Hon Chairperson, hon Deputy Minister Kota-Fredericks, hon members, the government and private housing sectors in South Africa are in a see-saw situation. The percentage of households living in fully owned formal dwellings increased from 53% in 2002 to 58% in 2007, but in 2009 it decreased again to 56%, according to Statistics SA. [Interjections.]
On the other hand, South Africa is faced with 48 176 informal settlement sites that need improvement. Approximately 17 425 Reconstruction and Development Programme, RDP, houses need to be demolished or rectified, in other words, correcting the shoddy work previously done by companies. The number keeps changing, Minister. The problem with these houses that need to be demolished or rectified relates to the poor quality of foundations, walls and roofs. A recycling project for the recovery and reuse of building material from the demolished RDP houses will create a huge saving in costs and massive job opportunities.
Minister, the majority of beneficiaries of these RDP houses are female. Approximately 39 112 houses need to be delivered in rural areas. We are concerned about the lack of co-ordination and alignment of programmes between the three spheres of government, especially between the provincial and local governments. I believe that the permanent delegates to the NCOP can play a meaningful role in this regard.
From the last report given to the portfolio committee on provincial business plans and Outcome 8 Targets, the national priority is to create sustainable human settlements and improve the quality of household life. This means that in urban areas more houses need to be delivered to avoid stand-offs such as the ones in Mitchells Plain, Eersterivier and Mandela Park in Khayelitsha. This leads to the question: What does slum upgrading entail? Minister, is the department on track to meet its target of 400 000 informal settlement houses?
Cope believes that rural-based provinces should focus on rural housing. By doing so, they will accelerate housing delivery opportunities, as envisaged by the national department. It is therefore unacceptable that the Eastern Cape, as a rural province, only allocates 13% of its budget to informal settlement upgrading. [Interjections.]