briefing statement
17 March 2009
The past nine months have seen a significant improvement in our housing
delivery programme as compared to previous years.
We can confidently say that the decision to split the former Department of
Local Government and Housing into two separate departments is beginning to
yield positive results. With the added impetus on our focus we have begin to
address the issues of planning that have for so many years impeded our ability
to deliver houses and meet the targets we have set.
When we began the current financial year we took a decision not to start any
new projects, but to complete 16 682 houses that had been left incomplete
through out the province. Our target for the current financial year was to
complete 10 436, however during the budget appropriation we were given
additional funds that allowed us to review our target to 14 813 that also
includes emergency housing. As at the end of December 2008, we had completed
12072 of these incomplete houses. Our focus for the end of March 2008 indicates
that 3000 housing units will remain incomplete. These will be completed during
the 2009/10 financial year.
We have also begun to roll out of our Breaking New Ground (BNG) housing
delivery projects. Construction is under way in our pilot project in Thaba
Chweu. This project will deliver 150 units in the current financial year.
Infrastructure is also being laid to cater for 471 housing units. It is
anticipated that future phases of this multi year project will deliver 5 475
housing units.
Similar housing projects will also be rolled out in Dipaleseng, Govan Mbeki
and Mbombela Municipalities, where land has already been acquired by the
department. We have already called upon professionals to make proposals for
development in these areas. All these sustainable integrated human development
settlements will be implemented by the Mpumalanga Housing Finance Company
(MHFCO).
One of our major projects that we embarked on in the current year was to
provide housing to farm dwellers. A number of farm owners on whose farms these
dwellers work have given us land to build these houses. As government we
appreciate the co-operative spirit that has been shown by the farm owners for
it is our belief that we can only bring an improvement to the lives of our
people if we all work together. As a department we have built 30 farm dweller
houses in Nkomazi, 32 units in Steve Tshwete and 17 are at slab level in
Mbombela. We are in the planning phase to build more farm dweller houses in
Thaba Chweu, Umjindi, Govan Mbeki, Lekwa, Msukaligwa, Delmas, Emalahleni and
Emakhazeni.
In an effort to improve planning in our housing delivery programme, we are
currently assisting municipalities to develop housing chapters in their
integrated development plans. We have developed draft housing chapters for 80
percent of our municipalities. These chapters will give us a clear indication
of where the housing demand is in the municipality and their housing plans.
These are interventions initiated between the government and South African
Local Government Association (SALGA) in assisting municipalities to do proper
planning.
Through our emergency housing assistance programme we have built 858 houses
that were damaged by natural causes in the following municipalities Pixley ka
Seme, Albert Luthuli, Thembisile, Dr JS Moroka, Bushbuckridge, Mbombela,
Mkhondo and Govan Mbeki. These houses had various structural damages and some
of them had to be demolished and rebuilt. We expect to complete an additional
273 units by March 2009.
We continue to face a challenge of untraceable beneficiaries. We appeal to
all people who have applied for houses and were approved to make sure they
follow up on progress of their houses. If they change their contact details, it
is prudent that they inform their municipalities of such changes. It becomes a
problem for the department and municipality, once a house has been completed
and the beneficiary is untraceable. These houses become open to vandalism.
In the past nine months we have had to deregister 932 beneficiaries who were
untraceable, and allocate these houses to other people in the waiting list. The
department has handed over about 500 title deeds to rightful owners at the
Steve Tshwete Local Municipality in December. There are close to a collective
4000 title deeds to be soon handed over at the Emakhazeni, Emalahleni, Pixle Ka
Seme, Umjindi and Steve Tshwete municipalities.
Enquiries:
Simphiwe Kunene
Cell: 082 413 3931
Issued By: Department of Housing, Mpumalanga Provincial Government
17 March 2009
