All interested persons are invited to furnish written comments to the
Head of Department,
Department of Housing,
Local Government and Planning,
Private Bag X9058,
Cape Town 8000
not later than 31 March 1996. A Xhosa translation is available at the Department's offices at
Union House,
14 Queen Victoria Street,
Cape Town.
Henry Dickson
Assistant Director
483-3981
The aim of the Western Cape Housing strategy is to put practical proposals forward within the broader national policy context, in order to streamline the housing delivery process within the present fiscal and legislative constraints. Commitment by all roleplayers in the province will be crucial to the success of a venture of this magnitude.
The national vision for housing strives for the establishment of viable communities, where all people will have access at least to:
The national housing goal is to establish, within the shortest possible time frame, a sustainable housing process which enables all people to access housing with secure tenure within a safe and healthy environment and in viable communities, in a manner that makes a positive contribution to a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and integrated society.
An important element of the housing policy and subsidy system is the incremental conversion of starter units and serviced sites into completed homes. A strategy for establishing housing support mechanisms to assist with the completion of dwellings must be finalised and implemented very urgently.
The White Paper on Housing establishes the national long term strategic framework within which institutional, funding and delivery arrangements for housing can be structured and planned. The strategy's following elements aim to deliver one million houses in the next five years:
Table 1: Housing subsidy levels
HOUSEHOLD MONTHLY INCOME SUBSIDY
R R
0-800 15000
801-1500 12500
1501-2500 9500
2501-3500 5000
The Provincial Administration will play a leading role in the formulation and co-ordination of a holistic approach to housing and urban development. By recognising the need in the province, and by establishing various methods whereby rapid assistance can be given to those in need of homes, and recognising the crucial role of local governments in the developmental process, the Province alms to establish 200,000 housing opportunities over a period of five years as a basis for achieving the objectives as set out in the national vision and national goal.
The Department of Housing estimates that some 167,700 households require housing. If this need is to be satisfied within a period of five years, an estimated 54,000 additional families will require housing due to family formation and migration. In addition some 63,000 households on serviced sites need consolidation subsidies.
Table 2: Estimated housing need in the Western Cape
Area (Based on RSC Housing need % of total need Serviced sites
Boundaries) not included in
housing need
Breerivier 10 700 6,38 960
Central Karoo 1 500 0,90 169
Little Karoo 6 800 4,05 50
Metro Area 109 300 65,18 54 556
Overberg 7 200 4,29 320
Southern Cape 10 800 6,44 6 718
West Coast 8 300 4,95 -
Winelands 13 100 7,81 -
TOTAL 167 700 100,00 62 773
Experience of the new housing policy at a provincial level has revealed a number of problem areas:
The project based home ownership subsidy system has been implemented in the province for almost two years. Several obstacles regarding the implementation of the scheme have been identified:
The housing strategy for the Western Cape sets in place a process which will collate information on the housing need in the province and proposes a procedure for the prioritisation of the housing budget.
To establish a sustainable housing process by coordinating the roles of all tiers of government and other sectors, so that the diverse housing needs across the province can be met In an effective manner, to the benefit of all, within the shortest possible time-frame.
The strategy must reconcile the many faceted housing need within the framework of National Housing Policy with the limited funds allocated to the province; it must overcome the policy being developer and/or individual driven, rather than a programme operating within a planned framework. It must recognise the limited devaluation of powers to the province to formulate housing policy.
Therefore it must focus on areas where there is capacity to act while continuing to lobby central government for improvements to the national policy. The two greatest challenges, which are intertwined, are:
Restructuring and empowerment of public institutions in the housing delivery process
Provincial level
In order for the Provincial Administration to play a leading role in the formulation and co-ordination of a holistic approach to housing and urban development, organisational restructuring to create clear lines of decision- making and responsibility, must proceed.
It is proposed that a housing policy unit, staffed by appropriately skilled personnel, be established for this purpose, with responsibility for a data bank of quality housing and development information, not only for policy formulation, but also as a source of information for all interested parties, as easy access to information is an important stimulant to development. An interactive information system based on the United Nations Habitat program is proposed. The use of the latest computer technology, i.e. the Internet, should also be considered as it is a very cost-effective method of information dissemination.
The establishment of a developmental institution on provincial level, to facilitate and support development for poor urban and rural communities, is also proposed as part of the provincial housing strategy. In order to overcome existing shortcomings in the field of holistic developments for low income communities, the institution should facilitate and fund physical development for such communities, inter alia, by way of the establishment for such communities, of ad hoc institutions such as corporations, trusts, utility companies, etc., or by way of agreements with existing bodies.
Regional and metropolitan level
Regional Councils (ex RSCs) have an important role to play in the physical development process. They should have a wide set of functions including that of preparing development strategies for their regions.
While capacity in these institutions is currently limited, their role in the housing delivery process must be clearly spelt out so that funds for staffing and capacity building can be made available in provincial and their own budgets.
The regional and metropolitan councils can also play an important role in the holistic development process. They are the agents for formulating development priorities in their sub-regions. Therefore they are in a good position to help priorities the allocation of development funding between towns and communities in their sub-region.
Local authority level
The role of local authorities in the provision of housing is underplayed in the new housing policy. In the Western Cape their role in the housing delivery process is seen to be vitally important.
With newly elected local government in mind, the time has now come to reassert the role of elected representatives at all levels of government in the housing and development process. Elected representatives should be the primary decision-makers, supported by the other roleplayers.
Local authorities are primarily responsible for the housing of the lowest income households in their communities. The identification, alienation and procurement of land, raising funds for the provision of bulk services, together with the facilitation of housing developments for lower income groups, devolves primarily onto the local authority.
Local authorities play a vital role in submissions to the Housing Board. As future administrators and maintainers of the services provided by housing developments, the local authority should be centrally involved in all social compacts formed for submission to the Housing Board.
Local authorities must be empowered to take responsibility for the housing of the residents of their areas of jurisdiction through:
The limitations of the national fiscus are well known and the cold hard facts must be faced. But at the same time it must be acknowledged that there are other potential sources of funding which must be tapped so that the financial burden is shared. The provincial strategy therefore requires the provincial government to:
In recognition of the inability of the private sector to service the lower income housing market and reliance on the private sector to do so, an easing of the rigid application of the "level playing fields" principle and a more pragmatic attitude to so-called hidden subsidies, would be appropriate. Rather than levelling the playing fields of the public and private sectors, there is a need to define the field of activity in each of these sectors and strategise accordingly.
It cannot be overemphasised that payment for goods and services is a prerequisite for the provision of adequate housing.
The objective of prioritising the allocation of housing finance is to allocate the limited funds available to meet the broadest need with the most appropriate subsidy system. Factors that must be considered include the income distribution and geographic distribution of housing needs in the province, the nature of the housing need, the availability of services and the individual's personal preference.
While the magnitude of the possible preference for individual subsidies cannot be estimated, systems to monitor this demand must be set in place to enable informed decisions on allocations to this subsidy type. This should be a function of the proposed Housing Policy Unit working closely with the Secretarial of the Provincial Housing Board.
As an interim measure, the following proposal as an initial suggestion based on the limited information currently available, is put forward -
At project level prospective beneficiaries, not civic and other organisations who unfortunately sometimes play a gatekeeping role, must be bound into a social compact. The tried and tested method of surveying prospective beneficiaries when putting together a social compact or project application must be revisited. Consultative decision-making by legitimate, elected representatives must also take its rightful place. Broader consultation with communities on priorities and programmes could be achieved via provincially accredited RDP Forums. Waiting lists of local authorities cannot be ignored but must be legitimised through inclusivity and integration, to be representative of their population as a whole.
Integration of cities is of the greatest importance and local authorities must focus on identifying land in the right areas. New structure plans must be drawn up. Land "in the right places" is usually very expensive and use thereof must be optimised through higher densities. Therefore precedents must be developed where people can experience the benefits of higher density living. Provision must be made for rental housing and solutions found for single persons without dependants who are not provided for in present or past housing policy. Methods of financial cross subsidation to facilitate integration and densification of the cities must be explored.
The importance of payment for goods and services and the role of communica- tion, information and education have already been alluded to and cannot be overemphasised.
The aim is empowerment and capacity building so that people are sensitised not only to their rights, but also responsibilities, constraints and opportunities.
The role of housing support mechanisms in this regard is crucial. The Western Cape Strategy will place great import on them whether as full blown centres offering access to improving housing conditions through training, building materials, etc., or simpler mechanisms to supply advice and information.
Therefore, communities will be encouraged to formulate new, or enhance existing housing support initiatives which will result in improvement of living conditions.
The province of the Western Cape is fortunate to have the expertise to solve the housing shortage in the province. However, there needs to be a commitment by all roleplayers
Let us all stand together to tackle the problem and use this challenge to the best advantage of all our people.