Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale held his first roundtable meeting with CEOs of the country’s financial institutions and representatives of the Banking Association of South Africa at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg yesterday.
The key points raised by the Minister were:
* The importance of working together: “How do we broaden the scope and depth of our work to improve the human settlements property market”?
* Innovation: “We encourage innovative ideas in the implementation of the R1-billion Guarantee Fund. Ideas are welcome from financial institutions in identifying the market, and details of the customers and clients.”
* Sharing ideas: “There must be a sharing of experiences in identifying obstacles n the legislative, policy and financial environment on housing delivery across the board �" the poorest of the poor, those in the middle income bracket, and the highest end of the market.”
The Minister also:
* Indicated to banks some of the issues/areas which will be covered in the Human Settlements Budget Vote on 21 April, so as not to take the industry by surprise.
* Briefed them on future developments on outcomes agreed to by the 2010 Cabinet Lekgotla.
“We have new demands, and new targets. We therefore need a new approach,” Sexwale said. “A massive effort is required �" we all need to change up a gear if we are to meet the demand and meet our objectives.”
The financial industry welcomed this rare opportunity to be briefed and requested to bring their ideas to the table.
All parties also committed to blind spots which may impact on current and future initiatives.
The meeting was attended by, among others, Nedbank CEO Mike Brown, Standard Bank deputy CEO Sim Tshabalala, FNB Housing Finance CEO Marius Marais, Investec’s William George, ABSA managing executive Luthando Vutula and Cas Coovadia of the Banking Association of South Africa.
Key points on meeting with financial institutions
* The importance of working together: “How do we broaden the scope and depth of our work to improve the human settlements property market”?
* Innovation: “We encourage innovative ideas in the implementation of the R1-billion Guarantee Fund. Ideas are welcome from financial institutions in identifying the market, and details of the customers and clients.”
* Sharing ideas: “There must be a sharing of experiences in identifying obstacles n the legislative, policy and financial environment on housing delivery across the board �" the poorest of the poor, those in the middle income bracket, and the highest end of the market.”
We also:
* Indicated to banks some of the issues/areas which will be covered in the Human Settlements Budget Vote on 21 April, so as not to take the industry by surprise.
* Briefed them on future developments on outcomes agreed to by the 2010 Cabinet Lekgotla.
The financial industry welcomed this rare opportunity to be briefed and requested to bring their ideas to the table.
All parties also committed to blind spots which may impact on current and future initiatives.
Queries:
Chris Vick, special advisor to Minister Tokyo Sexwale
Cell: 083 556 7644
Issued by: Department of Human Settlements
19 April 2010
