The Programme director
Acting Mayor of Newcastle Municipality, Councillor Afzul Rehman
Acting Municipal Manager, Mr B E Mswane
Members of the Executive Council of the Newcastle Municipality
Traditional leaders
Councillors
Religious leaders
Departmental officials
Ladies and gentlemen
I greet you all.
We are gathered here today during difficult times. There is an international economic slowdown caused primarily by lack of good governance and to a large extent caused by system failure. There is a great distortion in wealth and productive patterns with poor and marginalised people suffering the most despite the fact that they are not the architects of the challenges faced by the world today.
The current economic meltdown is a clear indication that governance problems are not peculiar to the developing economies only, but they can be found even in the most developed economies world wide. While in South Africa we have had a certain level of cushioning against this meltdown, the repercussions are beginning to the felt. The only way to manage the prevailing economic challenges is by fostering relations and partnerships with the private sector, the academia, the non governmental sector, and the community based organisations of our society.
Our programme as the provincial Department of Human Settlements is based primarily on the electoral mandate, the global and domestic conditions and the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) as outlined by the programme of action of the African National Congress (ANC) led government.
The President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr Jacob Zuma spelt out clearly in his State of the Nation Address that “housing is not just about building houses. It is also about transforming our residential areas and building communities with closer access to work and social amenities, including sports and recreation facilities.” The concept was also referred to by the erstwhile Minister of Housing, Dr Lindiwe Sisulu, who in the “Breaking New Ground” policy outlined the need for a new Human settlements plan with more appropriate designs.
This borrows from the provisions of the Freedom Charter; a historical document adopted 54 years ago by the Congress of the People that states, "There shall be houses, security and comfort for all!" Clearly mindful of the consequences of apartheid social engineering, the Congress demanded that "all people should have the right to live where they choose, to be decently housed and to bring up their families in comfort and security."
"Slums shall be demolished and new suburbs built where all shall have transport, roads, lighting, playing fields, crèches and social centres." Our task is clear: to restore humanity and dignity, to address spatial inequalities and to provide comfort and security for all. Human settlements have to be planned and built in an integrated, coordinated and holistic way. This requires a new approach where we move beyond talking about providing housing and look at assisting people to create sustainable living environments.
We must intensify our efforts to provide housing assistance to people living in shacks. These people constitute the bulk of the housing backlog and this area must receive serious attention. There is however additional housing challenges that require our attention. The housing needs of the middle income group of people who occupy the salary range of between R3 500 and R7 500 have to be addressed. These people are generally turned away by banks when they attempt to obtain housing finance. We have signed protocols designed to facilitate access to housing finance with Absa and First National Bank (FNB) and are currently engaging other financial institutions in similar discussions.
Furthermore we have to provide people with alternative tenure options including affordable rental housing stock. The provisions of rural housing remains a key housing intervention and we must come up with new initiatives are to accelerate the development of quality rural human settlements. The national Department of Human Settlements is currently considering the introduction of a voucher system to be used in the construction of rural housing. This system which draws from the owner-builder concept will be piloted shortly.
Creating sustainable human settlements
Programme director, I present this speech at a time when the provincial Department of Human Settlements has changed its title and name. This recent change in the title necessitated that the Department of Human Settlements review and analyse its strategy and tactics to be implemented between the electoral cycle of 2009 to 2014. The Department of Human Settlements, during this strategic review process unpacked our mandate against the dictates and requirements of higher level provincial and national medium term strategic framework.
The Department of Human Settlements has finalised the KwaZulu-Natal Human Settlements strategy which will show a marked departure from the mere provision of housing units and move towards the creation of sustainable communities with all the required economic and social amenities. The Department of Human Settlements cannot do it alone. We will need to ensure an integrated approach to planning and service delivery with other provincial departments particularly the social sector cluster departments.
Adopting an integrated, holistic approach to our work also entails us working closely and cooperatively with sister government departments as well as with local government and the private sector.
We are convinced and encouraged that the Department of Human Settlements is on the right track. The need for sustainable human settlements is discussed fully in article of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. It is one of the main pillars of the Breaking New Ground strategy of government that was adopted in September, 2004 by the erstwhile Department of Housing. It is also provided for in the 2005 Durban Declaration of the African Ministers Conference of Housing and Urban Development (AMCHUD). It was discussed extensively and also adopted as part of the resolutions of the World Urban Forum held in Vancouver, Canada in June 2006.
Finally during the 52nd Conference of the ANC held at Polokwane in 2007 the concept of human settlements was taken further, debated and a resolution was taken to commit the new government to the promotion of human settlements and the building of cohesive, sustainable and caring communities. Ultimately, in both his State of the Nation Address and his own budget vote, President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr Jacob Zuma formalised this concept with the establishment of the new Human Settlements Ministry.
In his State of the Nation Address, The Honourable President Mr Jacob Zuma set out the following as the country’s key priorities:
* Speeding up economic growth and transforming the economy to create decent work and sustainable livelihood
* Building economic and social infrastructure
* A comprehensive rural development strategy linked to land and agrarian reform and food security
* Strengthening the skills and human resources base
* Intensifying the fight against crime and communities
* Building cohesive, caring and sustainable communities
* Pursuing African advancement and enhanced international cooperation
* Ensuring sustainable resource management and use
* Building a developmental state, improving public service and strengthening democratic institutions.
These national priorities speak volumes in terms of the government’s commitment to economic development and poverty eradication.
As the province of KwaZulu-Natal we have also outlined our programme which derives from the national priorities and focuses on poverty eradication. The provincial priorities as outlined by the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Dr Zweli Mkhize in his State of the Province Address are:
* Rural Development and Agrarian Reform
* Education and skills for all
* Creating decent work and ensuring economic growth
* Nation building and good governance
* Building social and economic infrastructure.
As the Department of Human Settlements we have also revised our priorities so that our department aligns itself to the national and provincial priorities. Our priorities as the provincial Department of Human Settlements are:
* Acceleration of rural housing development
* Eradication of slum settlements in KwaZulu-Natal by 2014
* Strengthening good governance and service delivery
* Accelerating the hostel redevelopment and upgrade programme
* Creating rental and / or social housing opportunities
* Building the capacity of housing stakeholders
* Promotion of home ownership
* Provision of housing for vulnerable groups in society
* Provision of housing to non-statutory force military veterans
* Implementation of the Financial Services Market Programme.
The success of our department in meeting the above priorities will make a significant contribution towards the creation of sustainable living environments for the people in the province. Our department will ensure that during the implementation of all housing projects priority is given to the creation of job opportunities for local people. This will also include skills development so that people will be employable after the completion of projects. We are currently, together with the independent development trust, looking at setting up an Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) for Human Settlements. This programme will provide short-term employment opportunities for unemployed people as well as the opportunity for basic skills development.
Programme director, I must bring to your attention the challenge of global economic downturn which puts enormous pressure on our department and the government in general. The government needs to meet its service delivery targets but is faced with financial constraints. This has resulted in government departments implementing cost cutting measures. The idea is to ensure that we minimize wastage on non-core activities and focus on service delivery.
Quality of housing
An issue that comes up repeatedly and one which is resulting in us wasting money is that of poor housing quality and standards. I am tired, as I am certain we all are, of receiving complaints from communities across the province about defective houses, houses that are collapsing and houses that constitute a threat to people’s lives and safety. This is untenable.
Firstly, we cannot allow housing subsidies to be consumed in repairs and “rectification.” This is fruitless expenditure as had the houses been built according to acceptable standards the need for rectification and repairs would not have arisen. The Department of Human Settlements has reached an agreement with the National Home Builders Registration Council. The aim of this agreement is to ensure that all housing development projects rolled out by the department are enrolled with the National Homebuilders Registration Council (NHBRC) to ensure quality products and to ensure that government is able to hold service providers in the built environment liable for any quality related problems.
Secondly, providing houses of inferior quality indicates a disregard and disrespect for the very people that this department is supposed to serve and assist. We must work closely with the planning and monitoring units in the Office of the Premier. In our department, we should have our own monitoring unit to assess the quality and quantity of new homes in addition to the National Home Builders’ Registration Council. We cannot allow the current parlous situation of shoddy, sub-standard housing provision to prevail.
I am also concerned about the prevalence of emergencies and the bypassing of normal procurement processes in the awarding of contracts to service providers. Whilst one accepts that there are emergency situations where normal supply chain management processes have to be set aside in order to speed up assistance, it appears to me that there are far too many such instances that on closer inspection often reveal a considerable time lag between the actual date of the emergency and the award date of the contract.
Fighting fraud and corruption
Fraud and corruption remain major challenges across the housing delivery environment. We must identify and act against criminals and strengthen our relationships with agencies such as the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), our provincial internal audit unit and South African Revenue Service (SARS) in order to act against offenders.
The national Department of Human Settlements has signed a further service level agreement with the SIU mandating them to investigate fraud, corruption and maladministration in low-income housing contracts. This is its focus for the current financial year as it will be ours, and will enable the department to understand the type of abuse giving rise to blocked projects and allow us to improve our systems and processes while getting rid of corrupt officials and contractors.
In the past financial year, at least 29 government officials appeared before court on charges of housing subsidy fraud. Other investigations are underway.
Conclusion
In conclusion, let me commend the organisers of this summit especially the Newcastle Local Municipality. This is a very positive initiative and I believe that the discussions, inputs and recommendations from the commissions will serve to guide you in your mapping out of a housing strategy for the municipality.
Finally, let me state that it is my intention as member of the Provincial Executive Council for Human Settlements and Public Works to ensure that we deliver on our mandate to provide sustainable human settlements and quality housing through good governance without any leakage due to your or my lack of diligence. This is a partnership based on trust and a shared purpose to serve our people in terms of the mandate that has been conferred on us. We can do no less.
Thank you.
Issued by: Department of Human Settlements, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
27 August 2009
Source: Department of Human Settlements, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government (http://www.kznworks.gov.za/)
