Chairperson, the Minister not only delivered my speech, but he also took my time, so I shouldn't need this! However, he did ask for us to be candid and I hope I will not disappoint him.
Ten months ago, I stood in this House and expressed my wish that the appointment of Minister Sexwale and Deputy Minister Zoliswa Kota-Fredericks would finally lead to the creation of sustainable communities. Today, it may be too soon to pass judgement on that wish. I would very much like to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Last year, like today, the Minister was at pains to describe the concept of human settlements. In policy terms, nothing has changed since then. However, to date, nothing much has changed as far as the implementation of those policies is concerned either. Again, it may be too soon to expect to see Human Settlements in the place of Housing, as we have come to know it over the past 15 years or so. Is it too soon to expect to see the planning of future developments take cognisance of the concept of what will constitute a human settlement? Apparently, it is.
Hon Minister, please correct me if I am wrong. When planning takes place for the budget process, the Division of Revenue Act requires the compilation of a business plan that is linked to the integrated housing and human settlement development grant. Since the national department does not deliver any houses, its business plan must be supported by and consist of the nine provincial business plans. I would imagine that, during the last quarter of the preceding year, the provincial departments would need to submit their business plans and that these would contain the details of the projects to be undertaken on which their budgets, or expected budget allocations, were to be spent.
For example, the business plans for the budget that we are debating today should have been finalised during the last quarter of 2009. In any case, housing development normally spans over a period of two, three or even four years, and some projects are, therefore, carried over in the business plans from one year to the next. How is it possible, then, that as at the end of last month, four out of the nine provinces had failed to submit their business plan to your department for this new budget? The Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga could not provide your department with details of how they planned to utilise their budgets.
The other, related concern is the fact that most of the priorities of the business plans that have been submitted are not in line with the priorities set by the national department. Now, if we can't manage the relatively simple task of planning for projects within the department only, how on earth are we eventually going to end up with decent, well-planned and integrated human settlements that will involve all the departments required to make this a reality, as envisaged not only by the hon Minister but, I dare say, by all of us in this House? In this regard, may I remind the House of the statement made by the hon Deputy Minister in her budget speech in the NCOP last year? She said:
We are unapologetic in asserting that planning together, budgeting together and co-ordinating together remain the prerequisites and non- negotiables for the realisation of integrated human settlements.
This is a sentiment I fully concur with, but it does not appear to be within our grasp.
On 24 May 2006, the then Minister of Housing, the hon Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, made a statement that informal settlements across the country would be eradicated by 2014. While we all knew that this was a pipe dream, we chose to err on the side of the impossible because that was what we wanted.
Little progress has been made since 2006 and the Ministry was unusually quiet about the progress on this front, until President Zuma mentioned in his state of the nation address that:
We are working to upgrade well-located informal settlements and provide proper service and land tenure to at least 500 000 households by 2014.
This figure has since been confirmed by the department in their strategic plan. The eradication target of 2014 was announced amidst much fanfare. By contrast, the revised target of only 500 000 by 2014 has slipped in quietly like a thief in the night. No explanation or detail of a revised date was given. Perhaps a new date for the eradication of all informal settlements will be announced next year, considering that it will be an election year.
While not much has been said about the eradication of informal settlements, there has been much talk over the last year of the rectification of badly built Reconstruction and Development Programme, RDP, houses. Almost every province will have an allocation towards this programme, which is a complete waste of resources.
What is never mentioned in this regard is the fact that we have an agency established especially to prevent shoddy workmanship from taking place in the first place. This agency is called the National Home Builders Registration Council, NHBRC, and it came into life under the auspices of the Housing Consumers Protection Measures Act of 1998.
Admittedly, not all the defective RDP houses were required then to be registered with the NHBRC. Therefore they were not subjected to the inspections. However, a large number were, yet nobody has asked why these defects were not identified and corrected at the construction stage, rather than years later. Perhaps this oversight should be included in the investigation of corrupt builders and officials who may have been in cahoots with these contractors.
The involvement of politicians and officials doing business with government has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks, particularly where there is a clear conflict of interest. I believe there has been widespread agreement that this is an unacceptable situation.
I have to ask the hon Minister, therefore, if he is or has been aware - I believe the person in question is not the acting CEO anymore, but the CEO of the NHBRC - that the CEO has also entered into an agreement with the Gauteng department of housing to construct 1 431 RDP houses at an estimated total cost of R78 million. Surely this represents a gross conflict of interest? The head of the institute that must monitor the quality of houses is building houses for government. If you are aware of this, hon Minister, you must inform this House why he has been allowed to do that and retain his very senior position in the agency.
In fact, I have learnt that his acting position has now been confirmed and he has been appointed, since 1 April 2010, as the CEO. If not, hon Minister, then we expect that you will take immediate action. Whatever the case may be, I nevertheless call on Mr Sipho Mashinini, the CEO, to resign his position immediately. In a recent presentation to the portfolio committee by the NHBRC, Mr Mashinini replied to a question from me and added the very noble statement at the end of his reply. He said: "It is the right thing to do." Well, Mr Mashinini, resign from the NHBRC with immediate effect because it is the right thing to do. [Applause.] I trust that the Minister will give political leadership on the basis of sound principles and good governance, as he promised when he took office.
The DA welcomes the initiative taken by the department with regard to the R1 billion guarantee fund, aimed at bridging the housing finance gap in the middle-income market. I am also encouraged by the Minister's assurance that the fund will not be used for irresponsible lending practices. While this initiative will undoubtedly stimulate the demand side, it is still unclear to me how it will motivate developers to increase the supply of affordable - and I emphasise affordable - housing to this market. Basic economic principles dictate that when demand increases in the absence of adequate supply, the price will inevitably increase. The so-called affordable homes currently on the market average R400 000 for the most basic house with two bedrooms and one bathroom. They are often without any cupboards, perimeter fencing or wall and, in some instances, have no floor covering. These are all necessities that any new homeowner needs and will require additional finance from an already overstretched borrower.
Therefore I plead with Minister Sexwale and his task team to look at ways to stimulate the supply side of affordable housing for this market as well, otherwise this initiative will fall flat.
I want to take this opportunity to call on all the homeowners out there who have problems with the NHBRC as far as conciliations are concerned - because I've been flooded by queries - to contact me so that we can put together a dossier and see exactly what the extent of this problem is. It would appear that the NHBRC is not doing the job it is supposed to be doing. The inspectors are either not inspecting or they don't know what to look for. Once again, I call on homeowners to contact me in this regard, so that we can assist them but also assess the extent of this problem. I thank you. [Applause.]