Date: 21/04/2010
Source: The Democratic Alliance
Title: DA: Figlan: Speech by DA Member of Parliament on Human Settlements budget vote, National Assembly

Speaker,

When the Minister was appointed to the Human Settlements portfolio, his deployment was initially met with criticism due to conflict of interests concerns generated by his chairmanship of Mvelaphanda Holdings.

When the Honourable Minister duly resigned from his position at Mvelaphanda, this represented a welcome indication that he was indeed committed to his posting as the new position charged with tackling, perhaps one of the most difficult portfolios in the cabinet.

He inherited a department that has been marred with corruption, housing delivery backlogs, shoddy workmanship on houses delivered and severe under-funding. A problem that continues to grow exponentially. The Department of Human Settlements has said that in three years time, R102 billion will be required to clear the housing backlog, a figure which will more than double to R253 billion in 2016. (This is nearly 20 times the entire current annual housing budget)

This is however not the only challenge faced by the Minister. A significant portion of the entities under the Minister's custodianship are faced with problems.

The former CEO of the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC), Phetola Makghathe, was suspended and had his contract of employment terminated for reasons the Minister is yet to provide to the portfolio and the public. He was paid in excess of R1-million while under suspension and awarded a further R2.2-million before his disciplinary hearing was completed.

By not providing the reasons for the suspension of Mr Makgathe, the Minister continues to perpetuate the culture within the ANC where senior officials are suspended with full benefits without reasons being provided. These officials often then remain on the payroll of their respective departments until their contract period expires, they resign before any action is taken against them or settlement agreements are reached.

The platinum handshake that was offered to the suspended CEO of the bankrupt SABC comes to mind in this regard.

The DA is very much concerned that, R1.3-billion needs to be set aside for the repairing of shoddily built RDP houses. This is money that could have been used to build 240 new RDP houses and help make inroads into the 2.1-million housing backlog.

Another issue of concern is the technically insolvent Thubelisha Homes. Although the institution was shut down at a cost of R241-million, the inefficiencies caused by the entity are still in existence. The issues facing the N2 Gateway project have still not been resolved. Of the 22 000 houses promised, only 821 have been built, a significant number of which still stand empty and are faced with structural problems.

A new scandal involving Thubelisha has emerged in KwaZulu-Natal. Only 140 homes were built in a project aimed at 3 300 low-cost houses in Ingwavuma and a draft report leaked to the Daily News paints a shocking picture of fraud, funds deposited into personal accounts and overpayments on the project amounting to about R150-million.

The DA waits with baited breath that the Housing Development Agency (HDA) which replaces Thubelisha Homes will not carry over its inadequacies. The HDA's current main role only extends to the acquisition of land for the purpose of the construction of houses.

The Rural Housing Loan Fund (RHLF) is also facing a number of problems. The fund was established as a section 21 company with the mandate of providing affordable credit to low income rural households. Under-funding from the Department has been identified by the entity as a hindrance towards achieving this goal. Furthermore, the interest charged by the RHLF for the repayment of loans is perhaps a little too high and should this amount be lowered, it could very well result in fewer defaults.

Another issue that requires the Minister's attention is the pre-emptive clause contained in RDP beneficiary housing contracts. In 2002 the pre-emptive clause was included to prevent people from selling their houses within 8 years of acquiring them. This clause however, is like a toothless dog. The Minister needs to put in place measures that will enforce this clause. Xhosa version.

The DA would like to encourage the Minister to continue implementing the People's Housing Project (PHP). Despite its many challenges, the PHP programme encourages people to take part in the construction of their own houses. This program has an element of sweat-equity, cultivates a sense of responsibility and has an element of empowerment. The national department must however make more funds available for this programme and ensure that it is implemented across all nine provinces.

The DA has also received numerous complaints from the disabled community especially deaf people that the department does not have the staff who are able to assist them when they interact with the department. The DA would like to call on the Minister to ensure that all South Africans have access to government's services. The Minister must introduce measures in all housing departments across all nine provinces for people with special needs to enable them to communicate with the department about their housing needs.

It is regrettable that the Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA) is not yet in operation. There is a great need for more affordable rental housing and we believe that the SHRA will be able to expedite the delivery of rental units.

ENKOSI.