Chairperson, I hope the reading of the riot act was not meant for me, but for other members of the House! [Laughter.]
Chair, hon members, MECs from different provinces - welcome here - invited guests, comrades and friends, ladies and gentlemen, the human settlements sector in South Africa remains one of the most challenging areas in the social and economic environment. This mirrors worldwide trends as population explosions continue to create an increasing demand within the property market for well-located housing.
This Human Settlements Budget Vote occurs within the following context: We are seeing negative economic performance well below the 7% target of the country and inflation at 6%. Essential building materials for housing construction have recorded price increases of above inflation. In addition to the increased prices of building materials, the building industry has been hit by increases in transportation costs and, in particular, labour inputs. The price of money, as reflected by interest rates, is around 9%. This is a burden on working people, particularly the poorest, who are unable to access housing loans, mortgages and bonds.
Unacceptably high levels of unemployment still persist at around 25%, particularly among young people, who constitute two thirds of this percentage. The construction sector, in which the housing property market is key, has shown marginal improvement of about 2,6%. Not least of all the government fiscus, from which the Human Settlements budget, which we are talking about today, is drawn, has grown by a mere 10% since the last financial year, while the housing demand has increased. In this light, the Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan's call for belt tightening is instructive. He says: "In harnessing all the resources at our disposal, we have to do more with less. We have to work smarter and harder." At Human Settlements, we take this message to heart.
Let's deal with the period under review. In our 2011 budget speech we committed to turning the corner in respect of the following key strategic priorities: accelerated delivery; improved co-ordination; and greater clarity on the severity of the problems confronting the country's residential drive. The following progress has been made on these commitments: In 2009 we committed to delivering over 200 000 housing opportunities per annum and we achieved our target that year. In the ensuing years, we came to the realisation that human settlement was more than just the number of housing units on the ground and that there were other key critical drivers, including the acquisition of land and infrastructure development.
In 2011, we spent 98% of our budget, which delivered about 180 000 housing opportunities. This decreased figure is the result of the above-mentioned factors, including poor economic performance, inflation and increased building materials, labour and transportation costs. However, the situation could have been worse.
In addition to these adverse factors, funds have been spent on requisite infrastructure, geo-tech evaluations, feasibility studies and forward planning. Significantly, over R400 million of the budget - this is sad - was spent on the unnecessary rectification of 7 000 shoddy housing units that predated the year 2002. This money could otherwise have been used to build 7 000 more housing units with the budget of last year. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that the houses that are being constructed are aesthetically superior, of a high standard and quality and of good design.
In the 2011 Budget Speech we acknowledged that government could not do it alone. Here, in the House, we appealed to the private sector, high-net- worth individuals and captains of industry to answer the call "I too can contribute". We translated this call into the "Each One Settle One" campaign. I will say more about that later.
The department's turnaround strategy is now complete. Congratulations to Director-General Thabane Zulu and his team for this success. [Applause.]
In line with the Cabinet's decision for all human settlements-related legislation to be located within Human Settlements, deliberations between the Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies, and myself around the transfer of the Estate Agency Affairs Act from the DTI to the Department of Human Settlements has been concluded. [Applause.] We are happy to announce that the President has assented to this by signing the necessary proclamation. This will indeed fast-track our strategy to deracialise residential areas. At the right time, we will interact with the relevant industry players and all other stakeholders. What it means here is that I have to talk with the likes of Wendy Mechanik. [Laughter.]
In February 2011 we tabled before the House the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act and the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act. Again, we are happy to announce that the President has assented to these Acts too. Accordingly, we will establish the office of the Ombud, which will handle dispute resolutions within bodies corporate within the common property environment.
In line with the Home Loans and Mortgage Disclosure Act, the setting up of the Office of Disclosure has now been completed with the appointment of Mr Danny Jordaan as its chairman. He brings with him a wealth of experience associated with the successful hosting of the 2010 Fifa World Cup, which was essentially about infrastructure construction. This office plays an important oversight role in promoting fair lending by financial institutions in the housing market. Exchanges have already taken place between the Banking Association of South Africa and the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors.
Outcome 8, which is the contract between the President and me, has seen a lot of progress. The President and I have agreed that the Minister has to be evaluated on all the points of Outcome 8. The programme of improving the property market remains a major challenge. However, the progress mentioned above around the Estate Agency Affairs Act, the Finance-Linked Individual Subsidy Programme, or Flisp, and the Mortgage Default Insurance Fund will go a long way in addressing these challenges.
In the period under review, we have created over 76 000 job opportunities. Of these, about 50 000 were direct, 5 000 indirect and 22 000 induced.
The Rental Housing Amendment Bill, which introduces the internal appeal mechanism before a rental dispute can be referred to court for review, has recently gone through the House and the NCOP. Its enactment will help ease the financial burden of legal costs on tenants, the majority of whom are working people.
In the period under review, significant projects were delivered in all nine provinces - no province remains untouched. Lakehaven in KwaZulu-Natal; the Women's Build Project in Brandfort, Free State; Mazista in the North West; Seshego at Polokwane in Limpopo; Klarinet in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga; the China Square Project in the Northern Cape; and the recently launched Jabulani Hostel redevelopment - I said "redevelopment", not "upgrade" - in Soweto, which was launched by the Deputy President in the presence of members of the portfolio committee, are all major, nationally driven projects. The densification of Joe Slovo, where we were this morning, is progressing well under the authority of the Constitutional Court. Last, and by no means least, is Southernwood social housing in Buffalo City, Eastern Cape, which now makes the Eastern Cape the leader in the Human Settlements social housing programme. I am happy to say the MEC is here. [Applause.] Not everything from the Eastern Cape is bad - think of the section 100 education intervention! [Laughter.]
With the drive from the National Home Builders Registration Council, we piloted the building of houses using alternative technologies, including the use of recycled materials. You all saw the Athlone Power Station near here, where the cooling towers were blown up through the process of implosion. All that rubble was used to build very good houses in Blue Downs, Cape Town.
In contributing towards the development of Vision 2030 for Human Settlements, consultative forums with various stakeholders have taken place.
Let's talk about rooting out corruption. The new focus in our current investigations is on low-cost - housing construction contracts. In this regard, more than 50 housing projects, with a value of R4,2 billion, were identified to be studied. Over 40 investigations have been completed and 17 are ongoing. Provinces are participating in the fight against corruption, with Limpopo taking the lead. Not everything bad comes from Limpopo. [Applause.] Congratulations to the former HOD, who is now the MEC. Twenty- four contractors have been blacklisted for shoddy workmanship, and these cases and others have also been referred to the Special Investigations Unit, SIU. I want to identify the SIU as a special organ that is assisting us. They never tire in assisting us and making sure that we go after the people who abuse public funds.
Regarding public servants in all three spheres of government who committed housing subsidy-related misconduct and fraud, more than 290 people have been arrested, over 240 found guilty and over 220 are facing internal disciplinary action. I say these things with a heavy heart. My job as Minister is not to be a policeman, chasing people around, but you members ask me questions about these matters. You always say, "This is shoddy! Have investigations been done?" That's what we do.
Ms Thami Mpotulo, the former head and chief director of the National Sanitation Programme, was found guilty of dereliction of duty and improper conduct. She has been dismissed. Mr Sipho Mashinini, the suspended CEO of the National Home Builders Registration Council, NHBRC, was dismissed by Judge Myburgh of the Labour Court. Ms Vanessa Somiah, a former SAPS detective and top SIU investigator, who had been irregularly employed in the NHBRC by Mashinini, has had her questionable employment terminated by the board with immediate effect. [Applause.]
The objective of the "Each One Settle One" campaign I mentioned earlier is to mobilise the private sector to participate in housing provision towards the reduction of the backlog. We again congratulate Anglo Platinum, the leading platinum company in the world, for coming forward and committing itself to building 20 000 houses for their employees, both in the North West and Limpopo. We opened that beautiful project. [Applause.] Members of Anglo Platinum include the working class who are affiliated to the National Union of Mineworkers, National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and United Association of South Africa.
It is pleasing to observe that the idea that people should live near their places of work and be assisted by their employers is taking shape. Gold Fields, which I know because I used to be a director, and BHP Billiton will soon be making an interesting announcement, together with us, in relation to "Each One Settle One".
To date, although responses from companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange have not been as forthcoming as initially anticipated, there have nevertheless been considerable responses from private individuals and smaller companies. Over 22% of enquiries and pledges to "Each One Settle One" are from individuals who want to build for their domestic workers and 15% from individuals who wish to offer technical expertise. Overall, we take this opportunity to compliment all those who have made pledges for recognising that government alone cannot shoulder the burden of providing housing. This is the essence of partnership.
Let's address the entrenched system of apartheid infrastructure. The New Growth Path has identified energy, transport, roads, water, communication and, indeed, housing as key areas in its strategy to fast-track sustainable growth, employment and equity creation. This was given a further boost by President Zuma's establishment of the Presidential Infrastructure Co- ordinating Commission, PIEC. This is a major breakthrough towards reversing the entrenched system of apartheid infrastructure and bad spatial planning. It therefore stands to reason that any planning that does not recognise the negative effects of the apartheid system, which effectively was the use of infrastructure, roads, amenities, facilities and residential space to keep racial groups apart, is bound to perpetuate apartheid spatial planning in our new democracy. This would be completely contrary to the vision of a nonracial society and against the philosophy of a developmental state.
The decision to position Human Settlements as one of the key drivers of the PICC has therefore made our work of co-ordinated integration with other departments, particularly those handling bulk infrastructure, much easier. Effectively, the introduction of the PICC by the President means that we are seeing the beginning of the end of government departments operating in silos.
Let's talk sanitation. Sanitation, which provides the most basic protection to the privacy and dignity of citizens, is an internationalised programme through the UN Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, as agreed to by all member states of the UN. It therefore stands to reason that in our country, which is a signatory to the UN protocols related to the MDGs, sanitation cannot be less than a national strategic project. There is no logic in South Africa participating in the UN, where sanitation has been internationalised, only to end up localising it here in South Africa, in areas such as Moqhaka and Makhaza. It is therefore of critical importance for this programme to be elevated to a national strategic priority programme. In the PICC this programme has been elevated to a national priority. [Applause.] Incidentally, this was also one of the key recommendations of the task team led by Mrs Winnie Mandela, which will be made public within the next few weeks after this Budget Vote, because I now have the report.
When we are developing possible strategies, we have to ask ourselves certain questions. One of them is this: Has the time not come for us to use sizeable, established contractors to build our own homes? This question is posed because when large construction projects are carried out, like harbours and so on, we bring in large companies, with their Black Economic Empowerment partners. Yet when we build houses for the people who elected us, we leave them to the mercy of the shoddy workmanship of small builders who bring their wheelbarrows, bakkies and shovels. Many of these small builders actually discredit the campaign of empowering people.
We are busy with capacity-building and I shall not talk about that now because of all the time I have used. Let's talk about access to financing instead. The department will continue to support and find better solutions to issues of affordability through social housing, affordable rental and promoting home ownership. The President made a commitment during his state of the nation address regarding the Finance-Linked Individual Subsidy Programme, Flisp. We are satisfied that the banks have come on board and we are proud to say that Flisp has started. It is going to assist more that 2 million people, who are employees in government, to enter the housing market.
We are amalgamating our development finance institutions. The National Housing Finance Corporation, NURCHA and Rural Housing Loan Fund are being amalgamated into one financial institution. Cabinet is awaiting the relevant documentation to accredit this.
The budget for 2012 has been increased from R22 billion to R25,2 billion - a 10% increase. The Human Settlements Development Grant for provinces, which provides funding for development, has been increased and allocated R15,7 billion. The Urban Settlements Development Grant has been increased to R7,4 billion. The Rural Households Infrastructure Programme has been allocated R868,5 million, and that includes development around sanitation. The Social Housing Regulatory Authority has been allocated R2,1 billion for rental programmes. The National Urban Reconstruction and Housing Agency and the Housing Development Agency have been allocated R100 million each to accelerate housing delivery.
To conclude, in 2009, having visited the Eastern Cape, Gauteng and other places, I spent a night in Diepsloot to study how best we could ensure that fast-tracking occurs to take our people out of the misery of informal settlements. I visited and slept in the house of one lady, Ms Mashamaite. It wasn't a house, but a shack. I am happy to announce today that Ms Mashamaite of Diepsloot, who is here with us today, no longer has a shack, but a house. The House should know that. [Applause.] The message we are sending - and we shall keep on sending it to the many other citizens in other informal settlements beyond Diepsloot - is that no matter how long it takes, Human Settlements will touch your life, too!
Le mini iya kuze ifike nakuwe. Siyabulela. [Kwaqhwatywa.] [It will be your turn one day. We thank you. [Applause.]]
Chairperson, hon Minister and other Ministers present today, Deputy Ministers, MECs, hon members, honoured guests, Director- General Thabane Zulu and your team, the 1994 democratic breakthrough ushered in new conditions, providing a unique opportunity to combine state and mass power in serving the interest of the people. This is the 18th year since the ANC as the ruling party attained control of state power to improve the quality of life and begin to roll back the legacy of apartheid and colonialism.
The following analysis presents the budgetary and policy landscape of the Department of Human Settlements. It seeks to link the department's policy framework to its fiscal responsibilities, while highlighting the relative influence of the objective environment in which both are implemented.
Of equal importance to the budget analysis is a review of the performance of the department in terms of meeting objectives related to equity and adequacy, particularly in light of the imbalances of the past. A review of the impact of the Human Settlements budget will highlight whether set targets have been achieved in line with the stated outcomes and policy priorities.
Without doubt, the budget reprioritisation, together with the departmental strategic plan, serves as useful tools for understanding the contribution of the Department of Human Settlements to a national democratic society. As part of its foundation, the Constitution of South Africa draws attention to the values of human dignity, achievement of equality and advancement of human rights and freedom. Therefore the mainstay of the Department of Human Settlements is to address these values through its legislation, policies and programmes.
The provision of housing to all South Africans is recognised as one of the most ambitious projects in the transformational agenda of the ANC. This item on the developmental agenda of the ANC was outlined early in its political history. The Freedom Charter of 1955 prevailed on the former government to provide decent housing for all South Africans, to no avail.
In the 2009 Budget speech the Minister of Human Settlements highlighted that the concept of human settlements recognised the centrality of human dignity. He also noted that human settlements had been part of the global developmental lexicon for many years. The human settlements developmental philosophy was first adopted at the UN's Global Habitat Summit in Vancouver, Canada, in 1976. In 2002 the World Summit on Sustainable Development was held in Johannesburg. The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, JPOI, affirmed the UN's commitment to the full implementation of Agenda 21, which was adopted in Brazil in 1992.
Furthermore, the JPOI affirmed the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and other international agreements. The resulting programme of action was premised on the realisation that sustainable development is underpinned by the integration of the economic, social and environmental pillars. Therefore in our nation's quest to achieve sustainable human settlements, we have to consider how the three pillars interact and influence each other.
The 52nd National Conference of the ANC, held in Polokwane in 2007, provided further direction for the achievement of the MDG targets and indicators by 2014, a full year before the actual international timeframe. The Polokwane resolution also committed the government to promote human settlements that would build cohesive, sustainable and caring communities. The first step in giving effect to the shift from the provision of housing to creating sustainable human settlements required President Jacob Zuma to establish a new Ministry for Human Settlements, within which the Department of Human Settlements would be housed.
The "human settlements" approach is also in line with the ANC plan to create an integrated and socially cohesive nation and to transform the apartheid spatial framework of cities and towns. The paradigm shift to sustainable human settlements indicates a greater understanding that achieving comprehensive, integrated and sustainable service delivery would more holistically address universal access to basic services and access to transport, economic opportunities and social amenities, including more efficient land utilisation. The approach is a radical departure from the mere provision of housing.
The transition to a "human settlements" framework further gave effect to a response that enabled the reprioritisation of the national Budget towards a greater investment in social infrastructure. Such a philosophy is also in line with the recognition that poverty, inequality and unemployment are deeply intertwined with infrastructure deficiencies.
Furthermore, this paradigm shift from housing to human settlements resulted in a strategic reallocation of the departmental expenditure patterns. The outcome was a change in programmatic foci from houses to settlement patterns and institutional restructuring necessitated by the paradigm shift and the inclusion of a sanitation component in housing planning and delivery.
Earlier this year, in the ANC's January 8 Statement, President Zuma announced that the first step towards greater social and economic development is the reprioritisation of the budget towards greater investment in social infrastructure. While eradicating poverty, unemployment and reducing inequality have consistently been ANC priorities, there is also the realisation of the need to fast-track service delivery and align developmental outcomes for all departments.
As a result, Cabinet adopted an outcomes-based approach, which translated into a set of 12 outcomes. This approach encourages all departments to review their strategies and plans aimed at achieving the government's transformational and developmental agenda. The intensive focus on infrastructure development is one of the national priorities towards which the Department of Human Settlements is expected to contribute over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period. In his 2012 Budget Speech the Minister of Finance announced that the investment in municipal infrastructure and human settlements will amount to R120 billion in the 2012-13 financial year and is set to increase to R139 billion by the 2014- 15 financial year.
The major thrust of the 2012 state of the nation address was the launch of an ambitious Infrastructure Development Programme aimed at reducing the triple burden of unemployment, poverty and inequality. In this respect, the government will focus on four geographically focused programmes and projects.
Of relevance to the Human Settlements sector is the Mthatha Revitalisation Project, which is a Presidential Special Project. The department reported good progress towards improving, among others, sanitation and human settlements development. In response to the new-found opportunities in infrastructure, the Department of Human Settlements has identified potential investment opportunities that correspond with the infrastructure development nodes identified by the President. Just to mention them, in this respect: Out of the R25 billion allocated to Human Settlements, more than R1 billion has been granted to the development of infrastructure nodes in Limpopo and Mpumalanga. The allocations further apply to the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal agri-corridor, the Sishen-Saldanha rail expansion and the North West railroad. There are a number of priority projects that support infrastructure initiatives, and these include Lephalale, Cornubia and Duncan Village.
It should be noted that the committee observed that there has been oversight on the side of the department in the Northern Cape's Eldorado Park priority project and therefore the committee recommends a review on the project.
It should be noted that about 97% of the budget of the Department of Human Settlements is dedicated to conditional grants located in the Housing Development Finance Programme. These include the Human Settlements Grant, the Urban Settlements Development Grant and the Rural Household Infrastructure Grant. It should also be noted, however, that during the previous financial year the Rural Household Infrastructure Programme experienced several challenges. This could be regarded as having been a learning curve, following the transfer of the sanitation function to the Department of Human Settlements.
The state of the nation address also highlighted the following key strategic objectives pertaining to the department: A subsidy of R83 million will be available to enable people in the gap market; solar geysers are to be installed; and there is a directive to all government departments to ensure that they meet the target of ensuring that 2% of all persons employed in the public service are persons with a disability. To date, considerable progress has been observed towards the achievement of these commitments. A R1 billion guarantee fund for low-income earners who struggle to access housing finance from the banks will come into effect by April 2012. The creation of such a fund was announced in the 2010 state of the nation address and will be managed by the National Housing Finance Corporation, NHFC. This initiative has resulted in the establishment of a Mortgage Default Insurance Fund intended for the working class and lower-income families earning between R3 500 and R12 000 per month.
An initial agreement has been reached with some accredited financial institutions to participate in affordable housing with funding of R150 million to finance the development and sale of 5 000 affordable units. Linked to Mortgage Default Insurance is the Finance-Linked Individual Subsidy Programme, which aims to improve affordability for the end user. The NHFC is also using the Government Employee Housing Scheme as a facilitator for the MDI, because once new developments for public servants have been located they will require insurance to back the provision of their housing funding.
The MDI will be developing risk management, audit and monitoring processes. The Financial Services Board will be increasing its oversight on how financial institutions co-operate with their borrowers in future. To date, some provinces have already signed protocol agreements with the NHFC for the implementation of Flisp. The Eastern Cape province, for example, has already indicated that it would initiate Flisp through a pilot project of 400 units in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality. Gauteng identified 4 000 units in Protea Glen and 1 000 units in Ekurhuleni.
South Africa's energy economy requires new energy capacity. Projections indicate that electricity demand will outstrip the base load capacity within a few years. Consequently, investment in new capacity is required and it is appropriate to evaluate options and opportunity costs of different supply.
Renewable energy technologies offer quantifiable potential for creating and sustaining new and decentralised employment in South Africa, which can offset some of the employment shedding that is a current trend in the conventional energy sectors. As Human Settlements we need a serious reduction in the emission of green-house gases, as this can be indicated by manufacturing processes or electricity generated by coal. Human Settlements should be seen as a department that cross-cuts with all other departments.
Although the South African government has made major strides to improve water supply over the past decade, much less progress has been achieved with regard to sanitation. Major hurdles are the financial sustainability of investments, sanitation technologies, quality, as well as a lack of attention to maintenance.
According to the General Household Survey, the highest proportion of individuals having to do without toilet facilities or having to use bucket toilets is in the Eastern Cape, which has to pull up its socks. Limpopo follows, then the Northern Cape and Mpumalanga. However, the portfolio committee has welcomed the initiative by the Minister of Human Settlements in establishing a national task team to audit the status of access to sanitation in the country. We await the report. The committee further recommends that sanitation must be a top priority in this country, with specifically ring-fenced funding.
Human Settlements has a most important role to play in curbing the effects of climate change at household level. It is suggested that growing one's own food, recycling liquid and solid waste, using decentralised energy and water supplies, and generally living green is possible only at household level.
Reducing the cause and mitigating the effect of climate change will require effort by the entire cluster and MPs must play a key role in ensuring that government does not lose sight of the targets, because other issues often compete for attention. During these tough economic times we need to ensure that climate-change mitigation remains a priority. In order to galvanise real action on climate change, there is a need to link up individual effort, and value policies and international agreements for climate-change mitigation.
The portfolio committee noted with great concern the appalling conditions under which many farm workers are living, including the lack of security of tenure, ongoing evictions from farms despite the promulgation of legislation to protect tenure security, as well as poor housing conditions. The committee also observed inadequate collaborative planning among the departments, irrespective of the existence of delivery agreements.
It must be noted that plans to work together are hugely rewarding for all involved and are very much a two-way relationship. Innovative cost-sharing initiatives are coming into place to leverage funding to deliver more for less and provide best value for taxpayers' money at the same time. It is also important to recognise that there are untapped opportunities in the field for closer co-operation between the departments. Such initiatives are essential, given the downward pressure on finances and the rising pressure to meet the increasing demand for service delivery.
The committee noted with concern the Auditor-General's findings with regard to the departmental performance in the following IT focus areas: IT governance, security management, user-access management and IT service continuity. These factors pose a risk to the department in general and the housing subsidy system in particular. Having noted these concerns, the portfolio committee reaffirms its commitment to intensify its oversight mandate. This will include oversight on how the elderly, orphans and child- headed households, and people with disabilities access housing.
I would like to use this opportunity to thank the Minister of Human Settlements and his department for their co-operation. I would also like to thank the ANC caucus, members of the portfolio committee ...
Sisebenze kahle, zingekho izinkinga ... [we worked well, without any problems ...]
... the parliamentary support staff and my family for their continued support and encouragement. The ANC supports this Budget Vote. [Applause.]
Chairperson, the mission of the Department of Human Settlements is to establish and facilitate a sustainable process that provides equitable access to adequate housing for all within the context of the affordability of housing, services, access to social amenities and economic opportunities. This mission resonates well with the DA's open- opportunity society for sustainable human livelihood and housing as an integral part of human life.
Everybody strives to own a house. Surveys conducted in South Africa indicate that housing is one of the most important issues that affect all South Africans, irrespective of race and status. Everybody needs a house they can call home and be proud of and where they can raise a family in a safe and secure environment. However, this department is faced with countless challenges, which include unachieved targets and increasing budgets with simultaneously decreasing service delivery targets. This is also emphasised in the Auditor-General's report and the Financial and Fiscal Commission's report and is attributed to poor planning and implementation of housing and lack of accurate and reliable data.
The DA acknowledges the need for housing, especially for the poor, who cannot afford to build houses for themselves. We believe that the government should help those who are vulnerable by providing an environment where they can have access to housing opportunities, while also building partnerships with those who can at least afford to build their own houses by providing incentives and mechanisms. The government needs a paradigm shift from creating dependency towards building partnerships, participation and responsibility in housing delivery.
Bold decisions should be taken to end the cycle of entitlement and introduce a self-help mechanism. Political will is required. We all acknowledge that the existing model of housing delivery is unsustainable and is draining the fiscus. Innovative and alternative means of housing should be explored to meet the ever-increasing backlog of 2,2 million. It is a ticking time bomb. People need sustainable human livelihoods which are of quality standard. They need amenities and to be close to jobs.
The Urban Settlements Development Grant, which is one of the main grants for the upgrade of urban informal settlements, is falling short of its target. More than 50% of this grant was not spent in the last financial year. Of the R6 billion allocated, R3,5 billion was not spent.
The Rural Households Infrastructure Grant is another important grant that deals with rural basic infrastructure and services. Only 20% of this grant was spent in the last financial year. Of the allocated R257 million only R57 million was spent while the backlog in rural basic services is escalating. Nevertheless, the budget for this financial year has been increased to R479 million. Urgent plans must be put into place to ensure that this new allocation is spent on dealing with the rural sanitation backlog.
The purpose of Breaking New Ground is to ensure that housing provision creates wealth and poverty alleviation while also ensuring economic opportunity for the poor. Measures should be put in place to ensure that the backlog of 1,4 million title deeds is reversed, not only in the Reconstruction and Development Programme houses but also in the former states of the Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei. People here have been promised title deeds for 20 years. To date, they are still waiting and falling victim to unscrupulous estate and property agents who are involved in corrupt activities. The Minister should prioritise these households. People are denied economic opportunity if they don't have title deeds. They remain trapped in poverty and are vulnerable to abuse.
The rectification programme is simply a form of fruitless and wasteful expenditure. An amount of R930 million is budgeted for rectification this financial year. This amount should rather be used to develop more new houses and not towards fixing the mess of shoddy workmanship. Last year the Minister made a call that contractors who were guilty of shoddy workmanship be blacklisted and dealt with. We welcomed that, but only 24 have been blacklisted. There are many more, Minister, and you know that.
The National Home Builders Registration Council fails to perform its mandate. I have conducted oversight of two projects, one in Umlazi B10 in KwaZulu-Natal and another in Bram Fischerville in Soweto, where I was shocked to see people's living conditions as a result of poor workmanship. People's houses are collapsing. They are in sewerage lines and in flood lines. In one house alone they had to spend R30 000 on rectification. Shame on the NHBRC and the department for making the poor pay.
The state of the nation address has highlighted the massive infrastructure upgrade in human settlements, which was promised as a priority project. The department is spending 20% of its budget on these projects. However, these projects are filled with challenges and battle to get off the ground. The challenges include the lack of intergovernmental co-ordination and co- operation, protracted environmental impact assessments, town-planning processes, land, basic services, bulk infrastructure, incapacity and poor procurement and project planning. This is unacceptable, considering that these projects have been prioritised and funded.
Bureaucracy bottlenecks and red tape are hampering housing delivery. It takes almost up to three years to complete a housing project. This is costly to developers. It costs them 30% extra to get through the process. This is due to chain management inefficiencies and institutional and legislative challenges, according to the Financial and Fiscal Commission's report.
A paradigm shift is required in housing delivery as the National Development Plan also highlights the issues of active citizenship and participation. The people should begin to be involved in housing delivery, rather than be passively dependent on the state, waiting for government to supply. People should be encouraged to take joint responsibility with government in the meeting of housing demands.
We welcome the introduction of the Finance-Linked Individual Subsidy Programme, as well as the guarantee fund. This will ensure great relief for the gap market and affordable housing market. However, we caution that this should not be at the cost of the provincial fiscus. Adequate planning and budgeting by provinces is required.
Lastly, the issue of fraud, corruption and maladministration remains a major challenge in housing delivery. The Special Investigating Unit should be roped in and congratulated and commended for the work they have done so far, but much more needs to be done. On one of my oversight visits, to Philippi East, I uncovered a very big RDP scandal. It was alleged that an ANC councillor was selling RDP houses for R7 000.
Minister, let me offer you the DA alternative. The DA encourages the championing of self-help mechanisms and moving away from a dependence on the state. People should be active participants. The government should be just an enabler and creator of an adequate environment and conditions.
We also believe in the People's Housing Process. It should be reassessed and reimplemented, because it is a viable means of ensuring beneficiary participation and responsibility. This is a viable partnership between government and citizens. In the process, a densification model should be championed. This must be coupled with proper education and engagement with beneficiaries.
Sustainable livelihoods mean the creation of jobs, the development of amenities and finding alternative means of housing delivery. For example, there should be the delivery of site and service; mixed integrated settlements that are rentals, bonded and subsidised; and alternative building technologies and types that are environmentally friendly and can save energy, water and development costs.
In conclusion, the DA agrees that there is a need to help the poor. However, the continued dependency on the state is unsustainable. We need to empower citizens to get out of the poverty trap and dependency. We recognise the fact that there is no government that is perfect or has all the solutions and answers on its own. However, where we govern we strive to achieve and provide quality, decent services to the people, especially the poor. [Interjections.]
Let me share with you what we have done in the Western Cape, where the DA governs. [Interjections.] Firstly, we have introduced the paradigm shift of involving beneficiaries in housing development opportunities, and 35% of the PHP self-help programme has been successfully implemented. We are promoting security of tenure through the effective transfer to beneficiaries of a 15% reduction in title deed transfers. We are using alternative building technologies to save on energy costs - 15% of the units developed are already energy efficient, while 50% of our housing projects meet integration and sustainability criteria. We are pursuing strategic partnerships with the private sector. We have cut down on bureaucracy and red tape to make housing accessible. [Interjections.]
We have a credible housing demand database. We have developed a residential incremental densification policy to provide sustainable, dignified human settlements. [Interjections.] We acknowledge our achievements, but much more still needs to be done to reach the dream of quality housing for all. [Applause.]
Hon members, we can heckle, but not shout.
Chairperson, it is envisaged that the massive infrastructure ... [Interjections.]
Chairperson, on a point of order: It is a convention that no member may walk between the Speaker and the presiding officer. The opposition parties are doing that.
That's free education for you, hon members. Can we adhere to that convention? That was not a point of order, but it was free education. Some members don't know that it's a convention not to move across that line. Hon member, please continue.
He didn't cross the line!
Chairperson, I hope you will give me the time I lost because of the confusion. It is envisaged that the massive infrastructure development project announced and outlined by the President in the 2012 state of the nation address will, among other achievements, result in the creation of new human settlements in relevant parts of the country. It is also hoped that many communities will subsequently benefit from jobs created and houses built. Hopefully, the success of this programme will lead to a consequent reduction in the number of protests witnessed throughout the country over the past few years.
According to the Trends Analysis and Explanations Report of Community Protests in South Africa, Gauteng accounted for 31,46% of the protests, followed by the Western Cape with 17,05% and the North West with 11,9%. Unfortunately, these protests can be violent in nature, resulting in destruction of both public and private property. Sometimes there is loss of life. We cannot forget the killing of Andries Tatane by police in Ficksburg in 2011.
Reasons cited by protestors include the poor quality and inadequacy of housing. According to the General Household Survey conducted by Statistics SA, housing delivery is not just slow, but the quality is poor. In its report on the public hearings on housing finance held in October last year, the Financial and Fiscal Commission makes similar observations regarding the inadequacy and poor quality of houses.
It is a well-known fact that all provinces, without exception, sit with shoddy and poor workmanship. We've all seen with dismay the poorly built houses allocated to the poor by various municipalities. Sometimes it is as if the government is, in fact, condemning the poor to poverty and misery. RDP houses in Tarkastad in the Chris Hani District Municipality tell a sad story. In many of the houses no provision was made for toilets. One wonders how such a plan could have been approved. Where toilets do exist, they are not connected to the water system. The people of this township, including the elderly, must go to the nearest bush or hill to answer nature's call.
It is no exaggeration, hon Minister, that in some settlements, such as Kubusie, Xholora and Sophumelela in Amahlathi Municipality in the Eastern Cape, Riverside in KwaZulu-Natal and many others, the houses are indeed falling apart, as was observed by the hon Figlan, a former member of this portfolio committee, in a question he directed to you, hon Minister. In these places the infrastructure, such as roads, is either poorly maintained or lacking altogether. We are talking here about 3 million plus housing units constructed in this way. At what cost to the taxpayer, we may never know.
However, let me be quick to say, as you have indicated, hon Minister, that the poor workmanship of the RDP houses built to completion has been identified and acknowledged by the government. The time has come to move away from quantity to quality housing. This is to be applauded, as it creates an opportunity for all South African stakeholders to engage constructively and find solutions.
The current fully subsidised housing scheme has resulted in dependency on the state to provide housing for the poor. It has also created negative incentives, with corrupt councillors controlling the lists of beneficiaries in order to benefit themselves. The policy has failed to encourage individuals, households and the private sector to invest and participate in the housing market. Occupants of RDP houses cannot claim to be the full owners, as they hold no title deeds to the houses they occupy.
Cope acknowledges that the concept of creating sustainable human ... [Interjections.]
Mind your own business.
What's so funny?
Order, hon members!
Cope does acknowledge that the concept of creating sustainable human settlements has been in the pipeline since 2004. The approval by Cabinet of the comprehensive plan for the delivery of sustainable human settlements indicated a shift in policy from merely providing houses to sustainable housing settlements. However, the process of integrating housing delivery, land use and bulk infrastructure development has been slow. With the outcomes-based approach introduced since 2009, the expectation is an accelerated and improved delivery of outcomes. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Chairperson, the IFP supports Budget Vote No 31: Human Settlements. We also commend the Minister and the department for the new development initiative on affordable rental housing in Gauteng, namely at Dube, Mzimhlophe, Jabulani and Buyafuthi. However, Minister, after 18 years of democracy and freedom this is not nearly enough. People are living under conditions of abject filth at hostels like those in Thokoza, Alexandra, Benoni, Nancefield, Sebokeng, KwaMashu, Dalton, Jacobs, Wemmer Unit 17 and Thokoza ladies' hostels. They experience living conditions that can only be described as being fit for pigs. There is no budget allocated to this inequality. Why is this not prioritised?
We are further concerned that there is no budget for new affordable rental housing development. Allocation is provided for their maintenance and repair only. This is totally unacceptable. Hon Minister, the promises you make to the people of this country are promises we expect you to keep. Last year, you addressed this House and informed us that you were working on a turnaround strategy to address the poor living conditions in our hostels. Where is that strategy? How long must our citizens continue to live in unfit, filthy and degrading living conditions? Our hostel dwellers have been left behind. They seem to have been labelled as a problem that nobody from Human Settlements wants to deal with. This can only show us that the ANC-led government wants to get rid of hostels. [Interjections.]
Ngikhumbula-ke ukuthi kwake kwaba nenhlabamkhosi ngo-1990 eyathi kufanele kuqedwe amahostela, kusho ukuthi sekuqalile ukufezeka lokho. [I recall that a call was made in the 1990s that hostels should be done away with; this is the indication that this is coming to pass.]
They are free of the oppression of apartheid, but are now bound in chains by socioeconomic constraints. A large percentage of them are unemployed. The Community Residential Unit, or CRU, is not an answer for our unemployed, because 90% of people living in CRUs are unemployed. Another problem that occurs is when development takes place in the CRUs, the people who are living there are displaced. Provision must be made to accommodate those people elsewhere, to minimise the impact that such development will have on their daily life.
Backyard dwelling is fast becoming an acceptable form of residence in South Africa. In most instances there is massive overcrowding, insufficient sanitation, water and electricity and generally unhygienic living conditions. Budget funds must be prioritised and allocated for the alleviation of the poor living conditions of our backyard dwellers, because no part of the budget addresses this matter currently.
Our bulk infrastructure continues to be wholly insufficient and incapable of dealing with the current demand placed on it by our population. There is no budget to address this challenge. Why is that, Minister?
We have more than 2 700 informal settlements in the country, but no formal measurement mechanism to determine the extent of the mushrooming of structures and edifices within those informal settlements. No budget is currently allocated to address this challenge. Why is that, Minister?
Rectification and rerectification remain a drain on an already tight budget. Besides the wasteful expenditure, what is the time frame for stopping such rectification? When will we take a stand and not pay for faulty, poor and negligent workmanship? The IFP says no more budget funds should be allocated for rectification. Quality development the first time around must become the norm and not the exception.
We are 18 years into our constitutional democracy, and enshrined in that Constitution is the right to human dignity. How dignified is it when we have to use a bucket as a toilet and relieve ourselves in front of a passer- by? The bucket system is one of the cruellest forms of degradation to our people and must be eradicated immediately.
Mhlonishwa, sizabe zenza iphutha uma singathi ungabongi uMqondisi Jikelele, uMageba nekomidi lakhe asebenza nalo ngemisebenzi ayenzile, nakho konke akwenzile ukukhombisa ukuthi uyabalalela abantu, uyabezwa futhi uwuzalo lwaseNdlunkulu. Ngiyabonga kakhulu. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[Hon Minister, we would be making a mistake if we told you not to thank the director-general, Mageba, and his team for the work they have done and everything that he has done. This shows that he listens to the people, that he hears them and that he is of royal blood. Thank you very much. [Applause.]]
Hon members, the Table staff miscalculated the hon Mrs Njobe's time, so I am going to give her three minutes to finish her speech. Hon Njobe, my apologies. Over to you.
Thank you, Chairperson. The new turnaround strategy of the department becomes a tool to achieve the goal of delivery of Outcome 8.
The budget allocation to Human Settlements has increased significantly since 1994, but this has not resulted in increased delivery. If anything, the backlog remains and keeps rising annually, from 1,5 million in 1996 to 2,1 million in 2011. The problem is compounded by continued migration to cities and by population growth. This adds to the demand for housing and housing subsidies. With costs increasing every year, this demands higher subsidies if government is to deliver on its promises. Thus the policy of providing fully subsidised housing is proving unsustainable.
The realisation by the department that the previous mandate of merely providing houses to the poor was narrow and that there is a need to expand the mandate to meet the demands of integrated and sustainable human settlements is very welcome. To meet the expanded mandate, intergovernmental and interdepartmental co-ordination must not only be strengthened but must be perfected.
Cope notes and accepts the increase in the travel budget for the department, as it is aimed at enabling officials to travel to provinces to effect the implementation of programmes and the maintenance of standards.
We support the rectification programme for the RDP settlements, although it is somewhat wasteful. However, we cannot be optimistic of a 100% achievement. Do we know how many houses must be rectified? Do we know their location and the time frames for completion of the process? The upgrading of informal settlements is a necessity and the opportunity should be used to improve skills development among the dwellers and to encourage self- build in future.
Delivery of the sanitation programme in the rural areas must improve, both in quantity and quality. The department must promote the Rural Household Loan Fund more aggressively so as to reach all who qualify.
The department should intensify the campaign to encourage investment in human settlements by the private sector, both big and small companies. There are skills among some small companies owned by individuals from previously disadvantaged communities. Mrs Matolengwe of Khayelitsha, who won a UN award for her housing project using government housing subsidies, comes to mind. And so does Mr Mpahlwa, for his housing innovation in Mitchells Plain. Also, right on your doorstep, hon Minister, the returned exiles involved in the construction of the ANC village in Dakawa in Tanzania are also very skilled. There are many more. Let us find them and make good use of them, so that they can participate in the achievements of Outcome 8, to which the department contributes. [Applause.]
Thank you, MaNjobe, for your understanding.
Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, hon Members of Parliament, treasured guests in the gallery ...
... Mageba, nethimba lakho mqondisi-jikelele wethu ... [Mageba, our director-general and your team] ... ladies and gentlemen, I greet you all.
When the ANC set out its vision for a nonracial society on 8 January 1912, we did not know how long it would take to achieve it. What we knew was that we would not rest until these ideals were realised. Any solution to the crisis of apartheid needs an approach that rises above narrow interests and harnesses all our country's resources. A roof over one's head and reasonable living conditions are not a privilege. They are a basic right for every human being.
Key to rolling out government programmes and ensuring the tracking of its successes and priorities is the fast-tracking of immediate, quantifiable deliverables according to agreements that are in place with the President of the country. The ANC-led government has taken the lead in reorganising and renaming the housing department the Department of Human Settlements. The ANC government is no longer focusing just on providing houses. It is focusing on creating human settlements. We are focused on how best to settle our people, because if they remain unsettled, we ourselves may not know peace. As one Afrikaner industrialist put it, "If your neighbour is hungry, you cannot sleep." The concept of human settlements may be a new one for many South Africans, but it has been part of the global developmental lexicon for many years now. It was first coined at the UN Global Habitat Summit in Vancouver, Canada, in 1976. It gained ground at the World Summit on Sustainable Development at the Sandton Convention Centre in 2002 and it informed the adoption of several resolutions on human settlements and housing at the 52nd national conference of the ANC in Polokwane in 2007.
How best can residential deracialisation be achieved to erase the negative impact of apartheid spatial planning? This refers to the yawning gap between Johannesburg and Soweto, Durban and Umlazi, Pretoria and Mamelodi, Cape Town and Khayelitsha, and so on. Since 1994, approximately 3 million housing units have been distributed to people in our society, particularly to the poorest of the poor. Consequently, the amount of land parcelled away, together with these housing units, is estimated at more than 76 000 hectares. So, how best can the strategy of land redistribution through human settlements be enhanced at the same time as housing opportunities are accelerated?
Regarding state access to increased urban land for housing, the Reconstruction and Development Programme made an ambitious call to break up the monopolisation of land, which was addressed to some extent through the Development Facilitation Act of 1995 and other institutional mechanisms. However, given constitutional property rights and hence the difficulty of land expropriation, the limited taxation of municipal land and the intense opposition from higher-income prospective neighbours to Provincial Housing Board applications for well-located settlements, most housing projects were peri-urban in character and on the outer edges of existing settlements. The geographically remote location of most post-1994 settlements pushed up the cost of infrastructure, but because land costs were less expensive and acquisition procedures usually easier, far-flung locations were favoured by developers.
Rural people have specific concerns around housing, such as tenure forms on trust land, the relationship with the commercial agriculture sector, inadequate or nonexistent bulk infrastructure, farm workers housed on the farms, the legacy of apartheid removals and resettlements, access to land, and land claims procedures and processes.
In rural areas, problems of ensuring full property rights and home ownership rights for women are likely to be greater. While the ANC-led government has implemented a number of initiatives to address the scourge of poverty, unemployment and inequality in South Africa, it has to be acknowledged that these can only be achieved if integrated service delivery remains a priority. This means that rural areas should receive equal attention. However, we should note that reference to a rural area does not necessarily imply villages only but also includes rural towns. The Department of Human Settlements' motive force is Outcome 8, which informs both the Minister and the government whether activities and programmes are progressive in addressing the issues of Outcome 8. Outcome 8 is clear and specific with regard to the deliverables and the mandate driving the output that still has to be achieved. Key among other measurable interventions is the provision to lower-income families of affordable rental housing stock of high quality.
The outcome is of critical importance for various reasons. Firstly, it is a requirement of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Secondly, it is central to human dignity and social stability and a key enabler of health, education and social cohesion outcomes. Lastly, it also serves as a catalyst for economic development and job creation.
Ultimately, the outcomes of the national effort around human settlements must be seen in the context of social development and transformation, as well as meeting the objectives of rolling back underdevelopment. To have a house is to have a social asset, in that it provides a social safety net for family members. It contributes towards citizenship-building by offering the resident household an address and linking them with the local government system. Neighbourhood consolidation occurs around housing units, providing access to all sorts of other social benefits, including networks, community support and so on. Housing is a financial asset in that it can be traded or used as something against which mortgage finance can be accessed. When traded, the value of the transaction contributes towards a household's actual worth and can then be reinvested in better quality or more appropriate housing for the family's individual circumstances. It is an economic asset when it is used to generate income, either through renting out a portion of the house, using it to sell services or goods, or for manufacturing.
The obvious value of a title deed is that it protects the rights to a property and records changes in ownership. Title deeds also provide individuals with an address, recognising the owner as being part of the municipality, enabling the owner to secure loans and to pass it on to family members when they die. Consequently the failure to provide title deeds to these beneficiaries means that they are being denied a critical point of entry into the formal property market.
The Jabulani Hostel redevelopment project is the most recent successful Community Residential Unit housing project development. It was developed by the Gauteng Department of Local Government and Housing, in partnership with the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, with Nedbank as the financial institution and Calgro M3 as the main contractor.
I would like to conclude by emphasising the fact that democracy means more than just having the vote. It must be measured by the quality of life of ordinary people. The ANC supports the Budget Vote. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon Minister, MECs present here today, hon Members of Parliament, chairperson of the portfolio committee hon Dambuza, Mme Mildred Ramakaba-Lesiea, a former Member of Parliament and of this portfolio committee, councillors present, distinguished guests, Director-General of Human Settlements Thabane Zulu and the entire Human Settlements team, I greet you all this afternoon.
Allow me to dedicate this speech in the year when we celebrate 100 years of selfless struggle to the memory of the first Minister of Housing, the late Comrade Joe Slovo. May I also pay tribute to the late Minister for the Public Service and Administration, Comrade Roy Padayachie, the former Minister for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Comrade Sicelo Shiceka, and Member of Parliament, Comrade Florence Nyanda. May their souls rest in peace. We send our heartfelt condolences to their families.
The first 18 years of the democratic South Africa have been very successful. Although challenges remain, the government has laid a sound foundation for socioeconomic development. The vision for the first two decades of freedom is encapsulated in the following pillars: the building of a united, democratic, nonracial and nonsexist society; the deepening of our democracy, culture of human rights and people's participation in changing their lives for the better; meeting the basic needs and developing human resources; fighting crime and combating corruption; building the economy and creating jobs.
It is against this background that, as the Department of Human Settlements, we believe that there is a need to double our efforts in order to fast- track the housing delivery process. Delivery of housing cannot be the responsibility of government alone. We need all stakeholders on board. Hence we created the Youth Build, Women's Build and Each One Settle One, and now we are embarking on the Veterans' Build.
The Department of Human Settlements recognises the role played by the youth in the struggle to bring about a democratic South Africa. It is our belief that the youth is critical in the transformation of our society. It is about time that the voice of young people is not only heard, but counted. As a result, we have the Youth Build every year, where we call upon young people to partner with our department in building houses for the most vulnerable sector in our society, namely the elderly, the sick, people with disabilities and child-headed households.
Youth involvement sends a bold message that they want to be part of the process that changes the South African landscape for the better. Through this programme, youth volunteers have built many houses. Many of these young people have been absorbed in the housing market after completion of the programme.
The department commends these young people for their selfless effort and for putting the interests of their communities first by dedicating their time to helping others. More young people need to come on board and assist the department in the execution of its mandate to provide sustainable human settlements. We encourage young people to establish their own construction companies.
The National Urban Reconstruction Community Housing Association has been established to help emerging contractors. Nurcha has also secured R120 million to assist emerging contractors. The Department of Human Settlements extends an invitation for more dialogue and more action by the youth. This can be in the form of volunteerism, as mentioned earlier, streams of study, as well as taking jobs in areas that will enhance human settlements. Some of these young people have heeded the call and taken bursaries that the department offers in the build environment and many have since graduated, providing much needed skills in different provinces.
We have also had the Youth Round Table, where the Minister met with recognised formations, such as those represented in this Parliament, to discuss issues of human settlement and developmental issues around the youth. Provinces were called upon to convene youth summits where young people, in response to Human Settlements' call to action, will present interventions with which they can help develop this country.
On the issue of the Veterans' Build, the department has concluded the process of rolling out this programme. In its attempts to empower women, the Department of Human Settlements created a Women's Build programme, which takes place on a yearly basis. All provinces are urged to initiate a Women's Build. So far, responses have been very positive. In provinces such as the Free State, we handed over beautiful houses built by women. This province allocated 1 956 houses to women contractors. [Applause.] In August last year the Women's Build was held in Brandfort, in honour of the role played by our struggle icon, Comrade Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Malibongwe! [Let them be praised!]
We thank the women from all walks of life who continue to partner with us in housing the nation. As government, we will continue to support, capacitate and link them with Nurcha, if they need start-up funding as emerging contractors, and with the National Housing Finance Corporation, if they are involved in the gap market.
Allow me to congratulate South African Women in Construction, SAWiC, for the successful conference held in Durban. We welcome its elected president, Ms Nompumelelo Pakade. SAWiC and Khuthaza are the prominent organisations organising women in the construction sector.
We were in Kimberley in the Northern Cape where we saw members of SAWiC doing very good work and building quality houses. They are in charge of relatively large projects. China Square is one of their outstanding projects and they have completed 500 houses. They are also involved in the Soul City project, rectifying 1 000 units badly built by a male contractor. [Applause.] I am also told that there are three projects run by a woman contractor in Springbok, which I'll be visiting soon.
In Gauteng, SAWiC members are working jointly with the provincial department of human settlements on an enterprise development programme, where SAWiC will empower emerging women contractors with skills through an experiential learning programme. The department will offer projects in accordance with the experience of participants, with clearly defined objectives, from entry to exit points.
Despite the evidently good work done by these women, they still face many challenges. In December we held a women economic empowerment round-table discussion with women in the construction sector. The outcome emphasised the following: firstly, fast-tracking the 30% quota to women contractors and, secondly, integrating the quota with the provinces' planning process and linking it with the Human Settlements Development Grant. All provinces need to do forward planning that includes the implementation of the quota. All provinces should implement a Minmec decision to allocate 1 956 units to women contractors as part of women economic empowerment and also as part of celebrating the historic march of 1956.
With regard to public-private partnership, we have a successful partnership initiative with a number of stakeholders. The beautiful houses built in Mazista and Skierlik in the North West on land donated by a farmer demonstrate that we still have many South Africans with good hearts. [Applause.] These houses were handed over by the Premier of North West, Ms Thandi Modise, and the Minister of Human Settlements, Comrade Tokyo Sexwale.
In Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, in the Emnambithi Municipality, the Minister of Mineral Resources, Ms Susan Shabangu, the mayor and I handed over quality houses built by a mining company. In the Vhembe district of Limpopo, in Ngombane, SAWiC women, local women in the area and I manufactured bricks and built houses for the poorest families. This process was spearheaded by the then Deputy Minister of Public Works, Ms Bogopane- Zulu. In Orange Farm the ward councillor and I handed over houses built by Habitat for Humanity and the Federation of the Urban Poor, or Fedup, through the People's Housing Process.
Last Thursday I visited a Vulindlela-enhanced PHP project in Msunduzi Municipality in the rural area of Pietermaritzburg. Their target is to build 25 000 housing units in five years. They have completed 6 000 units to date. It is an in-situ upgrading, which rebuilds dilapidated mud houses across nine wards. It has created many job opportunities. The participation of the Amakhosi and local community structures is a good example of a nation at work.
We have many PHP projects across the country needing lots of support from provinces and municipalities. We reiterate that provinces must set aside 15% of their budget allocations for PHP-related projects. We also encourage the creation of housing co-operatives. This is an area that also needs more attention on our side.
Allow me to commend the capacity-building done by the Department of Human Settlements, especially when it assists weak municipalities across the country. I had first-hand experience of this good work when I was called on in December to grace occasions celebrating World Aids Day in Beaufort West in the Karoo and also Human Rights Day in Oudtshoorn. I especially saw evidence of the department's ability to harness community participation.
With regard to the upgrading of informal settlements, there is a direct relationship between the formation of informal settlements and poverty. We have to accept urbanisation as an essential and, indeed, a positive trend, as it presents growth and development opportunities, which need to be harnessed. One has to take into account that a lack of effective planning is the major cause of the formation of new informal settlements. We need planning that anticipates urban growth and housing demand.
Government cannot upgrade informal settlements alone, does so but in partnership with all actors. However, government works with international and local actors towards a context-specific solution in order to address informal-settlement upgrading and monitoring.
Our current policies of informal-settlement upgrading are aimed at addressing the correlation between poverty and informal settlement. This is done in the context of poverty reduction and income and employment- generating activities by combining urban development policies with social policy measures.
We have in many instances partnered with community-based organisations and nonprofit organisations in many informal settlements. Our objective is to empower informalsettlement dwellers during the process of informal- settlement upgrading. We don't want them to be passive recipients of service delivery - they must be part of the solution. Ours is a people- centred, people-driven democracy.
As the Department of Human Settlements, we have upscaled financial support in informal-settlement upgrading by giving accredited city metros the Urban Settlements Development Grant, USDG. This grant promotes integrated development planning to empower cities and towns to manage urban growth and development. It may be used for land acquisition or land redevelopment and the provision of basic infrastructure services for poor households, including the installation of bulk services. It may also be used for the upgrading of informal settlements.
Our objective with this grant is to transform the current townships into sustainable human settlements. Cities have to be creative in order to achieve this goal. As I have said earlier, informal-settlement upgrading cannot be done by the Department of Human Settlements alone. We need the support and collaboration of our sister departments.
With regard to expenditure on the USDG, the February analysis of the expenditure performance against the total allocation of the USDG shows that eThekwini Municipality is the municipality with the highest spending rate, which is 50,1%, followed by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality at 39,8%. Buffalo City Municipality is the lowest at 16,4%. This differs from the month of January, of course, when eThekwini Municipality was first with a spending rate of 56,5%, followed by Ekurhuleni at 44,3%.
It is important to bear in mind that the USDG allocation is four times more than the municipal infrastructure grant. The figures clearly indicate that metros were not ready to spend the USDG grant. With Buffalo City and Mangaung showing that they were not able to spend their grant, they were advised to apply for roll-overs.
The biggest challenge is not necessarily the capacity of metros to spend, but rather the alignment of their budget cycle with ours. Secondly, what they don't have is an operational budget. I'm happy that the Ministers Top Management Forum, or Mintop, has agreed that the department, through the Programme Management Unit, should establish a team, which would include the department's entities, to assist the metros with this challenge.
With regard to international relations, the Department of Human Settlements has strengthened its relations with Cuba. Our visit to Cuba to recruit more Cuban engineers is a case in point. We attended the African Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development, which was held in Nairobi, as well as the Governing Bureau meeting held in Rabat, Morocco. We also paid a visit to the Netherlands as part of a standing agreement between the two nations. We expect a delegation from the Netherlands to visit South Africa in November this year.
Our visit to India in January this year provided us with the opportunity to meet with the Indian minister of housing, thereby strengthening the India- Brazil-South Africa co-operation on human settlements. The Brics Summit held in India, where the South African delegation was led by President Jacob Zuma, strengthened the long-standing relations between our two countries. It was an honour for Human Settlements to be included in the delegation and we are looking forward to the 2013 Brics Summit in South Africa.
In conclusion, the Department of Human Settlements is excited about the Govan Mbeki Human Settlements Awards, which are currently taking place across the country. The Eastern Cape's event was blessed by the presence of our icon and mama [mother] Epainette Mbeki, who is 96. It was indeed a great honour. These awards are aimed at celebrating excellence in human settlements and are named after one of our struggle icons, Govan Mbeki, who stood for all the values that sustainable partnerships represent, namely unity, strength, equality, nonracialism and nonsexism. He is remembered especially for his spirit of sacrifice and selflessness. The national awards ceremony will be held at Gallagher Estate, Midrand, on 31 May 2012.
Chair, hon Minister, what the ACDP is hearing on the ground is that project preparation is still very weak and is generally not funded. This means that all upfront technical and participative work to ensure that human settlements and housing projects are viable and appropriate is inadequately done. Municipalities do not have the capacity or funding to do this in-house and they can't readily access preparation funding from their provincial departments. This funding would greatly assist in capital cash flows, risk management, limiting wasteful expenditure and reducing corruption by ensuring clear project specifications and requirements before implementation commences.
Lead-in times are also said to be underestimated, with preparation needing to commence well in advance of capital expenditure. It has been suggested that government needs to get ahead of the game to generate bankable project pipelines, which make effective use of increasingly scarce and heavily subscribed capital budgets.
Funding or grant instrument problems are expected in most municipalities with regard to the rapid roll-out of basic services for informal settlements. Currently the only grant that is well suited to this is the new urban settlements development Grant, USDG, which is only available from Treasury to Metros. Other municipalities cannot access this funding and must rely on the upgrading of informal settlements programme grant, UISPG, which comes from provincial housing departments. Unfortunately, this instrument does not work in practice. It envisages land acquisition occurring in phase one, which is not practical given how long land acquisitions usually take. The budget of around R3 000 allocated for basic services is too small and it does not provide preparation funding, including for the all-important community engagement. The UISPG must be made more flexible and accessible, or the USDG must be expanded to other municipalities, or a new Treasury grant is required.
Currently special-needs housing for orphans and vulnerable children, those affected by HIV/Aids, the aged, abused women and children, etc is not adequately provided for despite significant and long-standing programmes dating back to 2001. To date there is no clear direction from the department or a dedicated subsidy instrument. A clear directive from the national Department of Human Settlements or Treasury that provincial departments must utilise a specified amount of their housing budget for special-needs housing is required. The ACDP feels that this special-needs housing responsibility should not be assigned to the Department of Social Development, as has been mooted, as it does not understand housing issues or have the capacity to deal with them.
Currently cities like eThekwini are compelled to start building double- storey attached low-income housing to optimise scarce land and promote a more effective and sustainable urban form. As the housing subsidy is fixed, it does not accommodate the significant cost premium of densified housing, which typically costs 1,5 to 2 times the usual subsidy amount.
Lastly, there is a concern that the rural housing programme is unsustainable and a poor investment of scarce housing subsidies. While some rural housing is appropriate around rural nodes and where there are indigent households in special need, the main rural human settlement needs are not for top structures, but for basic infrastructural services like water, sanitation, basic road access and key social services, especially education and health care.
The ACDP will be supporting this Budget Vote, yet we are very aware that people are not happy and a lot still has to be done. [Applause.]
Chairperson and hon members, there is consensus on the existence of a huge backlog in housing, but human settlement is not only about housing. It is about the holistic livelihood of people. Even if we were to meet the required number of houses, houses on their own do not translate to a decent livelihood. Without schools, playing fields, clinics, community halls, etc, the mandate of Human Settlements would not be achieved.
Section 26(1) of the Constitution of the Republic states that everyone has the right of access to adequate housing. It is the government's duty to take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of this right. That Mrs Grootboom died before the Constitutional Court order to provide her with shelter was realised is an indictment that will haunt this government for a long time to come. To make up for this, government should put up good houses that will enhance the dignity of our people.
We complained in the past about the incommodious matchbox houses built by the previous government, which were "goed genoeg vir hulle" [good enough for them], but nowadays we are noticing sprawling settlements of tin houses and decrepit contraptions across the South African landscape.
We note that the issue of sanitation has been placed higher on the priority list by government. Let us hope that in the near future no residential place in this country will still be using buckets for night-soil removal.
Abantu bakruqukile yimigqomo engathuthwayo xa kuqhankqalazwa okanye kunemicimbi. Kuyafuneka ukuba izinto zilungiswe zibe kwimo efanelekileyo. [People have had enough of refuse bins that are not collected and emptied when there are service delivery protests or other ceremonies. We need to get our house in order and bring the situation back to an acceptable level.]
Consideration has to be given to providing serviced sites so that those who are able to build can do so. It is a common sight nowadays to have a two- storey building dwarfing RDP houses in a place that was originally meant to serve the poorest of the poor. If there were serviced sites, people would have been able to build the type of house they want where they want to.
In conclusion, while the UCDP supports this Budget Vote, the department should be awake to corrupt practices in the ranks of some of those who deal with housing, as evidenced by what happened when Ga-Rankuwa and Mabopane were incorporated into Gauteng. We hope the office of the ombudsman, as announced by the hon Minister, will be handling these issues. The Minister has my letter about this issue and I'm sure we will be interfacing and interacting to discuss the matter. The UCDP will be supporting the Budget Vote.
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.]
Nqanga nentsiba zayo! Sihlalo, mandiqale ngondoqo. Umbutho wesizwe i-ANC, unyawo zabezolo, uyaluxhasa olu hlahlo-lwabiwo-mali. [All protocol observed. Chairperson, let me start with the key issue. The people's party, the ANC, the esteemed party, supports this Budget Vote.] The Human Settlements institutions have been established to facilitate the specific housing and housing-related needs of the market, in addition to the role played by the provincial government and municipalities.
The land question and sustainable human settlements in South Africa have been the cornerstones of the Department of Human Settlements. The forced removal of African people under colonialism and apartheid resulted not only in the physical separation of people along racial lines, but also in extreme land shortages, insecure land rights and poverty of the majority of black people. As a result, the country has seen the mushrooming of informal settlements. However, the most notable cause of informal settlements is the high migration from rural areas by people who are in search of job opportunities and better living conditions than what is available in the rural areas.
The march towards sustainable development in South Africa affects many facets of people's livelihoods and there is a search for multidimensional solutions to many problems. Therefore any discourse on sustainable development must take the land question into consideration, since land is at the centre of a number of complex and integrated factors, which include the social, political, economical and environmental sphere.
For the complete realisation of sustainable human settlements in this country a policy, Breaking New Ground, was promulgated in 2004. Its vision is to reflect a change in policy from "the provision of housing" to "the creation of sustainable human settlements". It marks an initiative to integrate previously excluded groups into cities and give them access to the socio-economic benefits that cities can bring.
The Department of Human Settlements instituted the Housing Development Agency, HDA, whose mandate, role and function are defined in the Housing Development Agency Act, Act 23 of 2008. The HDA has been mandated to identify, acquire, hold, develop and release privately and state-owned land for residential community purposes and the creation of sustainable human settlements.
It is of paramount importance for this House and the nation as a whole to know about some of the achievements of the HDA. In terms of the performance delivery agreements signed between the President and the Minister and further elaborated in the delivery agreement signed between the Minister and the director-general, the HDA has identified 6 250 hectares of well- located state-owned land and buildings for human settlement development.
The birth of democracy in South Africa escalated urbanisation and population growth in the cities. On the other hand, the lifting of sanctions positioned South African cities as places for all, for development and the creation of wealth.
Approximately a fifth of all South African households, or 2,3 million households, rent their primary dwelling. I would like to draw your attention to the following. The demand for all types of housing is high, particularly rental accommodation. In this regard location, quality and high rates of mobility are important. The demand for rental housing is estimated at some 100 000 units per annum in the middle-income to lower- income groups. Rental housing provides access to affordable, well-located accommodation for those who choose not to, or may not be able to, purchase property. Rented housing plays a critical role for those who cannot access housing finance. It allows greater flexibility and mobility.
As the leading economy of the Southern continent and the main moving power behind the New Partnership for Africa's Development, South Africa is trying to respond to the Millennium Development Goals in ways that few other nations in Africa are even considering as yet. Goal 7, Target 11, addresses the spread of shack housing among the world's poor. By 2020 we aim to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers.
The demand for housing is growing substantially as the population grows, as families migrate to urban areas and as existing housing conditions deteriorate. Since the introduction of the social housing programme in 1998, more than 42 000 rental housing units have been developed, using the institutional subsidy programme.
The National Rental Housing Strategy, which was approved in 2008, sets the delivery target of 100 000 rental units by 2012. This will comprise 75 000 social housing and 25 000 community residential units. The Affordable Rental Housing Programme is one of government's initiatives to address the housing backlogs. The objective of this programme, which has an urban focus, is to increase the rate of affordable rental housing delivery to 300 000 units a year by 2014.
The Social Housing Act, Act No 16 of 2008, was promulgated on 1 September 2009 and has established the Social Housing Regulatory Authority. The mandate of the SHRA is to invest in social housing and to regulate the sector. The vision was affordable rental homes in integrated urban environments through sustainable institutions. SHRA aims to integrate the Minister's vision that people should be able to live, work, play and pray in their own areas, which implies social, economic and spatial restructuring. SHRA's social housing projects embody the vision of the Minister.
I would like to commend the national Department of Human Settlements for their efforts on the amendment of the Rental Housing Act of 1999. The Act was initially amended in 2007 and further amendments are in process. The Bill is before the parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements and the amendments are envisaged to be completed in due course.
The issues affecting rural communities are very close to my heart as one of those whose origins are in a rural area. The development of human settlements should not only take place in urban areas. That is why the government has taken the decision to roll out programmes that would assist communities in rural areas to also realise the better life for all that the ANC has been promising.
In line with the promise made during the elections, at his inauguration and in the state of the nation address, President Zuma paid a successful visit to the Limpopo province. He officially launched the multibillion rand comprehensive rural development at Muyexe village, one of the three poor villages identified as pilot projects. This project was followed by many others that government has earmarked for development. This clearly shows how serious government is about creating a better life for all in this country.
The Department of Human Settlements has a number of housing subsidies that allow people to gain access to housing and adequate shelter. Among these is the creation of the Rural Housing Loan Fund, which has been in existence for almost 12 years. The mandate of the RHLF is to make loans available to low-income households in rural areas to build or improve their houses. Many people in rural areas remain unemployed or on a very low income and we are faced with rising food and energy costs. Low-income earners use a large portion of their income to pay for transport, leaving little disposable income. Let me also acknowledge the existence of the National Home Builders Registration Council. Established in 1998 in accordance with the provisions of the Housing Consumers Protection Measures Act, Act 95 of 1998 ... Ndiyabulela. [Thank you.] [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Chairperson, please allow me to welcome our provincial Minister, Bongi Madikizela. I am very proud to have you here today.
In the DA we say that the time has come to honour our past and own our future. In this spirit, I wish to quote my colleague, Stevens Mokgalapa, when he said the following in response to the state of the nation address:
A home must reflect the health and happiness of the family it shelters. A home that falls apart or seeps rain through stormy nights is uninhabitable and unfit. It falls short of our vision of all South Africans living in a home that they are proud of. South Africans deserve better.
When we say "South Africans deserve better", we mean that delivering quality houses for all should be an integrated approach across governmental departments. Human Settlements is but one department that ensures the realisation of sustainable human livelihoods. While it plays the most significant role, there should be a joint approach to housing delivery. This includes a commitment from the Department of Public Works not to delay the release of land and the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs to speed up the environmental impact assessment processes.
It is therefore the responsibility of the whole of government to work together and adopt an integrated approach to deliver quality, sustainable human settlements for all. The bulk of the resources continue to be within all other departments in the different spheres of government, nongovernmental organisations and the private sector. It is crucial for these resources to be pulled together to realise the vision of achieving social and economic freedom.
South Africa celebrated its 18th birthday as a free and democratic country. However, freedom has a different meaning for many of us and it remains an uphill struggle, especially for the poor, for whom social and economic freedom is still a dream. Our women, children, youth, persons with disabilities and older persons - the most vulnerable majority in our country - still continue to battle to get a taste of social and economic freedom, while a small minority enjoys it. So, I wish to remind the Minister of Human Settlements, Mr Tokyo Sexwale, and his department as well as our Director-General, Mr Zulu, that as custodians of the housing sector they are obligated by the Constitution of our country to provide access to adequate housing to all our citizens.
The Department of Human Settlements, in their overview of their strategic plan, informed the portfolio committee that they were in the process of revising the plan, which was informed by Outcome 8 and the estimates of national expenditure. While we acknowledge and understand that such a revision is important and that, as in most Ministries, they are preparing a turnaround strategy projected to take place from 1 April 2012, we only hope that this process is not used as an escape from accounting for targets not reached in the financial year under discussion, as highlighted by my colleague today.
There are a number of entities that are funded by the Department of Human Settlements to optimise the skills base for affordable housing. The department must ensure that capacity exist within the department itself to monitor, evaluate and ensure oversight over these entities instead of being overly reliant on these entities to carry out the mandate of the department. It is of the utmost importance that these entities have the capacity and resources to assist the department to achieve its mandate. All too often entities are established at the cost of the taxpayer with no tangible outcomes.
The National Planning Commission Framework is specific when it refers to human settlements. Where development happens, a paradigm shift is needed to change the spatial landscape and patterns of South Africa, which continue to marginalise the poor. Municipalities and provincial governments currently have spatial development frameworks in place to identify and ensure that land is specified and utilised optimally for development suited for purpose. It is disappointing to note, however, that there is no national overarching spatial development framework in the national Department of Human Settlements to give effect to the strategic objectives of the National Development Plan on spatial development.
The Integrated Development Plan, IDP, process - the Chairperson knows that I always like to talk about the IDP - at local government level plays a vital role in the identification phase of the need for housing. The department must be cognisant of the importance of this process because it contains fundamental information and socioeconomic demographics regarding housing, sanitation and basic infrastructure needs.
In the Western Cape, where the DA governs, one of Minister Madikizela's strategic objectives is to expand on consumer education programmes for municipalities. This includes an outreach initiative on the part of the province to ensure that beneficiaries are aware of their rights and responsibilities both as home owners and tenants. We often hear and even know of cases where people sell their RDP houses, very often for next to nothing. I believe that through education people will start to understand what the economic value of their asset is, make better and more responsible decisions, and realise that a house is a step towards achieving economic and social freedom.
Unemployment continues to be one of the major challenges in our country and we must take note that if no one in a house has a job, it will leave our poor powerless. I had the opportunity yesterday to bring this to your attention, Minister.
Lastly, I wish to thank our portfolio committee chairperson, Mrs Dambuza, for her strong leadership within the committee and for setting the pace for robust discussion and interrogation of the performance of the Minister and his department, keeping them accountable. You are a true activist for the rights of all our people. Enkosi. [Thank you.]
Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, hon members and members of the Human Settlements family led by Director-General Zulu, South Africa, like other countries, is faced with rural development challenges. International development practitioners argue that for development to be effective, one of its central elements has to be community participation. South Africa has acknowledged, through the development of the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy, that the success of development would be enhanced by local community participation.
Numerous rural development initiatives have been undertaken in South Africa. These include policy developments and programmes, as well as strategies. Unlike in many other African countries, rural development in South Africa is influenced more by politically motivated experiences than rural-urban economies. Rural development was and still is influenced by segregationist policies created by the apartheid era.
Hon Minister, apartheid laws and policies are largely responsible for the insecure tenure rights experienced by the majority of South Africans today. The Group Areas Act, Act 41 of 1950, and its succeeding Acts resulted in people being evicted from their homes without compensation and being relocated to remote, racially defined areas that deprived them of work and educational opportunities. More homes were demolished than built.
The apartheid government had grossly unequal approaches to housing for each racial group. Subsidy schemes were racially divided, poorly targeted and inadequately funded. Black residential areas were exposed to growing housing shortages, a lack of resources, poor or no infrastructure and poor service delivery, which resulted in substandard and highly inadequate housing for black people in South Africa.
Although some people in the House think that we must forget about our past experiences and focus on the future, the legacy of apartheid is still with us - a constant reminder of what we as the ANC-led government need to do to restore the dignity of the majority of South Africans. South Africa's historical policies meant that the majority of South Africans had no right to own land and no water or property rights. We were also not "human enough" to have adequate infrastructure and were restricted to moving from rural to urban areas.
The postapartheid era in South Africa ushered in a wide range of legislation and policies aimed at guaranteeing, promoting and protecting the rights of individuals to adequate housing and sanitation. The plight of vulnerable people, mostly women, children and people with disabilities, is receiving serious attention from the ANC-led government.
Hon Chairperson, in his state of the nation address our president announced the huge nationwide campaign of infrastructure building, which will boost the country's economy. This announcement is an indication that the ANC-led government will move mountains to ensure the restoration of dignity of all South Africans to create a nonracial, nonsexist democratic country. South Africa should take this opportunity to develop and establish new towns, cities and townships. The multibillion rand investment throughout the country in ports, rail, roads and many other developments will create many job opportunities for the majority of South Africans, especially in the rural areas. Hon Minister, the Department of Human Settlements will not win the battle against the mushrooming of informal settlements if rural areas are neglected, because people move from rural areas to seek job opportunities in the cities. Some move because they think the urban areas are more developed. In his written response to the NCOP, President Zuma acknowledged that the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme faced funding challenges and that insufficient co-ordination across government spheres was frustrating efforts to improve rural communities. However, a number of projects focusing on enterprise development, basic services and agricultural development were in various stages of implementation.
The provision of social and economic infrastructure in the 23 district municipalities experiencing the largest backlogs is one of the strategic projects contained in the infrastructure development plan adopted by the Cabinet and the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission. Hon Minister, there is a need to look into the funding model and policies regarding budget allocation to address the huge backlogs, especially in rural areas. We cannot continue to follow the apartheid pattern of allocating budget funds. We need to change this so that we can transform our country.
During our oversight visit to the Free State, we visited an agri-village called Diyatalawa, which means "falling apples". Diyatalawa was originally an apple farm. The ANC-led government, through the Department of Human Settlements and in partnership with the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, made it possible for the former farm labourers to become the new owners of the farm. It has beautiful and spacious houses, cattle and chicken runs. The building of schools, a clinic and roads was also in the pipeline. This is the kind of transformation we need to see in the country, in line with what is captured in the Freedom Charter, namely that the land shall be shared among those who work it. [Applause.]
Let me applaud the Mpumalanga province for implementing its Comprehensive Rural Development Programme. Seven municipalities benefited from this programme. All these municipalities have 960 units each: Nkomazi, Bushbuckridge, Mkhondo, Thembisile, Dr J S Moroka, Pixley ka Seme and Albert Luthuli.
When we are dealing with rural development, there is a need to bring industry to these areas. For example, there are sugar-cane farms and two mills in the eastern part of Mpumalanga. The sugar is refined 400 km away from where the sugar cane is produced. Why not have those factories next to the sugar-cane mills? This would create job opportunities for the people of that area.
The provincial subsidies of R83 000 for people earning between R3 500 and R15 000 will ensure that professionals in the rural areas will be able to access housing finance from accredited banks. This is a step in the right direction of ensuring a better life for all.
Hon Minister, the Department of Human Settlements has the huge task of ensuring that the injustices and inequalities of the past are addressed and the dignity of our people restored. We applaud the department as it strives to ensure that the majority of vulnerable people are settled, but there is a need to ensure that quality houses are built. This would avoid any rectification of newly built houses and of rectifying the rectified houses. Hopefully we will see the National Home Builders Registration Council more in action during this financial year.
Sengigcina nje, Ndvuna lehloniphekile, umuntfu unelilungelo lekuhlala lapho afuna khona. Bantfu basemakhaya, ngisho le etabelweni, abangaphocelelwa kuya emadolobheni ngoba bafuna imphilo lencono. Ematfuba emisebenti akaletfwe nasetindzaweni tasemakhaya. Umuntfu akayewusebenta khashane ngobe atsandza, hhayi ngobe aphocelelwa simo.
Tinsita atitfolakale ngalokufananako, njengoba nemalungelo ayafanana. Kute umuntfu lonemalungelo lancono kunewalomunye. Siyati kwekutsi tindzawo tasemakhaya atifani, kepha leto letingakhona kutfutfukiseka, asiyibone intfutfuko ifika. Siyabonga, Ndvuna, kwekutsi naloluhlelo lwetindlu tangasese, letiletsa sitfunti nekuhlonipheka kubantfu ngisho etabelweni, lutawuhamba kahle njengoba litiko lakho lisetfulele emhlanganweni welikomiti lelibukene nekwakhiwa kwetindlu. (Translation of Siswati paragraphs follows.) [In conclusion, hon Minister, a person has a right to stay wherever he wants to. People from rural areas, I mean deep rural areas, should not be forced to move to towns in pursuit of a better life. Job opportunities should also be brought to the rural areas. It should be a person's choice to work far away; it should not be because of the situation people find themselves in.
Services should be accessed in the same way, as the rights are the same. One person should not enjoy more rights than another. We know that rural areas are not the same, but we want to see development in those that can be developed. We thank you, Minister, that the toilets programme, that brings dignity and respect to people in the deep rural areas, will be well implemented as outlined by your department in the meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements.]
Hon Minister, I just want to say a few things to the two hon members who have never set foot in the committee. I want to thank them for supporting the Budget Vote, but ... [Laughter.] The ANC supports the Budget Vote. [Time expired.]
Hon Minister, you didn't use all your time at the beginning. In fact, you have six minutes to respond. You have the floor.
Chairperson, I thought you were going to say there was a miscalculation and you were giving me another 30 minutes. [Laughter.] As usual, Ministers have to read their initial inputs at the speed of a Ferrari. Those of you who heard me reading very fast - I don't speak that fast - please understand I was trying to fit in as much as possible. You can go and read the full text because I did jump over some of the details that I thought were unnecessary to read. I say this because it is important that when you come to fire a question as the debate around human settlements commences, you should do so with an understanding that it must be an informed debate.
Hon members, I always leave this House and go to Cabinet with a sense of satisfaction, based on the knowledge that people, particularly the portfolio committee, don't play political football with housing. My portfolio committee, which is a multiparty committee - and I'm your member as much as I'm your point person within the Cabinet - is a very constructive one. There is political point-scoring and I accept that, but there is no cheap political point-scoring. There is a feeling that all of us are committed to providing for our people, and I welcome that. [Applause.]
My second point is that I have heard a number of good suggestions here, which, I believe, we will respond to as the debate progresses. I want to say that we will commit ourselves to the issue of title deeds in particular. It is unacceptable that people remain without title deeds in certain situations. Sometimes confusion comes as a result of family members jostling around on who should get the title deed. I'm happy to say that we will be working quite closely with Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma of the Department of Home Affairs on the smartcards - the new identity document cards that she is introducing. It is foolproof and it is going to assist us in following up on who owns houses, where, and so on. The cards will also help us to detect fraud.
MaNjobe, as the mother here - and we respect that - you have come out very strongly on sanitation. It has been a central theme for people here. Sanitation is a form of infrastructure. As I said, we are a UN signatory and sanitation has been internationalised. It is simply good manners that this asset, which is required for human dignity, must be a nationalised topic in South Africa. I'm happy that the Presidential Infrastructure Co- ordinating Commission, under the President, has accepted that this is a central issue. The committee under Winnie Mandela will be reporting quite soon and table its report before the portfolio committee, as I've said. It has already had interactions with Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe. I have had sight of and I am studying even further the recommendations of that committee. I think we're going to turn the corner in that area because it's low-hanging fruit. These are not houses we are talking about, but toilets, and the first dignity that we must give to our people is in that area.
Hon Sithole, thanks for raising the question of hostels, but we are doing something about this. You should have been - I invited all of you - to Jabulani Hostel. Jabulani and Dube hostels have been improved. They are first-class residential areas today. This came as a result of another member of the IFP, whom you replaced: Baba Nkosi. He was my guest at Jabulani Hostel. He is the one who instigated that we should do this, and I respect that. We are now also taking the message from you. Sir, please find the time and visit Dube, where I am from, and Jabulani. [Applause.] We are listening to you because you want to bring change to the lives of our people.
Hon Sosibo and the rest of this House, I want you to follow this example. We are not just talking about housing as amatshotshombe [shacks.] A house is actually an asset. It's an asset and I want to hear the language of capital, of an asset, of equity, to make sure that when the time is right and people have to trade these assets, they do so knowing that they can now participate in the property market as well as the financial market - but not prematurely. That's what this House does.
However, what has been raised is that we cannot continue giving houses freely all the time. Of course this is so. The only reason we do so is because we cannot turn our backs on our people; on those South Africans who are in an unfortunate position and have fallen through the cracks. It's simply not tenable that we turn our backs on them. However, we really hope that when the economy turns around, the scenario will be different.
As I said, the economy is performing at around 3%. We all know the number. The South African economy should have been at 7% by now. This means that we are experiencing negative economic growth. It should have been at 6% by the year 2000. It is now 10 years later, but we are still lingering around 3%. There is a negative here. When jobs are available as a result of a strongly performing economy, we will have the possibility of people turning jobs into assets. There is no such thing as: "Long live the job!". A job is for something; so that people can have an asset. The first basic asset that we all require is a house. It's not a car, a watch, furniture ...
A BMW?
Of course it's not a BMW! I heard all the issues raised here today, but I want to say to hon Mokgalapa from the DA that I think it is going to be like Mr Steyn. He's a very robust Member of Parliament, but you are making mistakes, sir. The things you said came from the DA are good and we agree with all of them. I agree because you took them all from my speech of last year. [Laughter.] I thank you for that. [Applause.] As for the Western Cape, which is supposed to be held up against the ruling party, we welcome that. It's good competition. I had a moment to share this morning with the premier. She is a good premier and our boss here in the province, but I was careful to see if she was looking at me with the same eyes as Zwelinzima Vavi. [Laughter.]
However, we are working very well together. We are spending R400 million on the Slovo Project, watched by the Constitutional Court. The project is coming on very well and it shows how the three spheres of government - national, provincial and local - can work together, although Mayor de Lille was not there. We appreciate their efforts and their work. Please convey those sentiments of mine to her, because I was with your lady. You know, I love those two ladies. So please convey the fact that the Minister was here; that she snubbed me, but that I nevertheless recognised the input she is making. This project is forging ahead fast.
Please, hon members, visit the Slovo Project. Those of you who have seen it will know it is a first-class, first-world project, and it's happening right before us. Those shacks are going away. At the end of the day, we will give dignity to those people and do away with the eyesore we see there.
My last point is to thank everybody who participated, the portfolio committee, the leaders of the various parties present here and members of the Human Settlements team under Mr Zulu. It's a full house here, which shows that people are interested in this subject.