Richard Dyantyi, the Minister's adviser, chief of staff Meloney van Eck and head of office Bheki Nkonyane.
This month is Heroes' Month, a reminder of those who laid down their lives so that South Africa could be free. On 6 April 1979, Kalushi Solomon Mahlangu, on his way to the gallows, uttered these words: "Mama, don't cry. Tell my people I love them and that my blood shall nourish the tree that shall bear the fruits of freedom." Fellow South Africans, we all have the obligation of making sure that these words of wisdom and bravery were not in vain.
On 10 April 1993, Comrade Chris Hani was brutally murdered. In memory of these heroes and many others, we will continue to redouble our efforts in the provision of shelter to the most vulnerable sector in our society. Let all stakeholders roll up their sleeves and work together. Access to housing is indeed a universal right. The role of housing in changing the lives of our people for the better cannot be underestimated.
On the issue of slum upgrading, noting what the Minister said, there are 2 700 slums across the country, with an estimated 1,5 million people staying in these poor settlements, some without access to water, sanitation or other socio-economic infrastructure required to improve their lives. Hence the government's target is to upgrade 400 000 of these by 2014. It is our belief that access to basic services is vital to sustainable development.
What we want to bring to the attention of our nation is that slum upgrading will be twofold. We will upgrade informal settlements that are on well- located land, particularly those in the inner city and towns where the land is suitable for upgrading. But those that are located in low-lying areas, such as river banks and dolomatic land, are not suitable for upgrading. If we do upgrade these areas, it will be a waste of government resources, because we will be subjected to litigation. These areas are a health hazard and a recipe for disaster. In these instances, there will be a need to identify land for resettlement, in consultation or working hand in hand with affected communities.
The upgrading of informal settlements is high on the agenda because it is not possible to build houses for everyone at the same time. This is because the demand for housing is very high and the resources are limited. What is of paramount importance is expanding our basic service provision to ensure that water, sanitation and electricity reach each and every doorstep in all our communities. There is a need to create roads in informal settlements, so that services such as fire brigades and ambulances can have free access.
Also high on our agenda is refuse removal. Communities must begin to work out a plan for taking the responsibility to clean their areas. Neighbourhoods must instil a value system of pride in our people. It is not right for us to build beautiful houses where there is dirt. The slum upgrading process can be turned into opportunities that would benefit many unemployed people. Positive programmes could be an opportunity for job creation for the youth, women and the unemployed, as this process will need plumbers, artisans, project managers, community liaison officers, contractors, et cetera.
I am proud to say that the ground work in this regard has been done by our department, through the NURSP programme. I believe that we are ready to roll out this programme. We are aware that a number of pilot projects, as the Minister has said, are already under way. Our collaboration with the Cities Alliance will assist our smooth co-operation with municipalities and the SA Local Government Association, Salga. Our department has engaged with provinces and municipalities on this matter, and the budget we are tabling here today reflects that constructive engagement.
With regard to quality products, our motto is zero tolerance towards bad workmanship, such as shoddy work. We believe that there is a need for strong project management with which we can ensure that we avoid or minimise this tendency. Provinces and municipalities need to take the issue of inspectorates seriously. There are inspectors in provinces and in municipalities. To crown it all, it's important that the National Home Builders Registration Council, NHBRC, is informed at the foundation level, so that inspectors oversee the entire term of the project. At national level, we have a monitoring and evaluation unit that needs to work in tandem with these structures.
Contractors that continue to build us shoddy houses must remember that they are playing with their future in the building environment. Good workmanship means that you have a good CV within this unique environment.
Ndifun' ukuthi abantu mabakhe izindlu ngokwabo besebenzisa i-People's Housing Process, PHP. Xa sisakha sisebenzisa le nkqubo, sakha izindlu ezinkulu nezintle. Silisebe besinocweyo lwesizwe lwe-PHP apho senze ukuba wonke umntu aqonde ukuba isebe liyayixhasa i-PHP, kwaye simisele i-PHP eyongezelelweyo eMpumalanga. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[I want to say that people must build houses for themselves through the People's Housing Process, PHP. When we build through this project, we build big and beautiful houses. We, as the department, held a national PHP workshop in which we made sure that everybody knows that the department supports PHP and we have launched an expanded PHP in Mpumalanga.]
The report of the workshop was reported to Ministers and Members of the Executive Council, Minmec, and we have agreed that 15% of the budget from the provinces must be set aside for PHP purposes.
On international relations, I just want to say that as Human Settlements, we still have a Memorandum of Understanding, MOU, with the Netherlands, and there's visible participation by us, South Africa, in the African Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development, Amchud, because we are part of the ... [Time expired.] [Applause.]