Hon Chairperson, hon Minister of Human Settlements, hon Deputy Minister, hon members, distinguished guests, I greet you all.
Our own tasks are very clear. To bring about the kind of society that is visualised in the Freedom Charter, we have to break down and destroy the old order.
These words were said in 1985 by the then President of the ANC, Comrade Oliver Reginald Tambo.
"There shall be houses, security and comfort!" - this is the commitment that the ANC made at its Congress of the People in Kliptown on 26 June 1955, and it has evolved ever since.
The 3,6 million houses that this government has delivered since the dawn of democracy are a major milestone, and the Minister has already alluded to this. However, the department undertook to verify occupancy of these houses, as there is an outcry out there that foreign nationals and people who do not necessarily need them occupy most of these houses.
The department is clear about the pre-emptive clause in the Housing Act that beneficiaries are not allowed to sell these houses within the eight- year occupancy. If the beneficiary wishes to do so, government should be the first to be approached.
The National Planning Commission, NPC, that was appointed by the President of the Republic, President Jacob Zuma, noted five main challenges in its diagnostic report in relation to transforming human settlement: firstly, a dysfunctional settlements pattern across the country; secondly, the challenges facing towns and cities; thirdly, the uncertain prospects of rural areas; fourthly, the challenges of providing housing and basic services and reactivation of communities; and lastly, weak spatial planning and governance capabilities.
There is an urgent need to develop a national approach to the above challenges, guided by nothing other than the National Development Plan, NDP, which has been adopted by both the governing party, the ANC, and government itself.
Chapter 8 of the National Development Plan and the Breaking New Ground strategy, which is known as the BNG, that the Minister has already mentioned, are clear indicators of how the department has to realise its commitments. As the committee, we are encouraged when we note that this is on course, looking at the strategic plan of the national department approved by Cabinet on 14 June 2014.
Yes, we are aware that there is a need for a master plan for human settlements and this is something that must be done - by yesterday!
The resolutions of the 53rd National Conference of the ANC resolved to accelerate the development of human settlement legislation that is comprehensive.
The committee's mandate is to maintain an oversight responsibility that ensures a quality process of scrutinising and overseeing government's actions. It is driven by the ideal of realising a better quality of life for all the people of South Africa. The committee's role is also to process legislation that is referred to it and to scrutinise the departmental budget.
The delivery priorities of the department seem to be in line with the strategic objectives of the ANC. We will be closely watching the implementation, hon Minister.
The increase of the provision of housing opportunities from 1 million to 1,5 million now - no longer 1,4 million - which translates into 270 000 housing opportunities per annum, is welcomed. However, as the committee, we would like to get more clarity on the following.
Firstly, how many projected job opportunities will be created by this, in order to curb the rate of unemployment that the country is engulfed by?
Secondly, how many of the youth, women and people with disabilities will be empowered and employed? We heard what the Minister has said, but we want more clarity.
Thirdly, what measures is the department putting in place to make sure that material is procured locally to empower emerging local businesses?
Lastly, what measures are in place to continue strengthening housing co- operatives to create much-needed employment in communities and ensure ownership as part of human settlements development?
We would like to see the issue of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act being amended. This is urgent because the issue of land invasion is something that we cannot deal with any longer in this country.
Yes, we are aware that the responsibility for the eradication of the bucket toilet system is something that still lies with our department, because the budget of R1,9 billion is for Human Settlements and we will make sure that this happens, hon Minister.
Now, we are aware that plus-minus R30 billion of the annual budget of 2014- 15 is actually an encouraging amount; and the committee notes that this budget is incremental and will increase on an annual basis by R2 billion to make sure that we try to meet the needs of the people. We are also encouraged by the fact that of this budget, only 3% is operational while 97% is for grants and transfers, which translates into delivery on the ground.
The human settlements development grant, which is the provincial grant, is plus-minus R17 billion, while the urban settlements development grant, USDG, is plus-minus 10 billion. The USDG was introduced in the 2011-12 financial year and is parallel to the accreditation of the metros. For those who don't understand accreditation, it means the delegation of housing responsibility to the metropolitan municipalities.
The aim of this grant, as it is explained in the Division of Revenue Act, is to assist metropolitan municipalities to improve urban land production for the benefit of the poor households by supplementing the revenues of the metros.
We also acknowledge that 63% of the total population growth has taken place in the metros due to rapid urbanisation. We are also aware that housing delivery challenges are found mainly in the country's metros. As the committee, we are therefore concerned about the spending trends of this grant, given the above analysis.
In the 2011-12 financial year, only 88% of this grant was used. In the 2012- 13 financial year, 93% was spent. We still await the 2013-14 expenditure information, but we can speculate that it was also underspent. Now, the department needs to furnish the committee with in-depth, measurable plans to deal with this underspending when the need is so high.
Is it because of a lack in the capacity of the metros? If it is, how does the department assist them? Are we ready to proceed to the next level of accreditation under the present state of affairs, as everybody wants the department to do? Can you give your child extra pocket money while he or she cannot spend what he or she already has?
We, therefore, welcome the introduction of the indirect grant called the "municipal human settlement capacity grant", which has been part of the budget for the 2014-15 financial year in order to try to address the above challenges. From the department's explanation, we gather the intention of this grant is to build capacity in municipalities and to deliver and subsidise the operational cost of administering the Human Settlements programme. We urge that this capacity-building of municipalities actually runs concurrently with the actual delivery.
The eight entities of the Department of Human Settlements are the Housing Development Agency, HAD; the Social Housing Regulatory Authority, SHRA; the Community Schemes Ombud Service, CSOS; the Rural Housing Loan Fund, RHLF; the National Housing Finance Corporation, NHFC; the Estate Agency Affairs Board, EAAB; the National Homebuilders Regulation Council, NHBRC; and the National Urban Reconstruction and Housing Agency, Nurcha.
These entities must please get their house in order to ensure they complement the work of the department in realising its mandate. Failing to do so will result in the committee coming down on them like a ton of bricks, as per our mandate of conducting oversight.
The committee will be monitoring the vertical and the horizontal contractual obligations of the department with other departments in the promotion of human settlements. We refer particularly to the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, the Department of Water and Sanitation, the Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs and any other department, as Human Settlements is a crosscutting department that would need co-operation and commitment from everybody.
We must move quickly, but not run with opportunism and such enthusiasm that we lose sight of our specific reality.
Revolutionaries regard themselves, first and foremost, as practical people who are dedicated to changing the world. They are rightly suspicious of those who merely talk about the injustice of apartheid and the evils of capitalism yet never seem to translate their words into action. "By their deeds, ye shall know them", is an old saying, and this emphasises the implementation phase of any plan.
As we do the balancing act of theory and practice, we cannot overemphasise the fact that we must not be afraid of making mistakes, hon Minister, because only those who get their hands dirty can make mistakes, not armchair critics. [Applause.] The mistakes we make should not dishearten us, just as the victories we score should not make us forget our mistakes.
In this radical phase of our economic transformation agenda, while we stress urgency, we must not be reckless. Radicalism must be coupled with discipline, not anarchy. False and reactionary ideas contain superficial elements of the truth in them, for they exist as the reflections of a real world; so, likewise, do ideas that are basically correct contain elements of distortion and one-sidedness.
The truth, in other words, is both absolute and relative. It is real, yet never complete. That is why serious revolutionaries constantly find it necessary to observe and study, to investigate both theory and reality and never to be opportunistic in nature. Political consciousness needs to be advanced by conscious efforts as a regular part of political struggle. That is what the ANC is about. [Applause.]
Let's demonstrate to our people that we have heard them and that we shall move South Africa forward, faster and with them.
In conclusion, I would like to extend a word of thanks to the support staff from the parliamentary portfolio committee, Ms Koliswa Pasiya; my secretary, Mr Greg Rhoxo; the personal assistant of the Whip of Human Settlements, Mr Anele Siwa; the ANC caucus; the study group; and the members of the portfolio committee. Thank you to the members of the ANC in all their corners and to South Africans, in general.
The ANC supports Budget Vote No 31. Let's get down to work, people! Our people expect no less from us. I thank you. [Applause.]