Programme Director,
Deputy Minister of Human Settlements; Ms Zo Kota-Fredericks (who will join us later)
MEC for Human Settlements; Mr Jacob Mamabolo,
MMC for Housing; Cllr Queen Duba,
Members of the Mayoral Committee,
Leaders of all political parties,
Fellow Councillors,
City Manager; Mr Khaya Ngema,
Representatives of Civil Society Organisations,
Leaders of business,
Distinguished guests,
Members of the media,
Fellow citizens.

It is an honour and privilege for me to welcome you all to this important gathering – the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Human Settlements Summit. This summit will provide us with clarity on the plans and actions we want to take as the Council in the roadmap to make our human settlements livable and sustainable and thus improve the quality of the lives of all fellow residents of Ekurhuleni.

This historic summit is a culmination of an extensive planning process by the Municipality in order to ensure that we come up with a short, medium and long-term vision in our resolve to address the complex problems of providing our residents with access to basic services and decent shelter - with a particular emphasis on residents living in backyard dwellings, informal settlements and those who have registered for low cost houses but are still on the waiting list.

Our mandate is broader and our plans include measures to improve access to affordable and quality housing for all our people regardless of their salary bracket. Indeed as a country and province we have a huge housing backlog, and a large number of informal settlements spread throughout the country. In Ekurhuleni alone, we have 119 informal settlements, with 162 000 people living in these settlements, thus making us arguably an area with one of the largest number of informal settlements in the country. In addition we have approximately 240 000 residents living in backyards and those who are registered yet are still on the waiting list.

Considering this information, it is therefore indicative of our commitment to  resolve our housing and human settlements problems that we have decided to host this summit to consult and present our plans on our vision and strategic roadmap. We also hope to solicit critical views on how we should take the process forward.

Programme Director,

Recently, we had a service delivery protest in Daveyton, which illustrated the need to ensure that as government we strike a balance between various community interests, needs and aspirations. The residents living in backyard dwellings in the township took to the streets in protest of being overlooked when it comes to provision of land and housing. Arguing their case, they accused  government of prioritizing people living in informal settlements over them when it came to the allocation of land and housing.

Indeed, we must acknowledge this fact. The facts and figures speak for themselves. In Ekurhuleni over the past ten years we have allocated no more than 2000 houses for people in the waiting list, whilst we have provided almost 97 000 residents living in informal settlements with access to housing opportunities.

In addition we have not been successful in the provision of housing opportunities for families wanting to rent. In the past twenty years our rental housing company has delivered only 998 rental opportunities. Thus we must, as this collective, over the next two days and thereafter ensure we provide the broadest and most inclusive solutions to our housing and human settlements problems.

Programme Director,

Gathered here are a number of stakeholders. These include community leaders, ward committees, government and the state and non-governmental organisations - making the quality of delegates even more strategic for a summit of this nature. Our intention is that once we have mapped out and agreed on the plan, it must be shared with the society at large. This we plan to do through regular engagements and consultation with stakeholders – a process we plan to roll out every fortnight.

We want the interests of our councillors and community representatives to set the agenda for development, and then have the private sector and business help us hone that vision and roadmap.

Fellow delegates,

I will be the first to point out that in the past 20 years significant strides have been made to deal with the issue of providing our people with proper shelter. Today over 3 million houses have been built around the country and over 12 million people now have a place they can call home. In Ekurhuleni we have constructed approximately 89 000 houses and serviced 127 000 stands. A proud achievement indeed, but more still needs to be done.

While providing houses remains a critical element of our programme, the scarcity of land in the country, it becomes important that we maximise densities and as well as leverage existing infrastructure.

President Jacob Zuma in this year’s State of the Nation Address correctly articulated the challenge that lies ahead of our government when he said: “…Housing is not just about building houses. It is also about transforming our residential areas and building communities with closer access to work and social amenities, including sports and recreation facilities.”

In line with the President’s vision, it therefore becomes imperative that a key issue which our plans must address is the need to not only spatially transform our towns and cities but our suburbs as well. In this we must ensure that we de-racialise as well as integrate our various income groups.

In doing so we must ensure that not only do our residents have access to running water, sanitation, primary health care, safety and security, recreational facilities and of course access to libraries - but they must also have access roads and efficient public transport.

As Ekurhuleni we are in the process of rolling out an ambitious plan for improved and accessible transport. The first phase of our BRT is currently under way. In the plans we will present over the next two days, our officials will demonstrate the close link between transport and housing. These two disciplines in the words of our Premier are the “Siamese twins of development”.

In addition we have ambitious plans for improving our township economies through the revitalization programme as well as the re-industrialisation of Ekurhuleni. Thus if you live in Ekurhuleni you can have a job, transport and an opportunity to have a sustainable livelihood.

Programme Director

As we structure our way forward and plan accordingly we must evaluate and pose questions and proffer answers to some important matters of principle and policy.

These must include the following:

•     What are our responsibilities as individuals to ensuring we gain access to housing.
•     What is the role and responsibilities of the state and government in relation to provision of housing.
•     What is our expectations of each other as state and the individual – who has to what and when in the housing process
•     We have limited resources and how do we make it go further
•     What are our obligations to ensure state resources are not abused and mismanaged.
•     Is it correct for us to have unrealistic expectations whilst at the same time knowing that we have limited resources
•     What are our obligations to illegal land occupations and land invasions
•     If I rent a house am I obliged to ensure I pay rent.

Programme director, I have no doubt in my mind that clear answers to these questions can only come from a candid and honest assessment of where we have come from, where we are and where we need to be in relation to the provision of housing.

In so doing we need to be mindful that we live in a society with disparate inequality and inequity. We also are duty bound to ensure there is a need to ensure that we will require a policy dispensation that allows for subsidizing sour communities.

To be free means in part to have:

1. Access to housing
2. Access to water and sanitation
3. Access to health care and roads
4. To live in a community that is safe and secure.

Housing is one of our critical service delivery challenges.

It is important to state that the population of Ekurhuleni is currently growing at a rate of between three and four percent every year. More and more people across the country and neighbouring countries continue to move into our space as they seek job opportunities.

In our Growth and Development Strategy 2055 we have committed ourselves to the concept of sustainable human settlements.

In this regard allow me to share some our Human Settlement Department’s Achievements according to our latest report shared with the public during the Mayoral Imbizo:

•     A total of 125 695 stands have been provided with services
•     96 081 Housing Top Structures have been built
•     In the region of about 2 000 hectares of land have been purchased for housing
•     988 social housing units have been built and delivered in the affordable category
•     Three Hostels have been upgraded and refurbished two more currently planned for redevelopment.
•     A Number of council owned rental units maintained and households provided with accommodation:
•         24 Hostels with 445 26 beds
•         38 blocks of flats comprising of 2 179 housing units.
•         15 old age homes consisting of 1 240 residents.

Honourable Deputy Minister,

Our Township Regeneration Integrated plans and strategies for the redevelopment of the following Township complexes have been completed:

•     Tembisa
•     Kathorus
•     Kwatsaduza
•     Wattville/Actonville
•     Daveyton/Etwatwa

Despite these and other achievements, as Ekurhuleni we have concluded that the formalisation of our Informal Settlements Upgrading Plan will, amongst others, provide certainty to people living in our 119 informal settlements. The regularisation process that has been developed by the City attempts to provide this certainty within a shorter time-frame. These initiatives, it is hoped, may encourage individuals to identify relevant resources and invest in these properties.

The City of Ekurhuleni is pioneering this new approach which will enable the City to deliver services much faster. A cycle of virtuous sustainable development is dependent on active citizenry, effective government and strong leadership. Citizens need to be given a strong platform to build capabilities and make meaningful contributions to society specifically:

•     The active efforts and participation of all residents in their own development
•     Redressing the injustices of the past effectively
•     Fast economic growth and higher investment and employment
•     Rising standards of education, a healthy population and effective social protection
•     Strengthening the links between economic and social strategies
•     An effective and capable government
•     Collaboration between the private and public sectors
•     Leadership from all sectors in society

Each of these elements includes a functional area of planning from municipalities. It also implies that there must be an integrated approach to settlement planning, taking into consideration all the facets of sustainable development.

In conclusion

I am confident that both the pre-summit deliberations as well as this important gathering will assist to point us to innovative and meaningful solutions. I trust that this Summit will create a renewed awareness of the housing issues we face as government. I trust that it will enable us to exchange information on practical actions and to share best practice.

Once again, on behalf of the City of Ekurhuleni, please allow me to welcome you to this Summit and urge you to lift the bar and take the battle for housing and sustainable human settlements to a higher level.

I wish you robust and creative engagements.

Thank you!

Issued by: City of Ekurhuleni