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

Chairperson, Honourable Minister & Deputy Minister, Honourable Members and distinguished guests.

10 Months ago, I stood in this House and expressed my wish that the appointments of Minister Sexwale and deputy Minister Zoe Kota would finally lead to the creation of sustainable communities. Today, it may be too soon to pass judgement on that wish, and I would very much like to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Last year, the minister was at pains to describe the "concept of Human Settlements", and in policy terms, nothing has changed since then. However, to date, nothing much has changed as far as the implementation of those policies is concerned either! Again, it may be too soon to expect to see Human Settlements in place of housing as we have come to know it over the last 15 years or so. But is it too soon to expect to see the planning of future developments take cognisance of the concept of what would constitute a Human Settlement?

Apparently it is! Honourable minister, please correct me if I am wrong. When planning takes place for the budget process, the Division of Revenue Act requires the compilation of a Business Plan that is linked to the Integrated Housing & Human Settlement Development Grant. Since the national department does not deliver any houses, its Business Plan must be supported and consist of the nine provincial business plans. I would imagine that the provincial departments would need to submit their business plans containing details of the projects to be undertaken on which their budgets, or expected budget allocations, are to be spent, during the last quarter of the preceding year, should it not? For example, the business plans for the budget that we are debating today, should have been finalised during the last quarter of 2009. In any case, housing developments normally span over a period of 2, 3 or even 4 years and some projects are therefore carried over in the business plans from one year to the next.

How is it possible then that as at the end of last month, 4 out of the 9 provinces had failed to submit a business plan to your department for this new budget? The Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga could not provide your department with details of how they planned to utilise their budgets. Perhaps they know how they are going to spend the money, they just don't know if it is going to be spent on housing, and it therefore can't necessarily be included in a housing business plan?

The other related concern Chairperson, is the fact that most of the priorities of the business plans that have been submitted, are not in line with the priorities set by the national department. Now if we can't manage the relatively simple task of planning for projects within the housing department only, how on earth then are we eventually going to end up with decent, well planned integrated human settlements as envisaged not only by the honourable minister, but I daresay by all of us in this House, that will involve all departments required to make this a reality? In this regard, may I remind this House of the statement made by the honourable deputy minister in her budget speech in the NCOP last year? She said, and I quote: "We are unapologetic in asserting that planning together, budgeting together and coordinating together remain the pre-requisites and non- negotiables for the realisation of integrated human settlements", close quote - a sentiment I fully concur with but which does not appear to be within our grasp.

Chairperson, on the 24th May 2006, then minister of Housing, the honourable minister Lindiwe Sisulu, made a statement that informal settlements across the country will be eradicated by 2014. While we all know that this was a pipe-dream, we chose to err on the side of the impossible because it is what we wanted. Little progress has been made since 2006 and the ministry was unusually quiet about the progress on this front, until Pres Zuma mentioned in his SONA, and I quote: "We are working to upgrade well-located informal settlements and provide proper service and land tenure to at least 500 000 households by 2014". This figure has since been confirmed by the department in their strategic plan. The eradication target by 2014 was announced amidst much fanfare. By contrast, the revised target of only 500,000 units by 2014 has slipped in quietly, like a thief in the night. No explanation, no detail of a revised date - perhaps a new date for the eradication of all informal settlements will be announced next year, considering that it will be an election year.

Whilst not much has been said about the eradication of informal settlements though, there has been much talk over the last year of the rectification of badly built RDP houses, and even some that have to be completely demolished and rebuilt. Almost every province will have an allocation towards this programme, which is a complete waste of resources. What is never mentioned in this regard is the fact that we have an agency established especially to prevent this shoddy workmanship from taking place in the first place. This agency is called the National Home Builders Registration Council and came into life under the auspices of the Consumer Protection Act of 1998. Admittedly, not all the defective RDP houses were required to be registered with the NHBRC and therefore were not subject to their inspections. However, a large number were, and yet nobody has asked why these defects were not identified and corrected at the stage of construction, rather than years later. Honourable minister, perhaps this oversight should be included in the investigation of corrupt builders and officials who may have been in cahoots with these contractors.

Chairperson, the involvement of politicians and officials doing business with government has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks, particularly where there is a clear conflict of interest. I believe there has been widespread agreement that this is an unacceptable situation. I therefore have to ask the honourable minister if he is, or has been aware, that the acting CEO of the NHBRC has also entered into an agreement with the Gauteng Department of Housing to construct 1431 RDP houses at an estimated total cost of R78 million. Surely, honourable minister, this represents a gross conflict of interest - the head of the institute which must monitor the quality of houses is building houses for government! If you are aware of this honourable minister, you must inform this House why he has been allowed to do that and retain his very senior position in the agency. If not, then we expect that you will take immediate action. Whatever the case may be, I nevertheless call on Mr. Sipho Mashinini, the acting CEO, to immediately resign his position. In a recent presentation to the portfolio committee by the NHBRC, Mr. Mashinini replied to a question from me and added the very noble statement at the end of his reply - he said: "It is the right thing to do". Well Mr. Mashinini, resign from the NHBRC with immediate effect, because it is the right thing to do! I trust that the minister will give political leadership on the basis of sound principles and good governance as he promised when he took office in this regard.

Chairperson, the Democratic Alliance welcomes the initiative taken by the department of the R1 billion guarantee fund aimed at bridging the housing finance gap in the middle-income market. I am also encouraged by the minister's assurance that the fund would not be used for irresponsible lending practises. While this initiative will undoubtedly stimulate the demand side, it is still unclear to me how it will motivate developers to increase the supply of affordable housing to this market. Basic economic principles dictate that when demand increases in the absence of adequate supply, the price will inevitably increase, and the so-called affordable homes currently on the market averages R400,000 for the most basic house of 2 bedrooms and one bathroom, often without any cupboards, perimeter fencing or wall and even, in some instances, no floor covering. These are all necessities for any new home owner and will require additional finance from an overstretched borrower.

I therefore plead with minister Sexwale's and his task team to look at ways to stimulate the supply side of affordable housing for this market as well; otherwise this initiative will fall flat.

I thank you.