Where the DA governs our people have the dignity of home ownership

Issued by Tarnia Baker MP – DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Human Settlements
18 May 2017 in Speeches

The following speech was delivered in Parliament today by DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Human Settlements, Tarnia Baker MP, during the Budget Vote on Human Settlements.

In South Africa, a “home” is often nothing more than a basic shack made from whatever materials are available, with no running water, proper sanitation or electricity.

This is the harsh reality for the almost 2 million households living in informal settlements across the country, a number which has increased by over 600% since 1994 under the current ANC government.

In addition to this, despite the government having already provided more than 4 million housing opportunities, the housing backlog has increased from 1.5 million in 1994 to over 2 million today.

There is no denying that human settlements provision in South Africa is a complex issue and is completely unsustainable in its current form.

There needs to be a serious discussion held around what we call the “housing backlog” vs the “housing demand”, what is acceptable as “adequate housing” as envisioned in our Constitution, and most importantly, who is truly eligible for a “free” house from government.

In 2014 Minister Lindiwe Sisulu boldly declared that the Department of Human Settlements would create 1.5 million new housing opportunities by 2019. Roughly calculated, that amounts to 375 000 units per year!

Given the fact that the number of units being produced has been steadily decreasing, this is nothing more than a pipe dream. At its peak in 1998/99, the government delivered 235 000 units per annum but by 2013/14 this number had decreased to less than 110 000. It is currently sitting at about 120 000 units per year, which is far below what the Minister promised to do. It is clear that under the ANC, progress has stalled.

Conversely, the cost of housing has continued to escalate at an unprecedented rate, with the Human Settlements budget being the fastest grower, even more than social grants.

The cost of subsidised units has risen from R12 500 per unit in 1994 to approximately R170 000 per unit currently.

Does this mean that we are now building houses of an excellent superior quality? I’m afraid this is not always the case, too many occupied developments lack the basic essential services and are in need of rectification.

A few years ago, the government came up with the Breaking New Ground Policy.

The idea was to have a bigger sized house, 40 square meters, with two bedrooms, shower, toilet, living area and kitchen. Perfect! But the ANC do not deliver on their promises.

This policy also envisioned that municipalities would be the primary implementing agents, this was the first problem. You see, the responsibility to approve projects, allocate budgets as well as the hiring and management of contractors lies with the provincial housing department. So who’s going to do what?

Secondly, as the vast majority of the country’s 257 municipalities do not have the capacity, financial or human, this is an extremely big ask of local government. If the provincial governments can’t get this right, how on earth can we expect local government to produce the goods. Case in point is the Mpumalanga Human Settlements Department which by December 2016 had spent 99.2% of its almost R2 billion budget but only achieved 50% of its targets. With a backlog of 197 156 units, it will take 28 years to eradicate this backlog.

You see, municipalities would also have to prove themselves first before they could be accredited.

Now given the fact that the ANC have lost so many local government municipalities as well as the country’s four major metros to the DA, do you honestly think that the Minister is going to hand over this jewel to the opposition who can actually deliver?

It is well known that housing is used as a carrot to dangle in front of voters each election year. And when residents feel frustrated by these broken promises, violent protests erupt in the post-election year, just as we have seen in the south of Johannesburg last week.

The Gauteng ANC chairperson, Paul Mashatile, in response to the protests grandly stated that “all those who applied for houses since 1994 will be prioritised from now on”. Really?! While the DA strongly condemns all violent and destructive protests, we have to ask, why do our people have to go on the rampage first, before they are heard? Why did it have to take 23 years for these communities to be prioritised?

Yes, my fellow democrats, it is time for us to have some uncomfortable conversations about the true reality of life in South Africa. It is time for us to move out of our comfort zones and face the monsters of corruption and mismanagement head on.

Where the DA governs, we work tirelessly to ensure we govern well.

Like the project planned for Belhar in the City of Cape Town which will provide 3 000 mixed use units including rental stock, bonded properties and most importantly, student accommodation, given its close proximity to the University of the Western Cape and other colleges.

This is all because we want a city and a country led by a government which will embrace the rapid pace of urbanisation by planning for the future.

We want a government led by leaders who truly care for our people, like the city of Tshwane Mayor Solly Msimanga who is selling the mayoral mansion and is going to use the proceeds thereof to boost the allocation for building homes for the poor.

We want a government which uplifts our people by improving their quality of life, just like in the city of Johannesburg where Mayor Herman Mashaba has prioritised R546 million to electrify incomplete houses and a further R41 million to electrify five informal settlements.

Yes South Africa, it is time for us to stand tall and firm, to put our proverbial foot down and scream out, enough is enough! The time for change is now. Let us be bold fellow democrats and do what we know in our hearts and our consciences is the right thing for our country and vote the uncaring and ineffectual ANC out of government.

I thank you.