REMARKS BY THE MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS HONOURABLE LINDIWE SISULU AT THE BUDGET VOTE MEDIA BRIEFING, IMBIZO MEDIA ROOM, PARLIAMENT, CAPE TOWN, JULY 15, 2014
Greetings to members of the Media
It is good to see some of you again. The last time I saw you when I was in this portfolio, we agreed we would go build a few houses in Langa, but then no one came to our media briefings again. I hope you will not run away this time.
I am accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Human Settlements, Zou Kota-Fredericks, the Director-General, Thabane Zulu, Chairpersons and CEOs of our Human Settlements institutions that help us achieve our mandate.
Last week we met with Human Settlements MECs from all nine Provinces (MINMEC). We have also met with all our institutions and some of our stakeholders. We hope to meet every one of them before the end of September. We will increase our engagement with stakeholders, we believe what is termed the golden years of housing when delivery passed 270000 per year were possible due to our relationship with stakeholders, going forward our delivery approach will be of partnerships with all sectors.
We all agree that we need to return to the 2004 Cabinet approved Comprehensive Plan for the Development of Integrated Sustainable Human Settlements, popularly known as Breaking New Ground (BNG).
The incorporation of the BNG into the National Development Plan (NDP) closes a policy gap that existed over years. We call on all stakeholders to join us as we gear ourselves for fast tracked implementation of the NDP.
The Budget Vote we are about to deliver is designed as an intervention in the sector towards the building of 1,5 million houses in partnership with the private sector , all stakeholders and communities, over the next five years.
We believe the building of houses must be a catalyst for skills development and job creation. South Africa is about to become the biggest construction site in Africa and most probably in the developing world. We will build close to 270000 houses annually as a sector. It looks impossible, but we have been here before. At the height of implementing the BNG policy we were building over 270000 per year.
After reviewing housing delivery from 2005 to 2009 and 2009 to 2014, we have come to the conclusion that we need to change our approach. We need to move from small projects of 200 houses to mega projects of integrated housing mix to cater for different incomes and needs. These will include houses for the indigent, gap housing, rental units, social housing and serviced stands. This will ensure integration of different income groups, different races and lead to the building of a South Africa that truly belongs to all.
To achieve our vision there are urgent systemic interventions that we need to implement.
We will do this from today (100 days programme), short term (12 months) and a clear five-year programme which we will review annually with MINMEC and all stakeholders.
THIS IS WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN OUR 100 DAYS PROGRAMME:-
· We will identify 50 National Priority Projects across South Africa that will deliver mega integrated and sustainable human settlements. MEGA is the key word; these projects will deliver BNG houses (30%), Gap houses (20%), rental accommodation (20%), social housing (10%) and serviced sites (20%). These projects will also have economic and social amenities. A youth brigade will be created in each province and assigned to catalytic projects.
· We will celebrate Women’s Month by building 1956 houses in each province for women, by women. This will be done between August and December 2014.
· The Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) will prioritise the issuing of Title Deeds for the pre and post 1994 stock. The Department of Human Settlements will collaborate with the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform and the Deeds Office by establishing a dedicated unit that will fast-track the issuing of Title Deeds to realise the value of the “dead assets” that are in the hands of our people.
· The N2 Gateway Project is moving very slowly and therefore MINMEC took a decision at its recent meeting that it will revert to being a National Priority Project from which all can learn. The project was initially funded by all provinces to pilot the BNG policy.
· We will convene a summit to review progress made since the signing of the Social Contract for Rapid Housing Delivery in 2005. We will recommit all stakeholders to Part Two of this relationship towards building 1,5 million houses in five years.
· We will restructure the Human Settlements entities. The Housing Development Agency (HDA) will become a fully fledged property development agency, whose job is not only to acquire and prepare land, but also to be project managers to assist municipalities and any other sphere of government that might need support. They must drive rapid housing delivery.
· The Rural Housing Loan Fund (RHLF) will be incorporated into the National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) to offer comprehensive housing finance and loans to low-income earners.
· Similarly, the Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA) will be absorbed as a component of the Department of Human Settlements as it has been unable to fulfill its mandate. This is effective immediately.
· We will establish a Human Settlements Standards and Compliance Unit to unblock red tape in the housing value chain and also ensure that all legislation is complied with by municipalities and property developers.
· We will establish a Women and Youth in Construction Support Programme headed by a Deputy Director-General (DDG) in the National Department of Human Settlements to ensure that women and the youth are supported to be part of the construction boom. We expect provincial Departments to do the same.
· As requested by the Estate Agency Affairs Board, we will bring it closer to the Department of Human Settlements to help it fulfill its mandate guided by the priorities of government.
This is what we will do over the next 12 months as we intensify service delivery:-
We will embark on and lay the basis for a Spatial Master Plan for Human Settlements in line with the NDP, as we seek to redesign our cities and deal with apartheid spatial planning.
We will develop a South African Housing Database to keep records of all those who have benefitted from government assisted housing programmes. We want to audit those who have fraudulently benefited twice and take the necessary steps.
We will host the National Human Settlements Indaba to build partnerships with all stakeholders for fast tracked housing delivery. We seek to have summits and roundtable discussions with all stakeholders to review what worked before, and how best we can come together again and achieve our target of 1,5 million houses over the next five years.
The National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) will establish and officially open a Training Academy in partnership with the Gordon Institute of Business Science. This will focus on up-skilling 100 women and the youth. In our discussions with the EAAB, they committed to train young, black candidate Estate Agents to revitalise the industry. The Academy established by the NHBRC will incorporate a training course on Estate Agents and other property practitioners.
OTHER KEY PRIORITIES FOR FIVE YEARS
There is a need to prioritise the elderly and disabled in housing provision. We need to reach a point where we say we have eradicated the backlog as we found it in 1994. How many people who were 60 years old in 1994 are still on the waiting list today? When do we eradicate the backlog? During this term we will prioritise the elderly and the disabled.
We are aware of the state of the credibility of our database for the housing waiting list. We will make this a special project, the housing waiting list, to clean up the system and verify it against the population register and the voters’ roll.
We call upon all people who are 80 years and above, who are on the housing waiting list, to come forward and we will make sure that you have a house within the next six months. Our call centre number is 0800 14 6873. What we will be doing thereafter is systematically dealing with the indigent, using age criteria and also child headed households. This practice of having 18 year-olds on the waiting list must come to an end. This will allow us as a government to have a cut off date and may answer the question that has come from many commentators – “when will we end the free provision of houses, is it sustainable?” The answer is – “when we have cleared the backlog”.
We are encouraging employer assisted housing by making serviced sites available at reduced prices to employers who seek to assist their employees to purchase a serviced site to progressively build their houses. We will urgently host a summit with employers and representatives of employees to finalise this matter. We think there is a role for developmental finance institutions, pension funds and stokvels to assist workers to have a roof over their heads.
The state of derelict buildings is a health hazard and these are prone to being hijacked. Once illegally occupied, the responsibility on the municipalities is onerous. We will be looking into this matter and seeking legal advice on the possibility of expropriation where we find absentee landlords, so that these can be productively turned into rental stock after they have been refurbished. In reviewing the Prevention of Illegal Evictions from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act, we will consider options to confiscate property from absentee landlords.
South Africa has close to a million employees who earn between R1 500 and R10000 per month searching for affordable housing. They are looking to buy a house of between R100 000 and R300 000. Currently that housing stock is not there. The private sector is unable to produce that stock for this low income group.
The gap is legally and illegally filled by the sale of BNG or RDP houses. This we must attend to urgently and to this end, we have resolved to revive the Social Contract that was signed by all stakeholders in 2005. Government, being the biggest employer, will have to be a major player.
There is a great demand for rental accommodation in cities and centres of economic development for low-income earners and students. Rental stock at reasonable rates, that which we call social housing, is the way we will find sustainable provision of affordable housing. South Africa also has a high level of young unemployed people who are looking for work and students who need affordable accommodation.
We are very glad that the Minister of Rural Development and Land Affairs is attending to the matter of foreign ownership of land. An appeal was made to municipalities in 2005 not to sell land before offering it to the State. Together with the Minister of Rural Development and Land Affairs we will regularise this rather than relying on the goodwill of municipalities. We need well located land if we want to accomplish integrated and sustainable human settlements.
ACHIEVEMENTS AT THE END OF THE TERM
Ø We will deliver 1,5 million houses with different stakeholders for different income groups.
Ø The President made it clear in his State of the Nation Address that part of our responsibilities includes the revitalisation of mining towns. We will complete this project in partnership with other government departments and all stakeholders in the mining sector.
Ø We will finalise the Master Spatial Plan for Human Settlements to enable the building of sustainable human settlements in well located land. This is an enabler to achieve the NDP vision.
Everyone who has a family and is able has a moral responsibility to be part of providing a roof over the heads of their children.
I thank you
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