The MEC of Human Settlements in Mpumalanga, Mr Speed Mashilo
Deputy Chairperson of CSOS, Mr Donavon Goliath Acting Chief Ombud of CSOS, Ms Thembelihle Mbatha Board members of CSOS
Special Advisor to the Minister, Mr Siya Dube
Senior officials of the Department of Human Settlements led by Dr Nana Mhlongo
Acting Regional Adjudicator General, Mr Mervin Dorasamy
Members of the Sectional Titles Schemes Ministerial Advisory Council
Esteemed stakeholders Ladies and gentlemen
I greet you all this morning
This is a befitting way to start the year. We are starting with the same high energy with which the past year ended, demonstrating that we are responsive to our people and their needs. Today we are here launching a satellite office in Mbombela which is testament of the expansion of our services not only as CSOS but as the Human Settlements family at large.
Yesterday, the Minister and I were at Tekwane South, handing over title deeds to their rightful owners. This is something that as this government, we have ensured it’s done to accelerate the promotion of property and home ownership as well as security of tenure. Equally important, we are also running consultation sessions on the White Paper for Human Settlements. This is a big step towards transforming how we deliver houses. I urge all of you to take advantage of the time left for public comments on this important document. The closing date is the 31st of January, therefore please make your voice heard.
CSOS is entrusted with, among others, the responsibilities of running a world-class dispute resolution service within community schemes.
I am therefore happy that there is a growing demand for these services in Mpumalanga, necessitating that a satellite office be launched here.
This means there is possible growth in migration to Mpumalanga and that there is growth in demand for housing (regardless of tenure) in the province. Ours therefore, is to ensure that we forge policies that can create and enhance harmonious living within community schemes.
This also includes efficient customer services, as satellite offices are usually closer to their customer base. Organizations are constant in wanting to improve the quality of their customer service, therefore, to rank high on customer satisfaction, it is vital that public entities such as CSOS provide high quality customer service, and that is the reason why it is prudent and more sensible to open satellite offices throughout the country. One aspect to improve customer service is to have a quick response and cutting the commute time is one way to resolve this.
As a result, several satellite offices spread throughout the country would improve the service, and this CSOS satellite office would be one of them.
Customer service is crucial to any business’s success. Having satellite offices is helping CSOS to provide better customer service and support, leading to more customer satisfaction.
One of my biggest responsibilities is that of championing transformation in the Human Settlements sector. Last July and August, we held provincial consultations with women groupings and formations. This was to unlock opportunities for women to fully participate in the sector as equals. This can only be done if everyone in our entities, provinces and municipalities is committed to transformation. While I recognize that transformation is not limited to women inclusion, today I want to implore you to consider women as your preferred service providers.
Within these community schemes we know there are various services needed such as management of units as agents, waste removal, gardening as security services. Let us work hard to empower women and open these opportunities to them. We must invest in mentorship programmes as the sector, recognizing that these service businesses were not accessible to black people and women, in particular. Transformation cannot happen without intentional and sustained mentorship and incubation programmes. So today, Deputy Chairperson and Acting Chief Ombud, I call on you to prioritize transformation and inclusion of women in your value chain.
As stated earlier we are currently running consultation on the White Paper for Human Settlements as well as open for public comment for the rest of this month. I am mentioning this because in the White Paper we are bold and intentional on policies on empowerment and transformation as well as capacity development.
To quote a few passages from our White Paper:
“Government will develop a Transformation and Empowerment Plan to support inclusion. This will set inclusion targets and outline actions to achieve this. The plan will include an internal focus on ensuring that organisational structures, policy, practices and human resources within the National Department of Human Settlements and its entities are aligned with the inclusion of best practices.
“Awareness and capacity development programmes will improve awareness and understanding of inclusion principles.
“Inclusion targets in the procurement of services and products for human settlement projects will be used to ensure women, youth and persons with disabilities can access opportunities.”
Ladies and gentlemen this shows us how serious we are about transformation in all areas of our operations in the
Human Settlements Sector. I urge you to familiarize yourselves with the White Paper and make your comments. You can access this on the Department’s website www.dhs.gov.za.
In closing, I want to congratulate CSOS on this milestone of launching an office in Mpumalanga. This is indicative of an organisation that is growing in its service and reaching more people in the country.
We launched the satellite office for CSOS in Polokwane, Limpopo in May last year. I also urge the people of this province to make use of our services. Most of these services are for free, therefore do not be duped into paying unnecessary fees by third parties who are only interested in their own profits. I also urge CSOS, as part of their mandate, to educate the public about what they do so that people can know that government is here to serve them. As we always say – we are leaving no one behind in housing the nation.
I thank you.
