Richard Dyantyi, Provincial Minister of Local Government and Housing,
Provincial Legislature
24 May 2006
Honourable Speaker
Honourable Premier, Mr Rasool
Provincial Cabinet Colleagues
Members of the House
Mayors, Municipal Managers, and local government leadership
SALGA Western Cape
Partners in service delivery
Invited guests
Comrades and friends
Ladies and gentlemen
Soon after I assumed my portfolio, I had a wonderful experience in Gansbaai.
I was in Gansbaai in November 2005 to hand over houses, of which 150 have been
allocated to African households, 174 to Coloured households, and 64 to White
households. In response to receiving the keys to his house, an elderly man
called Piet Kleinhans recited a poem, a few lines of which I quote below:
Maar verseker moet julle weet, hier waar ons vandag staan
Julle goedheid en liefde vir ons, vir altyd in elke eienaar se hart 'n pad
gebaan
Dankie klink so skraaf en min, die klank is leeg en hol
Dan wil ons dit vandag uitskree, onverbeterlik, hoera, julle was in die
kol.
This is when I love my job. To see the joy on Oom Piet's face, to know that
my department was able to build him a house and improve his life, is
indescribable. To see that government's key objective of assisting the poor, be
they Coloured, African, or White, is heart-warming. To see the age of hope
becoming a reality is fulfilling.
We have done this time and again during the last year. We built a total of
16 053 houses and serviced 18 412 sites, which represents 34 465 housing
opportunities. This exceeds the targets set last year. We have delivered
throughout the province, including 61 houses in Kranshoek (Bitou), 185 in
Lutzville (Matzikama), 120 Peopleâs Housing Project (PHP) houses in Thembani
(Drakenstein), 800 serviced sites in Middelpos (Saldanha Bay), and 500 sites in
De Doorns (Breede Valley). In the City we have delivered 727 houses in
Macassar, 1 875 serviced sites in Delft, 1 160 serviced sites in Mitchell's
Plain, 3 105 houses in Nomzamo Sanco (Hout Bay), and 647 houses in Kuyasa
(Khayelitsha). This is just a selection of the houses and serviced sites that
have been delivered in the province.
We achieved 100 percent expenditure of the housing conditional grants
allocated to us, which includes the R77 million rolled over from the 2004/05
financial year and the R456 million allocated for the 2005/06 financial year.
Over and above this, various provincial departments contributed R40 million for
human settlements, given the urgency of the needs in this province. In effect,
my department spent 107% of the funds allocated to it.
I have instructed my department to speed up delivery even more and ensure
that our full housing conditional grant is spent by December 2006. We are well
ahead of schedule. With less than two months of the new financial year gone, we
have already spent R97 million, which is R12 million more than what we
projected to spend by the end of June.
Yet I cannot promise you that all the Oom Piet's of this province will
receive a subsidised house in 2006, or 2007, or even 2008. The housing backlog
is in the region of 360 000 units, and we know this cannot be met with existing
resources. Even though my department achieved 100 percent spending, we were not
able to provide more than 16,053 top structures. The significant increases in
funding in the coming years will not meet the existing demand, and that demand
is expected to grow even as we are addressing the backlog. I find this part of
my job very difficult.
Thus in looking back on the past year, I can say that we have done well. I
must also say that circumstances compel us to do better. There are many people
in this province living in very distressed circumstances. They do not have
access to the most basic sanitation; and this exposes them to crime when they
visit isolated areas to relieve themselves. Their living circumstances are
unhygienic, which exposes them to diseases. Their shacks are vulnerable to the
elements, which expose them to rain in winter and fires in summer.
One day everyone will have a secure roof over their heads. In the meantime
it is unacceptable that they should live in conditions that can only be called
inhumane. We must build a better life for them now. We must improve their
conditions so that they have access to clean water, to adequate sanitation, to
a safe, hygienic environment. We must move beyond the brick and ensure that
those not living in brick structures are living in humane conditions.
I am committed to making this a reality for the people of this province, and
I am achieving it through a variety of initiatives. My department is upgrading
informal settlements through the provision of basic services, providing
emergency assistance to people living in unsafe conditions, and fast-tracking
the provision of basic sanitation to all.
Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme
Let me tell you about the Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme
(UISP). This programme delivers services to families in informal settlements on
a phased basis. The provision of basic services brings relief too many
families, and is followed by the provision of a higher level of services and
finally top structures.
One example of this is De Doorns, outside Worcester. Members of the De
Doorns community embarked on a series of protests last year to demonstrate
unhappiness with their living conditions. After I visited the area and
addressed the community, a joint team of municipal and provincial officials was
established to fast-track the provision of basic services to the community.
Within weeks, the installation of the first phase of basic services had begun.
Many thanks, to Minister Essop for the timeous approval of the Environmental
Impact Assessment.
This is just one phase of the plan in De Doorns. There are 1 381 informal
structures in three areas namely, Maseru (403 informal structures),Hassie
Square (227 informal structures) and Ekuphumleni (751 informal structures). In
addition there are an estimated 1 400 families living as backyard dwellers in
the De Doorns area. We are currently implementing a plan whereby about 1 000 of
the informal structures are being relocated to the area south of the N1, which
is above the 1:50 year flood line. The move above the flood line is critical,
as it protects residents from flash floods.
This is one of the 16 projects worth R366 million that have been approved as
part of the UISP. In the City of Cape Town some of these projects are Enkanini
(1 600 erven) and Silvertown (1 316 erven) in Khayelitsha, and Wallacedene (4
459 erven) in Kraaifontein. Some ofthe other projects are Knysna Vision 2002
(600 erven), Bossiesgif in Plettenberg Bay (1 300 erven), Asazani/Zinyoka in
Mossel Bay (600 erven) and of course De Doorns.
Emergency Housing Programme
A similar programme is the Emergency Housing Programme (EHP). This programme
provides temporary assistance in the form of secure access to land, basic
services, or shelter in cases of exceptional housing need. Municipalities use
the EHP to bring relief to communities devastated by shack fires by issuing
emergency starter kits consisting of corrugated iron sheets, wood, a doorframe
and a window, nails and hinges, and PVC sheeting. Although it cannot be
regarded as adequate housing, it has brought at least immediate relief for
those in despair.
A total of 29 projects to the value of about R200 million have been
approved. These projects have included the provision of emergency housing to
people living within a rail reserve in Khayelitsha, and the relocation of and
provision of basic services to 413 households in Clanwilliam, 2 000 households
in Grabouw, and 800 households in Middelpos, Saldanha Bay. Over 25 000
households will be benefiting from such emergency assistance.
A feature of our emergency housing programme is the establishment of
temporary relocation areas (TRAs). In the City of Cape Town these are located
in Delft, Boystown, and Philippi. The relocated people who qualify for
project-linked subsidies move from the TRAs to their permanent homes as housing
projects are completed.
Let me give you a very real example of our emergency housing assistance.
Soon after I took over this portfolio, I drove out to Bonnievale accompanied by
officials from my department. We drove through beautiful scenery, only to be
confronted by a very upsetting situation. Some 67 families were living in
appalling conditions next to pigsties and the town's refuse dump. The only
municipal services were a water tank with some taps and four toilets, of which
only one was serviceable.
I forged both short and long-term solutions with the Breede River /
Winelands Municipality. This urgent short-term plan initiated shortly before
the elections by the previous municipal council, was to move these families
further away from the pigsties and dump site. This plan however has been
delayed due to the challenges brought about by the change in municipal council
but will resume as a priority within the near future. A communal septic tank
and French drain was constructed, above which 10 toilet units will be erected.
Next to this four wash bays were supplied. An additional 11 000 litre water
tank will be supplied and the access road will be upgraded. In the longer term,
the municipality has planned a housing project of 600 units catering for the 67
families. The proposed new housing development is well located only 500m from
the centre of town.
One of the events that I remember was the arrival of a woman, Mrs Heidi van
der Merwe, who came with a bakkie full of building material for two dwellings.
With such partners in development, we can indeed meet the basic needs of our
people.
Provision of basic sanitation.
When I hear the term "bucket system," I shrink back in revulsion. This
system is in use throughout our province, and it is not an acceptable level of
sanitation. After the izimbizo held in our province last year, during which the
bucket system was raised time and again, our Premier said that this situation
cannot continue. This call has been echoed by our President, who has stated
unequivocally that the bucket system will be eradicated.
There are many in our province that does not even have access to the bucket
system. We therefore need to go beyond eliminating the bucket system and ensure
that all residents have access to adequate sanitation. We need to focus on the
basics. In this respect, I have commissioned a detailed study of the sanitation
backlog in the province, so that I am in a position to develop a systematic
plan to provide basic sanitation for all by 2010. The study is being guided by
a Steering Committee comprising my department and the Departments of Water
Affairs and Forestry and Agriculture. The final report will be available in
September 2006.
We cannot stand by in the meantime. My department is driving a "bucket
eradication" programme in the Project Consolidate municipalities of the
Waterskloof, Kannaland and Cederberg, and our projects in De Doorns form part
of this initiative. In partnership with the DBSA, we will make technical
expertise available to municipalities for this programme.
I have also urged all municipalities to make use of their Municipal
Infrastructure Grant (MIG) allocation and own funding to extend basic
sanitation in their areas. Altogether R6,9 million of special MIG funding was
allocated for basic sanitation for 2005/06. Drakenstein, Hessequa, and Bitou
have already spent 100% of this funding, and Stellenbosch, Theewaterskloof,
Oudtshoorn, and Knysna are making good progress.
A special MIG allocation for basic sanitation has again been made available
for 2006/07, and R14 million will be allocated to the municipalities of
Matzikama (R2,7 million), West Coast District (R2,4 million), Overstrand
(R1,1m), Kannaland (R2,3 million), Mossel Bay (R2,2 million), and Eden District
(R3,8 million). This focus on basic sanitation is in addition to the provision
of 18,412 serviced sites across the province, all of which have an acceptable
level of sanitation.
In travelling across our province, I have come across many situations where
communities living in pre 1994 housing have toilet facilities some distance
from the main dwelling. This creates difficulty of access and puts people in
harm's way at night. I engaged with the municipalities of Cape Agul has and
Mossel Bay and authorised them to access funds in the Special Operating Account
for the provision of ablution facilities. My department is exploring how to
roll this out more widely.
We are leading the country with 100% expenditure of our R297 million MIG
allocation. Despite this, we have not been able to make significant inroads in
the provision of basic sanitation.
We will need additional resources if we wish to have an impact on
unacceptable sanitation situations. Together with our partnersâ in government,
I will find a solution to this.
Disaster management
Our disaster management programme also helps people in distress. We have
effectively dealt with a range of serious disasters in the past-year. In June
and July 2005 there was extensive flooding in informal settlements. The
province experienced 5 842 fires, of which 2 793 were veld and forest fires.
There were 306 fires in informal settlements and more than 3 000 families were
affected.
The province assisted municipalities with R4,5 million for aerial
fire-fighting and allocated R1,25 million to district municipalities to upgrade
their fire-fighting vehicles. This was the first year that aerial fire-fighting
was used to good effect in battling shack fires in some informal
settlements.
We are working with municipalities to improve their fire-fighting abilities and
commissioned a study to assess how much funding is needed to bring our
fire-fighting capability up to standard. We will explore how the significant
funding needs, estimated at R419 million over five years, can be met. We are
also finalising a standard fire by-law, which will include provision for
holding people responsible for setting fires.
I would like to pay homage to those who helped with fire fighting and other
disasters, and to congratulate all the fire brigades of municipalities,
SANParks, Cape Nature, Working on Fire, South African Weather Service (SAWS),
South African National Defence Force (SANDF), South African Police Service
(SAPS), Emergency Management Services (EMS) and volunteers. I must also mention
the invaluable assistance of the many Community Development Workers, who
distributed food parcels and blankets and assisted with re registration of IDs
after the fires.
We established a provincial Emergency Management Centre that accommodates
ambulance, fire and traffic services as well as disaster management line
functions. The Centre, which is located at Tygerberg Hospital, was launched in
December and is now fully functional. This principle is being duplicated on
district municipal level, with District Emergency Centres established in the
five districts and in the City of Cape Town.
So we are doing well, but we can still do better. I am concerned about
communities that are vulnerable to certain disasters, such as fire and
flooding. The Training, Education, Awareness and Marketing (TEAM) Programme was
launched during February 2006 with the assistance of the Development Bank of
Southern Africa. This programme equips residents of informal settlements at
greatest risk with the necessary skills to prevent and respond to
disasters.
Candidates will be trained in informal settlements in Masiphumelele,
Doornbach, Phola Park, Site C Khayelitsha, Bloekombos, DeDoorns, Kayamandi,
George, and Theewaterskloof. Altogether 480 people will be trained in basic
first aid, 800 in basic and advanced home care, and 320 in fire prevention in
this financial year. The training has already begun, with 137 candidates
trained by 15 May 2006.
Implementing the New Human Settlements Approach
In the rush to deliver houses, we have sometimes overlooked quality in
favour of quantity, and we have built houses on land that is easily available
but far from economic opportunities. We have done well to deliver so much in so
little time, but we must do better. We must move beyond the brick and create
integrated and sustainable communities.
The Breaking New Ground policy unveiled last year tells us how we can do
better. We must do things differently. Our communities need to be located close
to economic opportunities. Our communities need to be integrated in the
Gansbaai project I spoke of earlier, black and white are still residentially
segregated.
We can no longer tolerate urban sprawl, which is financially and ecologically
unsustainable, and we need to densify our settlements. Our settlements must be
neighbourhoods which include recreational, educational, health, and social
facilities. This small memento of this Budget Speech represents our approach,
namely the creation of dignified living spaces.
In an effort to practically implement the Breaking New Ground policy, the
department embarked on a broad stakeholder consultation process that culminated
in the hosting of a successful Sustainable Human Settlement Summit on 24 and 25
November 2005 in Stellenbosch. The key message was "Beyond the Brick: From
Inspiration to Implementation," which is also the theme of this speech.
The provincial Human Settlements Strategy has evolved throughout this
consultation process. It will be finalised in June and will be rolled out in
the province by the end of December. When I am asked whether I have a plan to
address the overwhelming needs of those without shelter in this province, I can
now say that there is a plan, and I encourage all stakeholders to continue to
engage with it and to be our partners in making it a reality.
The goal of the strategy is to ensure that all residents live in human
settlements that are able to absorb growth and further migrants. Migration
remains one of the major challenges of the province and a report prepared by my
department provides a clearer understanding of the movement of people. This has
formed the basis for discussions with the Eastern and Northern Cape Provinces
around joint planning initiatives.
There are a range of other components to the strategy. In partnership with
the Department of Public Works and Transport and Environmental Affairs and
Development Planning, evaluation criteria are being developed that will ensure
that economic, social and environmental sustainability are taken into account
in the approval and development processes.
Identifying suitable land
The availability of suitable land for housing development, and more
particularly for the poor, is one of the major reasons why housing development
is still lagging in some of the municipalities of the Western Cape. The
department has completed a land audit in the 24 local municipalities outside
the Cape Metropolitan Area. Maps showing the location of all municipal and
state land have been completed for each municipality, together with a database
containing information on ownership, extent, zoning, suitability for human
settlements, and suitability for other types of development.
Although the audit makes information available regarding public land, it
does not mean that these properties are automatically available for
development.
One of the crippling factors is the fragmentation of the administration of
public land among the various organs of state. Each administrator of public
land has its own objectives and perspectives on what it wants to achieve with
the land, and very little interaction takes place between role players to
foster synergy and release land quickly. As a result, public land that is
suitable for human settlements is often used for non-strategic purposes or sold
off to the highest bidder.
Our human settlements strategy will outline a plan for releasing or
purchasing land that is suitable for human settlements in the province. It will
also make institutional recommendations for the co-ordination of the release of
public land.
Rental housing
My department's considerable property portfolio, which consists of 15,000
dwellings and serviced sites, will be used to achieve the strategic aims of the
human settlements strategy. The department is finalising a policy framework
that will see a major write-off of long outstanding debt on the purchase and
rental of houses on the books of my department and municipalities. The main aim
of this exercise is to promote home ownership and to restore the dignity of
those who have been living under the threat of eviction.
Our priority will be to write off the debts of the poor and people who are
receiving state grants, after which we will also attend to the other categories
of debtors. The programme will be phased over five years because of funding
constraints. The maximum benefit which an individual will be receiving is R31
929, depending on income, and a debtor is expected to settle his/her remaining
outstanding debt before the grant will be made available. This programme will
therefore favour those who have made payments on their debts, and will
encourage others to start paying the shortfall in order to qualify for the
discount.
The past year has also seen the approval and implementation of a number of
concessions with regard to a particular category of debtors on the books of my
department which, in the case of Lentegeur, reduced the outstanding debt from
R12 million to approximately R4 million. These concessions are now being rolled
out to qualifying debtors of the Department in other areas, such as Belhar and
Ravensmead.
For those who are renting units, it is important that the rights and
responsibilities of both owners and tenants are upheld. My department's rental
housing tribunal is responsible for resolving disputes between property owners
and tenants, and has the powers of a court of law. Every case referred to us is
eventually resolved.
The tribunal has continued its good work this year. The number of cases
referred to us is increasing all the time and this will increase even more with
our new call centre. Organisational improvements have made it possible to
double the number of hearings held, and we will introduce a computerised case
management system in order to produce shorter turnaround times.
Lead and pilot projects
Over the past year we have developed a range of lead and pilot projects that
will showcase the various aspects of the Human Settlements Strategy. Lead
projects demonstrate best practices for Sustainable Human Settlement
Development, while the selected pilots serve as at least, trial or model.
One of the lead projects is in Site C (Khayelitsha), where my plan is to
de-densify the area through relocation of some residents to nearby pieces of
land, upgrading of the existing area, and provision of public amenities.
Another lead project is in Clanwilliam, where a centrally situated golf course
will be developed for human settlement and a golf course will be established
out of town through a land swap. A third possible lead project is in Green
Point, Cape Town, where human settlements will form part of a much larger
mega-project connected with Soccer World Cup 2010.
There are four pilot projects. There is an ambitious project in Plettenberg
Bay, where the Council plans to fundamentally re-structure the apartheid
landscape by relocating the Central Business District, integrating and
densifying the main activity corridor, and upgrading the centrally located
Bossiesgif informal settlement. This project will be launched in the next
month.
I have approved pilot projects in Dido Valley (Fishhoek) and Somerset West,
where low-cost housing will be subsidized by upmarket residential developments.
I have also approved the Brackenfell / Blueberry Hill project, where 73
hectares of provincial land will be developed for employer-assisted housing.
The N2 Gateway project is our best-known pilot project, and steady progress has
been made. The most visible part of the project, within Langa alongside the N2
highway, comprises 705 rental units that will be completed within the next
week. These two and three storey walk-up apartments have been tastefully
landscaped and will offer a new kind of quality of life to residents. They are
highly sought after and a careful beneficiary identification process is
currently underway. Planning is proceeding for the rest of that Joe Slovo area,
and we look forward to building houses there later this year.
The N2 Gateway includes the experimental in situ development of New Rest
informal settlement that adjoins Guguletu. The infrastructure is complete for
about 50% of the 1 155 sites, and the first houses will soon follow. In Delft
two large projects will provide about 12 000 housing units, and the earthworks
and servicing of these is well underway. Waiting to occupy such houses are more
than 3 000 households in Temporary Residential Areas, many of them there as the
result of fires in Langa.
Partnerships
Every one of the lead and pilot projects would not be possible without
partnerships. I mentioned earlier that we as a Province do not have the
resources to tackle all of the challenges that we face. We must marshal the
resources, skills, and efforts of stakeholders in the Western Cape and build a
better life together. We have been working together with municipalities, we
have entered partnerships with the private sector, we are joining hands with
non-governmental organisations and financial institutions, and we are working
closely with provincial and national departments.
We will expand on this, because we will have a much greater impact if we
pool our resources and move in the same direction. In this respect the
department concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National
Finance Corporation (NHFC). The department provides land policy guidance and
subsidies in certain areas while the NHFC contributes financial and technical
expertise. Two projects have already been launched through this partnership
namely the pilot projects of Brackenfell and Blueberry Hill outlined above. My
department concluded another agreement with Communi-care for a similar
partnership relating to the social housing sector. A public building is being
made available in Observatory and will be converted into rental units.
There are a number of other exciting partnerships in the pipeline. We are
working together with Thubelisha Homes, which is a national public housing
company to combine sites in Kensington and Pine Road in a project that will
achieve the objectives of integration and sustainability. Old Mutual, Nedbank,
and the City of Cape Town are working with us to provide gap housing at
Washinton Square in Khayelitsha. Standard Bank is involved in our Ministerial
Pilot Project in Plettenberg Bay and Absa and Zanethemba Trust are discussing a
project in Khayelitsha with us. Finally the Berlin University of Technology is
contributing to the establishment of a "Habitat Unit" resource centre in the
department.
People's Housing Process
Our key partnership is with communities themselves, and the People's Housing
Process (PHP) is an example of this. PHP projects are different from
conventional housing projects in that much of the labour is provided by
beneficiaries themselves. Their "sweat equity" leverages additional resources,
which in some cases makes it possible to build larger houses.
For the past few years, PHP projects in South Africa have not met
expectations in terms of both quantity and quality. There was poor delivery
owing to poorly informed beneficiaries and communities, inexperienced
suppliers, and corruption.
Over the past year, we have ensured that beneficiaries are more empowered in
these projects. Our partnership with the Department of Labour has ensured that
beneficiaries of new projects can undergo a 60-day house construction programme
to assist them in the building of their own homes.
Given the importance that we attach to the PHP as a delivery mechanism, we
are investigating slow-moving and blocked projects. In some cases we are
contracting Thubelisha Homes to complete these projects. The drive to improve
PHP delivery will be supported by our strong partnerships with NGOs, such as
the Development Action Group, and the assistance of the Cuban advisors.
The National Programme of Action requires all of us to be vigilant about
corruption, and my department is working in partnership with the Special
Investigation Unit (SIU) to bring all perpetrators of corruption in PHP
projects to book. To date seven projects have been handed over to the SIU for
investigation, with at least one person being charged with fraud. More people
are expected to be charged.
Our flagship PHP project is "Project two" in Mbekweni, Paarl. The houses
combine waste streaming, site resources, and sweat equity. There sult is an
impressive double-storey stone house made from recycled materials and natural
stone from the site. The structure is aesthetically pleasing, insulated, energy
efficient, and replicable, and it has featured in the news several times. There
is a youth learnership project attached to this project, with Umsobomvu as our
partner.
In taking PHP forward this year, it is important that beneficiary communities
fully understand the PHP philosophy. This calls for tight partnerships with
community leaders, municipalities, and other role-players. Our internal
systems, from project approval to project closure, will ensure that all funds
allocated are fully utilised in the building of houses. Our recent process
audit has enabled us to improve procedures and controls, so that we are able to
respond quickly to slow moving projects and indications of fraud and
corruption.
We are also changing the organisational architecture of the support
organisations to ensure that these structures have the required skills and
expertise to ensure housing delivery. We have found that weak and poorly
resourced support organisations contribute significantly to project failure and
financial irregularities. Lastly, we are including elements of empowerment in
all PHP projects. Our relationship with the department of Labour can go a long
way in providing unemployed beneficiaries with building skills.
Siyabulela: Empowering Women and Youth
This year we are commemorating the 30-year anniversary of the Soweto
Uprising and the 50-year anniversary of the famous Women's Anti-Pass March to
the Union Buildings. Following our Premier's call, I have initiated a number of
Siyabulela ("thank you") projects, which are aimed at empowering women and
young people. I am committed to establishing youth units in all five district
municipalities and in the metro by August 2006. My department is in the process
of assessing the specific technical and other support that we will provide to
the district municipalities.
My department, in collaboration with the Western Cape Youth Commission, has
also completed a process of identifying 10 young people to whom bursaries will
be allocated to the value of R20 000 per year for the duration of their
studies. The bursaries will be in the field of scarce skills in the building
environment and will include an internship in the department.
We are also developing a leadership development programme for women
councillors. A service provider has been appointed and the programme will be
rolled out by June 2006.
Intergovernmental relations
Our relationship with municipalities is informed by our national Programme
of Action and the five-year Strategic Agenda for Local Government. Province and
local government are required to work together in five key performance areas,
namely the provision of basic services and the promotion of local economic
development, financial viability, and institutional transformation and good
governance.
I have invested considerable energy in strengthening the relationship
between provincial and local government. Since I assumed this portfolio, I have
visited all the municipalities in the Province on more than one occasion. I
believe that we can achieve so much more if we work together and align our
resources, plans, and activities.
The key initiative in this regard has been the Local Government MTEC (Medium
Term Expenditure Committee) process. Together with Provincial Treasury, we
embarked on a process to bring the provincial and local spheres of government
together to find synergy between priorities and resource allocations. There
have been three sets of budget interactions between provincial departments on
the one hand and municipalities on the other, which took place between
September 2005 and January 2006.
This has been followed by an even more thorough engagement. The Ministers of
Finance, Environmental Affairs, Planning, and Economic Development, and myself,
along with our senior officials, have spent the last three weeks in detailed
discussions with municipalities about their local economic development plans,
their Integrated Development Plans, and their finances. It has been an
extremely useful process. I think that the province understands the challenges
of municipalities much better and is in a position to provide improved support,
and I believe that the municipalities more than ever see us as their
partners.
The MTEC process has been complemented by the establishment of new
intergovernmental structures in the Western Cape. My department was central to
the process of establishing the Premier's Co-ordinating Forum (PCF), as well as
the District and Metro Coordinating Forums (DCF and MCF). Technical forums have
been established to support the MCF, and significant work has taken place on
the development of a long-term strategic development framework for the
City.
I have taken a particularly active approach with respect to the
establishment of the new Municipal Councils following the municipal elections
on 1 March 2006. My legal team provided guidelines for the constitution of the
Councils and a generic agenda for the first Council meeting, and provided a
"Help Desk" to field questions from Councils during their first meetings. I am
happy to say that all of the Councils have been successfully constituted.
Such an approach is particularly needed given the election results. A total
of 26 of our Councils are not controlled by a majority of councillors from one
party. The coalitions that have resulted are vulnerable to instability, and
this requires constant monitoring and support to ensure that service delivery
is not affected. In such a situation, administrative stability and a continued
focus on the National Programme of Action are paramount.
I have requested that all Councils with vacant municipal manager posts fill
these posts by July 2006, and that they appoint managers who possess the
municipal manager competencies contained in national guidelines. To assist
them, I have appointed a service provider to support the recruitment and
competency testing of their short-listed candidates.
I will be monitoring key indicators in municipalities in the coming year,
and will establish a comprehensive municipal monitoring system to achieve this.
There is information about municipalities throughout the various sections of my
department, and it can also be found in other provincial departments and
government agencies. In order to obtain a complete picture of what is happening
in municipalities, all of this information needs to be collected, collated, and
analysed. The results of the analysis will be of benefit to both the Province
and municipalities.
Integrated development planning
This year will see intensified effort to further improve on the strategic
planning and implementation ability of municipalities. The Premier is now
required to sign off on municipal Intergrated Development Plans (IDPs) in order
to improve intergovernmental planning and co-ordination. Municipal integrated
development plans should indeed be a reflection of the whole of government's
interventions in a geographic area. The newly created intergovernmental
structures will play a key role in cementing co-operation for improved
delivery.
My department is working with the Provincial Treasury to assist
municipalities to improve and update the socio-economic information that
underpins the strategic planning and implementation done by municipalities. We
are also placing great emphasis on the formulation of credible and
implementable Local Economic Development (LED) plans, as municipalities play a
key role in achieving the objectives of government's Accelerated and Shared
Growth Initiative (AsgiSA). We are working with the provincial Department of
Economic Development to assist municipalities to develop their longer-term
strategies and improve the LED components of their IDPs.
The next generation of municipal integrated development plans, which are to
be completed by March 2007, will be underpinned by the philosophy of
sustainable human settlements. This is fundamental to our drive to deal with
the apartheid landscape that persists in our urban and rural areas.
Hands-on Support
We have provided significant support to municipalities with respect to
capacity building, and this has been done in close partnership with
municipalities. District municipalities were encouraged to initiate training
courses and co-ordinate training needs with the various local municipalities in
their areas of jurisdiction. Upon the submission of the training business
plans, an amount of R200 000 was transferred to each district municipality. It
is expected that 320 officials will benefit from these funds.
We are also developing the specific skills that municipalities need to
support the development of integrated human settlements. In partnership with
the Department of Education, my department has embarked on the development of a
training course on sustainable Human Settlement Development. We have targeted
decision-makers in the 10 Project Consolidate municipalities, such as Mayors,
Councillors responsible for the Housing Portfolio, and Municipal Managers. This
course will start on 30 May 2006.
These are some of the training interventions with which we have been
involved. I am satisfied that we have done much in building municipal capacity
in the past year, but I also know that we can do better. During 2005 my
department conducted a comprehensive capacity audit of our municipalities and
in October 2005 we finalised our capacity building strategy. It consists of ten
interventions, which include the development of competency profiles, the
building of expertise around integrated human settlements, the development of
centralised resources for municipalities, peer advice and external mentoring,
central pools of expertise, ward committee training, councillor development
programmes, sharing of best practices, and the promotion of internship
programmes.
To implement this strategy my department has established a reference group
that consists of key municipal managers, the Local Government Seta, South
African Local Government Association (SALGA): Western Cape, Provincial
Treasury, and the Institute for Local Government Managers. This reference group
has been invaluable in identifying priorities and will provide expertise in
finalising all the guideline documents to be distributed to municipalities.
The implementation of the strategy is well under way. A competency profile
of a municipal manager was finalised in February 2006 and submitted to the
national Department of Provincial and Local Government, which took it into
account in the development of a national guideline document on generic senior
management competency profiles for local government.
A key focus of our capacity building strategy is on councillor development.
After the municipal elections on 1 March 2006, many new councillors were
elected to office, and they will need training and support to enable them to
meet their challenges. We launched this process with a successful councillor
Summit that was held on 23 to 24 March 2006, during which various
capacity-building sessions on local government topics were held. The champion
for Councillor Development is SALGA Western Cape, and we will partner them in
funding and rolling out a comprehensive councillor development programme.
We will implement many other components of the strategy this year. We are
identifying and writing up best practices among our municipalities. The first
issue of our departmental newsletter to municipalities, called "Municom," will
be used to communicate municipal best practices and "good news" stories (of
which there are many). We are also developing centralised resources that are
critical to municipalities, such as standard by-laws and policy guides, which
will streamline municipalities' work and cut down on duplication.
Local government sustainability
I have a great concern about the long-term sustainability of municipalities,
given the significant challenges they face in attracting and retaining skilled
staff. In particular, many municipalities lack the technical capacity to plan,
implement, operate, and maintain municipal infrastructure. This can impact upon
the municipality's ability to deliver basic services.
I am launching a number of initiatives in this regard. First, I am
encouraging municipalities to appoint more interns in all municipal
disciplines, because I believe that this is the only way that we can ensure a
continuous supply of skills. Second, my department is exploring various "shared
services" models, whereby municipalities make use of a pool of skills and
expertise. This will enable municipalities to procure skills more quickly and
cost-effectively, and will address some of the retention issues.
Financial sustainability
Our capacity-building programme will also support municipalities to address the
transversal audit findings identified by the Auditor-General in the financial
statements of municipalities for the year ending June 2005. I have met twice
with the Auditor-General this year to determine the financial performance of
municipalities and the general areas of concern.
Of the 30 municipalities in the Western Cape, 28 audit reports have been
received. A total of 15 are unqualified reports, which is a 20% improvement
over last year and covers the first year that all municipalities had to comply
with the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA). From the audit findings and
general trends, it is clear that there is an improvement in the financial
governance of municipalities, yet there is still much to be done.
In partnership with Provincial Treasury, my department has already started
with a general plan of action to support municipalities to address the main
areas of concern that were identified by the Auditor-General. Our plan of
action entails the following:
* With regard to debtor control, we will issue good examples of credit control
policies and also share best practices.
* The movement in outstanding debtors will be monitored by the Provincial
Treasury on a quarterly basis.
* With regard to asset management, my municipal infrastructure directorate has
already embarked on pilot projects to compile all inclusive asset registers in
two municipalities. The pilots are being reviewed, and a plan is being
developed to roll out this programme to all the municipalities in the Western
Cape.
* With regard to the late submission of financial statements, most of the
financial system problems that were experienced by some municipalities were
resolved. We will monitor the situation very closely and provide hands-on
support jointly with the Provincial Treasury.
Specialised support to municipalities
A few municipalities have experienced serious financial crises in recent
years. Outstanding progress was made with the support interventions and
implementation of recovery plans in the Kannaland and Cederberg Municipalities.
There is still some work being done to ensure long-term sustainability, and
therefore R1,5 million and R2,5 million is budgeted for these municipalities
respectively for the continued implementation of their recovery plans.
These are good examples of where partnerships and co-operative government
lead to positive results. Our partners in these efforts have been the national
Department of Provincial and Local Government, the Development Bank of Southern
Africa, Saldanha Bay Municipality, and the Eden and West Coast District
Municipalities, whose support I warmly acknowledge. Due to the quick success in
the Cederberg case, our Premier tasked my Department to write a best practice
document. A summarised version was published in our newsletter "Municom," which
was distributed in April 2006.
Project Consolidate
Nothing better exemplifies the hands-on support that we wish to provide than
Project Consolidate. There are 10 municipalities that form part of Project
Consolidate, which is a national programme to increase the managerial and
implementation capacity of selected municipalities. A feature of Project
Consolidate is the intergovernmental co-operation that supports all the
initiatives.
All 10 Project Consolidate municipalities have compiled Municipal Action
Plans (MAPs), which outline the interventions required to address service
delivery and institutional transformation challenges. Municipalities have begun
the implementation of the MAPs with the support of service providers, the
provincial project management unit (PPMU), the capacity-building unit of the
Department, sector departments, and external development agencies. The MAPS
have also been aligned with key issues that emerged from the recently held
izimbizo, and interventions are being followed up with provincial sector
departments.
With respect to basic services, the housing and sanitation projects in
Project Consolidate municipalities were fast tracked, with sector departments
being mobilised to unravel red tape. Twenty projects were initiated, all of
which were completed by March 2006.
Another major focus is the formulation of credible local economic
development plans in Project Consolidate municipalities. A multi-disciplinary
project team has been established to develop strategies and an implementation
plan, with Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) as the key focus
area.
Significant support has been provided with respect to financial management,
institutional restructuring, and public participation. Revenue enhancement and
cost recovery plans are being developed for implementation and institutional
restructuring is taking place, with critical posts being filled and organograms
being redesigned to ensure alignment with functions. Infrastructural support is
being provided to ward committees, and two rounds of anti-corruption workshops
have been completed in targeted municipalities.
Project Consolidate shows us what "hands on support" looks like. We have
learned from Project Consolidate how to co-ordinate our efforts as spheres of
government, and the lessons we have learned will be applied to the other
hands-on support initiatives provided by the department. We have also learned
about hands-on support from the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development
(ISRDP) and Urban Renewal Programmes (URP). We are placing less emphasis on
these Presidential Nodes as stand-alone programmes, because my team has managed
to incorporate them into all areas of our work. For example, my department
developed one single plan of operations that includes the work of CDWs, Project
Consolidate, and the Nodes.
Partnership with communities
Honourable Speaker, if we do not communicate our priorities and constraints
to our people, then we will be failing in our responsibility as government. It
is my intention to ensure that communities are informed about the services and
goods that the government is offering to them and to ensure government services
and goods are made available at convenient points to communities. Our Community
Development Worker (CDW) Programme is at the vanguard of this effort. We have
appointed 200 CDWs in our department and have deployed them strategically in
the Presidential Nodes (Khayelitsha / Mitchell's Plain and Central Karoo) and
in Project Consolidate municipalities. Their job is to bring public services
closer to people and to act as catalysts for development. In the past year they
have assisted evicted farm workers, initiated food gardening programmes,
trained and counselled prison inmates, facilitated workshops for the African
Peer Review Mechanism, and helped to start "clean and green" projects in Breede
Valley Municipality.
I would like to give you an example of their efforts. In February 2006, 15
CDWs assisted the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development to trace
the beneficiaries of child maintenance grants in Khayelitsha, Wynberg,
Philippi, Mitchell's Plain, and Athlone. The CDWs were able to trace about 800
beneficiaries within a period of two weeks, which earned them the commendation
of the national department. In the coming year the CDWs will deepen their
involvement in communities. They will facilitate the training of new ward
committee members, support public participation activities and monitor and
evaluate such mechanisms at ward level, organise a Municipal Speakers
conference, host a public participation conference, and communicate
housing-related processes and other provincial information to communities.
The second group of 250 CDW learners started their programme in September
2005, and are due to finish their course this month. Some of the learners have
already established soccer teams for the youth in Grabouw, where drug abuse
among young people is a problem. I would like to thank all the stakeholders for
their valuable contributions and continued support for this programme,
including local municipalities, the University of the Western Cape, and the
Local Government SETA.
Community empowerment
Another aspect of our partnership with communities is empowering them to
understand their housing rights and obligations. In the coming year, we will
roll out a consumer education course for potential and existing tenants and
homeowners. My department will enter into partnerships with municipalities in
order to train the trainers, who will consist of municipal officials,
Councillors, and CDWs. These trainers will then roll out training within the
communities.
With respect to economic empowerment, the department has been supporting the
Women in Construction Forum on an on-going basis. In the coming year, we will
provide accredited tender training to 40 members over a three day period.
We will also empower emerging contractors through training and mentorship. As a
pilot project, eight emerging contractors underwent a skills assessment
process. The next stage is to ensure that they are provided with the necessary
training and skills development.
Anti-corruption
A key platform of the National Programme of Action is the implementation of
anti-corruption strategies in government. During October 2005, my department
assisted the four pilot municipalities of George, Kannaland, Langeberg and
Theewaterskloof to evaluate their procurement, housing and appointment
policies, with a view to making them less vulnerable for corruption. The same
exercise was carried out with the municipalities of Laingsburg, Prince Albert
and Beaufort-West during November 2005. A guideline document is currently being
developed by my department and the national Department of Provincial and Local
Government, and it will be distributed during this financial year.
Another initiative that complements the anti-corruption drive is the
contract that my department entered into with the Special Investigating Unit
(SIU) in February 2005. Since then, the SIU has investigated allegations at
five municipalities, namely Bitou, Laingsburg, Drakenstein, Theewaterskloof,
Central Karoo and the City of Cape Townâs Peopleâs Housing Project (PHP). This
is in addition to other departmental investigations.
I apply my mind to the contents of every report and have also referred
certain aspects to the Head of the Legal Services Branch to advice on
appropriate steps and recommendations. In the case of Bitou Municipality, the
report was referred to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts and I have
asked the Mayor to give effect to the SIU recommendations. In the case of the
West Coast District Municipalities, where irregular expenditure for an overseas
trip was incurred, disciplinary action was taken. In the Central Karoo District
Municipality, the municipal manager was dismissed.
These investigations have brought a new dimension to governance at local
level in the province in that they lay bare corruption and maladministration
where it occurs. It increases the awareness of councillors and municipal
officials of their respective roles and accountability to the communities they
serve. The investigations also expose shortcomings that in turn give the
municipalities and my department the opportunity to take appropriate action and
remedial steps.
Strengthening the department
I could not have achieved full spending and impressive housing delivery
without a well-performing department. Yet I know that my department can do
better, and I have launched a number of initiatives to ensure that the spirit
of Batho Pele infuses all the work of the department. We have established a
Help Desk on the ground floor of our building. It is intended to provide
information and field housing-related enquiries from the public.
The service became functional in November 2005, and in March 2006 alone my
Department fielded 656 "walk-in" enquiries and 297 telephonic enquiries.
Another area that will receive considerable attention in the coming year is
monitoring and evaluation. I have to know on a monthly basis whether my
department is achieving its goals. The various components in my department
generate reports on a regular basis, and these have informed my decisions. But
there is a need for this information to be integrated into one system of data
and information, for forging synergy between the various sources of
information, and for analysing this information. This will allow my department
to diagnose areas that require attention and to take appropriate action.
I will also increase the effectiveness of my department by evaluating
various internal and external business processes related to development of
human settlements. In the past year, I asked municipalities to fill in a client
questionnaire, which asked questions about their perceptions of my department's
performance. The results of the survey revealed that we are doing well, but
that there is much room for improvement.
In response, we have established more focused housing delivery sections that
can dedicate time to particular activities that may have been part of a suite
of functions undertaken by one section. This ensures that the outputs of the
various sections are of a much higher quality.
The revision of the funding approval process ensures a faster response time
for developers and applicants. Queries that may arise during the evaluation of
funding applications are addressed immediately as provincial officials have
started to develop direct relationships with municipal officials and are
therefore able to resolve many issues telephonically.
People are the engines of delivery, and I believe that we must continually
work towards transforming our staff into a public service that exemplifies
Batho Pele principles. We have exceeded our employment representivity targets
for 2005/06.
We have invested heavily in the training of middle and senior managers so as to
equip them with the personal and technical skills they require. We are in the
midst of the implementation of a diversity training programme that includes
every member of staff. We as the Department of Local Government and Housing
must learn to work together and to be motivated in the first instance by the
over whelming needs of our people.
Summary of commitments for 2006/07
The department has a budget of R776 million for 2006/07 financial year, and
R935 million and R1,02 billion are projected for the outer years. With the
resources allocated for the financial year 2006/07, I commit myself to the
following:
* We will spend the entire housing conditional grant allocation of R598 million
by December 2006, which will be three months ahead of schedule.
* We will deliver at least 16 000 houses and 18 000 serviced sites.
* We will develop an implementation plan for providing basic sanitation for
all, and roll out at least 10 percent of that plan.
* We will relieve the stress in Site C, Khayelitsha through de-densification
and upgrading.
* We will develop a shared services programme together with
municipalities.
* We will establish youth units in all five district municipalities and in the
metro.
* We will take another 250 CDWs through to graduation.
* We will work together with SALGA Western Cape to provide a comprehensive
councillor development programme.
* We will roll out a special leadership programme for women councillors.
* We will provide a training course in sustainable human settlement planning to
Project Consolidate municipalities.
* We will assist identified Project Consolidate municipalities with the
appointment of their municipal managers.
* We will see an improvement in the Auditor-General's reports on
municipalities.
* We will see significantly improved municipal IDPs and LEDs, and they will be
aligned with provincial and national strategies and policies.
* We will have a municipal monitoring system in place and an even more
efficient department.
Conclusions
I would like to express my appreciation for all who have contributed to the
success of the department. We have many partners in service delivery, and we
will not achieve our objectives without them. I express my thanks to the
national departments that have worked closely with us, especially the
Departments of Housing, Provincial and Local Government, Water Affairs and
Forestry, and Public Service and Administration. I appreciate Provincial
Treasury's energy and commitment to strengthening municipalities together with
us, and value the support of other provincial departments such as Environment,
Planning, and Economic Development and Public Works and Transport, and
Agriculture.
I have had many positive experiences working together with municipalities in
this province, regardless of their political affiliation. I sense a commitment
to the objectives of the National Programme of Action, and believe that these
can be achieved if we continue to co-operate as closely as we are.
There are many organs of state and state agencies who have worked closely with
us in the past year. The Development Bank of Southern Africa has been our
partner in numerous projects, and their advice, expertise, and resources are
much appreciated. SALGA Western Cape has contributed advice and support to our
programmes. Thanks also to the NHFC, Communicate, Thubelisha Homes, the
National Youth Commission, Umsobomvu, the Local Government and Water Seta, and
the Special Investigating Unit.
I also acknowledge the valuable support of non-governmental and
community-based organisations, especially those who participated in our Human
Settlements Strategy consultation process and those supporting our PHP and
other housing processes. I thank the many service providers who have supported
the Department and transferred valuable skills to our staff. It is important to
acknowledge the hard work and dedication of countless officials in my
department, who are ably led by Shanaaz Majiet. We have an "old hand" who is
retiring soon, namely Oom Faan Naudé. He has been with the province for over 30
years, and his wisdom and guidance will be missed. Hamba kahle, Oom Faan, you
have earned some time off.
Lastly, I would like to acknowledge the presence here of my grandfather, Mr
Kokie Jantjie, who has been my role model and has had a profound influence on
my life. We have indeed come far, and we have much further to go. My department
has exceeded its expenditure and housing delivery targets, and we will improve
on this by spending our full allocation by December 2006. In doing so, we will
be making a strong case for increased allocations. We will also leverage
additional resources through strengthening existing partnerships and
establishing new ones.
We have developed a comprehensive Human Settlements Strategy and have initiated
numerous lead and pilot projects that showcase the strategy. It now remains to
communicate and implement the Strategy.
We have responded effectively to the many natural disasters that occurred
during the past year. We have significantly improved the living conditions of
tens of thousands of people living in distressed circumstances. This emergency
assistance has significant budget implications, and it means that we cannot
produce as many top structures as we would like. We will again produce 16 000
houses and 18 000 serviced sites in this financial year. But I would like to
make it clear that we are not chasing numbers. Rather, we will continue to make
a significant impact on the many people in this Province without adequate
services and shelter.
We have come through a series of intensive engagements with municipalities
that have strengthened our relationships and laid the basis for effective,
targeted support of municipalities. I am pleased with the progress that my
department has made in the last year. Again I say: circumstances compel us to
do better. We are compelled to ensure that each resident of this province has
access to basic services, and that we progressively facilitate the provision of
adequate housing for all. We are compelled to support municipalities actively
in the fulfilment of their functions. We are compelled to hold hands with our
communities and other partners to build a better life together. We are
compelled to move beyond the brick through partnerships for accelerated and
sustainable delivery.
Issued by: Department of Local Government and Housing, Western Cape
Provincial Government
24 May 2006
Source: Western Cape Provincial Government (http://www.capegateway.gov.za)
