It is important for this House to note the name of this Department. We do not call it the Department of Housing, but Human Settlements. This serves to remind us that we cannot look at this Department without looking at the ‘humanity’ of what this department does. We also cannot look at the budget of this Department without looking at its Humanitarian role. The failures of this Department are therefore not just system failures – they are failures of our communities, our humanity. The ANC-led government is failing our communities, and when it comes to this department, that failure is in-humane.
No ‘New Dawn’ for KZN’s homeless
During the Department’s budget briefing to the portfolio committee, we heard the same refrain time and again – ‘not enough money’. The reason for this goes way beyond this Department – it goes to the almost total failure of the ANC-led government at both national and provincial level. It speaks to the failure of the once-glorious movement to grow our economy, which has instead led to more poverty with the resultant increase in demand housing, which is now bigger than can be dealt with.
It is also the almost total failure of the ANC-led government to create real jobs, leading to more people needing government help to get a home, which is in turn making it impossible to provide homes to all. And – it is the failure of the sun to actually rise in the so-called ‘New Dawn’, that is making it impossible for Human Settlements to answer to all the needs.
Land invasions ignored
It is because of these failures, and because of the desperation of our people, that land invasions have become the order of the day in this province – something that both the Department and the ANC-led provincial government have failed to curb despite their negative impact on the real lives of real people. This is inhumane.
When people have nowhere to live and see no other option but to occupy land, this is a failure of government. When people see their properties and lives threatened, as they do in Bonella, in Cato Crest, in Silver Glen, then it is a failure of government. In many cases the invaded land belongs to the Human Settlements Department and has been lying unused for years. This as a result of the slow pace of delivery and the department’s failure to be a responsible neighbor and take steps to protect its land, something that is also not adequately budgeted for.
But it’s not just the Department’s land that is being invaded, it is also the homes that are actually built. So-called Military veterans, and I say so-called because a Military veteran cannot be in his twenties, are invading homes – homes allocated to the poor. This is happening in Aloe Ridge, in Cornubia, and all over the province. Yet this government is failing to curb this illegal practice. And it is failing to verify whether these are in fact Military veterans. This while those who really deserve assistance are being failed. This, is in-humane.
Stalled housing projects
And all of this happens because this ANC-led Government is failing to deliver, or taking years to deliver. The new MEC ‘blue-lighted’ her way to Umzumbe within days of becoming MEC to re-launch a housing project which was launched in 2003 and then stalled. So well done MEC – for launching something that is in fact 16 years old!
There are numerous stalled projects such as this around our province. Within uMngeni municipality there are Nhlalkahle in Ward 6 and Kanya Village (Cedara) Ward 7 uMngeni, which stalled 18 years ago! Imagine being a member of that community living in informal housing, having to see every day for 18 years, a half-built house and cement slabs, just lying there – a dream that never comes to fruition. This is a failure of this ANC-led government and it is in-humane. Then there is the pressure that all of these unfinished projects will put on the Department’s current budget.
Transit camps
It is precisely this slow rate of delivery that results in some people living in transit camps for 10 long years, and ‘no’ I am not exaggerating. In Ward 101 eThekwini, there are indeed residents who have been living in transit camps for a decade.
The fact that it is Ward 101 is also no coincidence after the Ward Councilor was implicated in the infamous Manase Report into irregularities within the eThekwini municipality. The councilor was implicated for selling houses for money – and sadly and shockingly, not just for money! Since the City has done nothing with this report these allegations were of course never tested in a court of law, and, even less surprisingly, the ANC made this “gentleman” their candidate again in 2016. Today he still serves on the eThekwini Council.
Title Deeds
It is possible though, that one of the biggest failures of this ANC-led government is the failure to give our people title deeds. At a time when the ANC, led by their noses by the EFF, are now continuously calling for land distribution they conveniently fail to mention that they are in fact one of the biggest stumbling blocks in the process.
The DA notes in the Budget that the grant for speeding up the provision of title deeds is being phased out, without the loss amount being made up in HSDG. This is a complete failure by government as the goal of this grant was to eliminate the backlog by 2016. Now we are phasing out this grant with tens of thousands of people still without their Title Deeds, without the ownership of their land. The largest number of these are in eThekwini, and this should not surprise us, because everything touched by suspended Mayor Gumede fails.
A title deed is not just a piece of paper. It is not just a nice to have. Title deeds are about human dignity. They are about restitution and restoration. Title deeds don’t just give ownership of a house to a person, they allow a person to engage economically, to access loans and to become more productive.
While the DA acknowledges that 15% of the HSDG will be dedicated to providing title deeds, the HSDG is also being cut. This means that there will be far less money available for this. This will slow down an already snail’s pace delivery. This impact on the lives of the poor is in-humane.
While this Budget tries its best to answer to the needs of our people, this is an impossible task due to the total failure of the ANC-led government. A government that is no friend of the poor, and that has forgotten their humanity.