Hon Chairperson, hon President, hon Deputy President, members of the Cabinet and members of the House, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate, in absentia, Minister Sexwale and Deputy Minister Zoe Kota on their appointments to this very important Ministry. As members may be aware, the Housing Ministry has never had a Deputy Minister, and I pray that the combination of these two individuals will lead to the creation of sustainable communities.
Deputy Minister Kota, as chairperson of the portfolio committee over the past 10 years, comes with political knowledge from the side that must hold Cabinet to account, and in-depth knowledge from the community and beneficiaries' perspective, whilst Minister Sexwale brings political and, I think most importantly, shrewd business savvy to the department.
It would also be remiss of me at this point if I did not acknowledge the delivery over the past five years, and indeed, since the advent of democracy. Admittedly, while there have been far too many instances of corruption and problems relating to the quality of the houses, and I still have a big question regarding the official number of houses built, Minister Sisulu's bold step to move away from the delivery of houses to the creation of sustainable communities must be applauded.
Ongelukkig, mnr die Voorsitter, is daar nog nie 'n werklike, volhoubare gemeenskapsprojek voltooi nie. Daar was 'n moontlikheid dat die Cosmo City- projek dalk so 'n gemeenskap kon wees, maar ongelukkig is daar nog te veel tekortkominge wat ander gemeenskaplike dienste en infrastruktuur betref. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[Unfortunately, Mr Chairperson, no truly sustainable community project has been completed as yet. The possibility existed that the Cosmo City Project might have been such a community, but, unfortunately, there are still too many shortcomings regarding other community services and infrastructure.]
In fact, less than a week ago, Mr Chairperson, it was reported that the department has failed to comply with a vital component in the building process. They failed to register housing projects with the National Home Builders Registration Council, NHBRC, over the past 10 years. As a result, all 8 000 houses in Cosmo City have been rejected by the NHBRC. If this situation is true, it will require the urgent attention of hon Minister Sexwale. We cannot tolerate a situation where we pass legislation in this House, only to have it ignored by the very department that initiated it.
Minister Sisulu is also on record as having said that she, and I quote: "... is not just the Minister of Housing, but the Minister of all housing, both public and private".
I assume, therefore, that Minister Sexwale will also inherit this mantle, and I therefore wish to put the following suggestion to Minister Sexwale and to you, hon President: Some of the very people who fund the construction of homes for the poor are facing the real possibility of becoming homeless themselves.
It is a fact that in the current economic climate many particularly lower- and middle-income taxpayers have already lost their homes or are about to lose their homes. Our legislation does not allow for these now homeless people to benefit under the subsidised housing scheme, and there is a strong possibility that most of them will never become home-owners again.
At the media briefing at the JSE last week Minister Sexwale said that he intended using all his business contacts to ensure that the more than two million South Africans on the waiting list get homes. I want to ask him that he use those same business contacts to also assist the people that are currently becoming homeless.
I therefore urge your government, hon President, to start urgent negotiations with financial institutions to avoid a looming catastrophe. Many people's homes in the category I am referring to are being repossessed due to relatively small arrear amounts and in some instances the outstanding amount on the loan is a fraction of the value of the property. These properties are then auctioned off and are mostly snapped up by unscrupulous investors, who are often in cahoots with employees from these institutions, for a fraction of their real value.
Let me not be misunderstood. I want to make it very clear: I am in no way asking for government to interfere in the free market, and unlike the SAA or the SABC, I am not suggesting a cash bailout. What I am asking for, hon President, is for your government to interact with these financial institutions, to look at short-term measures to alleviate the burden on these home-owners during these difficult economic times. The repossession of homes should be an absolutely last resort. Just as you have acted to reduce job losses, so too should you act to avoid people losing their homes if it can be avoided.
Hon members, I accept the partnership that the hon President is calling for, and on behalf of my leader in the House I want to commit both myself as an individual and my caucus collectively to the process of reconstruction and nation-building within this country. We commit ourselves to offer whatever experience we have in as constructive a manner as possible to the creation of a caring society. I thank you. [Applause.]