Speech by MR. BW DHLAMINI - MP

Madam Speaker,
Section 26(1) of the Constitution of South Africa, 1996, states very boldly:
"Everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing"
The Constitution goes on, and in subsection (2) charges the State with the responsibility to progressively realise this right.

We have to ask ourselves whether the Housing budget before us today does, in fact, enable the State to make progress towards the goal of housing for all.
It is known that between 1994 and March 1995; 1,million subsidised houses were delivered by the State. That was a remarkable achievement, but it falls far short of what is required.

The backlog of houses currently stands at 2.4 million units. What is of the gravest concern is the fact that this backlog will in ten years from now still exist unless government funding increases dramatically.

It is also know that 11,3% of all households in South Africa are informal dwellings, in other words, shacks; and that informal settlements have grown by more that 100% between 1995 and 2004.

Theses figures paint a depressing picture of a country that is striving to improve the lives of its people; yet finds that one step forward mostly means two or three steps backwards. It is for this reason that the IFP, Honourable Minister, fully supports the Comprehensive Housing Plan for the Development of Integrated Sustainable Settlements.

The Housing Department receives some R6,8 billion for this financial year.
That is 30% or about R1,5 billion more than last year. The increased allocation will be taken up mostly by more funding for the integrated housing and human settlement development conditional grant given to provinces and some R600 million for the introduction of credit-linked housing subsidies.

The IFP welcomes the increased allocation to the Department as well as the larger conditional grants provided to provinces.

But, we have to ask: will the provinces actually be able to do something meaningful with the increased allocation?

Our concern is that there is a lack of capacity at provincial and local government level to deliver. In other words, to build enough new houses to make meaningful progress in eradicating the backlog.

Clearly, the issue here is not funding, but the ability to spend the allocation on new projects.

The IFP is also very concerned that twelve years into democracy, the Department of Housing has not established a clear funding policy for hostel development. The Public Sector Hostel Redevelopment Programme has failed to develop a policy that will create humane living conditions and provide affordable and sustainable housing on either rental or ownership basis.

There are about 1 million people in three provinces (Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape) who live in rundown hostels in squalid conditions. Surely the time has come for the Department of Housing to provide clear guidelines for funding to change these hostels into liveable, decent accommodation?

The IFP's third concern relates to the provision of rental housing stock.
Rental housing stock should fill the gap between those that are financially able to buy a house and those that are not.

But, the current situation is that the available rental stock is so expensive to rent that the intended beneficiaries are completely unable to afford it. What the authorities seemed to have forgotten is that it is poor people in the second economy who are looking to rent houses, simply because they are too poor to afford to buy a house, or not interested to own property in the city.

If rental houses are then priced out of the reach of these poor people, what are they supposed to do? Inevitable, they are forced to settle in informal areas which at least partially explains the growth in informal settlements.

Rental stock should be made more affordable so that the intended beneficiaries can actually benefit.

Madam Speaker,
the IFP in raising these concerns does not mean that we are blind to the great achievements of this Department in trying to fulfil its constitutional mandate of reducing poverty and improving the quality of people's lives.

The IFP calls on the Honourable Minister of Housing and the Department of Housing to take note of our concerns and to do more in the coming year to address the shortcomings, weaknesses and backlogs in the system so that access to housing and secure accommodation as an integral part of government's commitment to reduce poverty and improve the quality of lives can be achieved.

The IFP will support the Housing budget.

I thank you.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr BW Dhlamini: 083 254 8576
Noleen Hendricks: 082 886 9848