PARLIAMENTARY MEDIA BRIEFING WEEK 9 FEBRUARY 1998
HOUSING DELIVERY TARGETS
In 1994 the government announced that it will deliver 1 million housing units within a period of five years. To reach this target, R2,9b per annum should have been allocated over five years. This clearly did not happen, resulting in a total funding shortfall at the end of 1998/99. In 1994/96 the amount received was R2,7b in 1996/97 it was R0,2b and R2,88b in 1998/99 instead of R4.7b.
Expenditure in the five year period increased dramatically. The amount spent on subsidies is as follows: 1994/95 it was around R12m, in 1995/1996 it was R471m, in 1996/97 R1,514b and R1,186b up to December 31 1997/98. It is expected that a further R1b will be spent towards the end of this financial year, given that expenditure has increased around R300m per month. This clearly demonstrates that the capacity to deliver is there, but that there are limited resources.
WHAT IS BEING DONE TO ACCELERATE DELIVERY?
The following measures have been put in place to make sure that the pace of delivery is on track:
PEOPLE'S HOUSING PROCESS
Through the People's housing process, the department has created a mechanism through which people who prefer to build their own homes can do so. This process widens the net including the most vulnerable of housing consumers - the homeless.
The department has committed a sum of R 1 Om as support for the South African Homeless Federation for its savings-driven housing programme. The federation has more than 50 000 members who have contributed more than three-quarters of a million rand to the fund. This has exploded the myth that poor people cannot meet their financial obligations and can therefore not be trusted with loans. Furthermore, it has created a new avenue for corporation and partnership, where the government is a lender through an established Non Governmental Organisation.
The uTshani revolving credit fund has afforded the homeless the chance to take charge of their lives by making access to a variety of services like; the design, size and type of house within easy reach, as well as making it possible to join the mainstream of housing consumers.
To further ensure that these are indeed translated into reality housing support centres will been established to render services such as financial management, administration of subsidies, technical support and supervision to the beneficiaries as well as providing information. Housing support centres differ from province to province and so far a total of 24 pilot centres have been established. A total of 31 more centres are planned and will be operational this year.
People Housing Process can be implemented either through individual initiatives or via a partnership between Non Governmental Organisations as mentioned earlier, or through local authority support or through community based organisations or religious organisations or even private sector developers.
This project will be launched later this year.
WOMEN AND HOUSING
The department recognises the fact that most households have women as the sole bread winners, and has to this end created an enabling mechanism for such families to get access to housing through the Human Settlement division with focal person managing the women desk. Women are given the opportunity to enter the housing consumer net through access to housing information written in a non threatening way, backed by legislation stipulating the requisite age of legibility, and access to training programmes.
Furthermore, the department is exploring the following aspects as a means of empowering this sector: