Date: 14/03/05
Source: Ministry of housing
Title: Sisulu: Comprehensive plan on human settlements

Press statement by LN Sisulu National Minister of Housing

14 March 2005


Ladies and Gentlemen:

Given the fact that in April we start the full implementation of the Comprehensive Plan on Human Settlements that Cabinet approved last year, it has been important for me to have this interaction with you today to make some few important announcements. We hope that in making these announcements our relevant stakeholders in housing will gear themselves up to enable a smooth implementation.

Further, it is the end of the financial year 2004/2005 this month. We therefore deemed it necessary to give you a report back, as we had promised last year, on the matters we are dealing with currently in respect of the Plan.

You obviously will know that at the beginning of the year we were tasked by the President to ensure that we speed the rate of delivery of houses by reversing the trend in some provinces where there has been a slow-down in housing delivery. I am happy to announce that we are making some progress in this regard. Unlike in the past we have a clean bill of health in our financial expenditure which indicates that we are passing 71 percent.

In accordance with the Plan we have also been able to redefine affordability. We have increased the housing subsidy substantially. In real terms the increases are as follows:
Subsidy categories
Subsidy 2004/2005
2005/2006
Hard-core poor / indigent:
* R0 - R1500 (Project linked, individual subsidies, aged, disabled and indigent)
R28 279
R31 900
Poor:
* R1500 – R3500
R15 000 or R8 000 based on income categories (Plus own contribution)
R29 400 (Own contribution, financial, R2479.00 or sweat equity).

We are also in the process of assessing the houses build between 1994 and 2002 - houses that were shoddily built as a result of various factors. The NHBRC is the housing institution that will assist us in this process. Already recommendations are being made in this regard in respect of developers who are directly responsible for the shoddy work.

In addition, as of 1 April 2005 we will be putting in place a series of mechanisms to address the upgrading of houses built before 15 March 1994 to bring them in line with the intentions of human settlement plans. In due course provinces would be able to give details in this regard. Our role as the National Department would be to ensure consistency and fairness in approaches.

In consultation with the Auditor-General we would be undertaking an exercise to validate the waiting lists across the country. This would be done to ensure that there are consolidated lists; that there is integrity to the lists and that people have confidence in them. At the end of the process the integrity of the data would be such that it can relate to the data being held by other departments such as Home Affairs and Social Development and that we can be able to project into the future in respect of the housing needs and plan better. As a priority this process will begin in the Western Cape and in Cape Town in particular where the N2 Project is currently underway.

The process will help us to create a number of categories in line with whether the beneficiaries’ choice is a house to own, or it’s a house for rental stock. We already have an information management system which we will use as a ‘warehouse’ of this data to use in decision making and implementation of projects by all spheres of government.

Finally, I would like to formally announce that the President has decided to redeploy Ms Mpumi Mpofu to be the Director-General of the Department of Transport with effect from 15 March. I would like to thank her for her contribution and the guidance she provided to housing during her tenure.

I thank you.
Issued by: Ministry of housing
14 March 2005