By Gabi Khumalo
The year 2005 saw the beginning of government’s new thinking around housing development, a period where a ground-breaking approach of Integrated Human Settlements was adopted.
The Social Contract for Rapid Housing Delivery was conceptualised to support the implementation of government’s Breaking New Ground (BNG) Strategy, which was launched in 2004 with the aim to accelerate the delivery of housing as a key strategy for poverty alleviation.
Through partnership between the Department of Human Settlements, banking sector, private sector, NGOs and other stakeholders, the country witnessed the creation of more than 1.2 million housing units in five years. This follows a Social Contract for Rapid Housing Delivery signed in September 2005 during a Housing Summit.
Fast forward to 2014, the department with private sector partners and stakeholders have recommitted and signed a Social Contract for the Development of Sustainable Human Developments and Improved Quality of Household Life. Through the contract, the partners have set an ambitious target to deliver 1.5 million housing opportunities in the next five years.
The partners, including the private sector, mining sector, banking sector, as well as national, provincial and local spheres of government, signed the contract during the National Human Settlements Indaba held in Johannesburg recently.
The signatories of the social contract, jointly undertook to work together to deliver 110 000 affordable housing opportunities for the gap market, 70 000 affordable rental opportunities, undertake 50 catalytic projects and install basic services and infrastructure in 2000 informal settlements, while laying a foundation that will ensure that by 2030 all South Africans live in adequate housing.
They further undertook to eradicate the backlog of title deeds for pre and post 1994 housing stock and deliver new projects. The national government will provide a centralised database for beneficiaries.
Mega projects
During the signing ceremony, Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said that the emphasis for the next five years is mega projects, while allowing pockets of site and service and People’s Housing Projects.
“They allow all spheres of government to learn to work together and hopefully the ‘foot dragging’ of municipal processes can be brought under central control of all three spheres working together. It cuts down on time spent, and together we can plan and ensure proper integration and spatial coherence,” Minister Sisulu explained.
The department also commits to assist struggling contractors to access funding. Minister Sisulu announced that the department will be restructuring its Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) to make them more responsive and to help them access the necessary finance so that they may be assisted.
“We will help to the extent possible to access land for low income housing and ensure you [contractors] get all help you can get through our bureaucratic maze, with the assistance of the Housing Development Agency, who will work with you through the provinces and municipalities,” Minister Sisulu told the contractors during the signing of the social contract.
Days of seeing many contractors going under due to the burden of delay in payment, will also be a thing of the past. A dedicated unit would be established in the department to ensure that they are paid on time. The unit will be headed by the department’s DDG.
Over and above, the department will establish an office of an ombudsman so that the contractors have easy recourse to redress as and when they require it.
On job creation, Minister Sisulu said that the department intends to harness the energy for unemployed youth. She says the department would like to test the Cuban model of a Youth Brigade for every project so that they can deal with the unemployment, while the department skills the youth.
Master Spatial Plan
The department has concluded a Master Spatial Plan, which will help stakeholders to understand the direction the department is going and where the future projects will be.
Minister Sisulu reiterated that the department has now reached a point, where the issue of spatial planning has become an absolute priority.
“It is an important plan for us and I believe it is a great plan and will determine for us how we would be able to turn around our deeply divided societies and transform them into my understanding of “Great Places,” she emphasised.
Efficient ways of building
She encouraged the partners to seek better and more cost efficient ways of building adding that new methods are available and once approved, they should try them.
She also asked the stakeholders to increase the number of affordable rental stock noting that not every homeless person qualifies for a free house and no stock is available for the rental bracket.
“From you we want solidly built houses. From the banking sector, we need a recommitment to create access to mortgage funding. The Black Conveyancers must help our municipalities to access title deeds at shortest time possible so that in future, it should be possible to give a title deed as we give the house.
“Our Military Veterans can help us build houses for people who have done so much for us. Slum Dwellers International, we have to upscale our numbers. The more you succeed, the better are our chances of stopping an unhealthy decency syndrome that has set in,” she told stakeholders.
Government’s effort in human settlement commended
UN-Habitat Assistant Secretary and Deputy Executive Director, Dr Aisa Kirabo Kacyira, commended the South African Government’s effort to improve human settlement conditions through a series of policies and strategies.
“The BNG and Social Contract for Rapid Housing Delivery represent only some of the many innovative initiatives of the government. A lot can be learned by other developing counties from South Africa’s experience, especially in the African continent where the challenges of urbanization and human settlements are perhaps most acute,” said Dr Kacyira.
She encouraged the Human Settlements Department to invest a little more time and effort in documenting the good job done by the government and continues to do in terms of housing provision for different segments of the housing market to make the case to the world that the country is a top performer in this domain.
UN-Habitat have been working with numerous countries including Rwanda, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, South Africa and Botswana in support of housing and urbanization policies with a view to creating coherent national frameworks for improved human settlements.
The Banking Association South Africa, which was among the signatory to the initial multiple stakeholder social contract signed in 2005 and also signed a specific memorandum of understanding with the department said it views the department as a key.
General Manager at the Banking Association South Africa, Pierre Venter said the association fully support and pleased that the department wishes to revitalise the social contract this year.
“We are of the view that it is only through meaningful collaboration between key stakeholders (private and public sectors) that we can hope to increase housing supply to a level where it matches demand,” said Venter.
He also noted that whilst primary motivational drivers may differ, they are all on the same side.
“From a state perspective it wishes to house the nation, from a developer perspective, it wishes to build as many homes as possible, provided they are able to do so profitable. From a lender perspective, we wish to grant as many loans as possible, provided theses are commercially viable and sustainable.”
Promote sustainable human settlements
If meaningful delivery inroads are to be achieved, Venter said multiple parties need to actively collaborate and stakeholders need to develop proposals that promote sustainable human settlements in both urban and rural areas, with urban integrated development being a central theme.
Western Cape Human Settlements MEC, Bonginkosi Madikizela said the interaction with community members and community structures was the biggest lesson learnt on the N2 Gateway Project.
“There is value in building the capacity of the communities in the engagement process, so as to not only nurture their skills of the engagement, but also to understand the technical issues. In order to achieve sustainable human settlements, it is imperative to have reliable and current information about the community,” said Madikizela.
The N2 Gateway Project was approved by Cabinet on 18 August 2004, as a pilot and lead project in the BNG strategy. The project intends to provide housing units for residents of the informal settlements along the N2 Freeway.
11 437 units handed over to beneficiaries
In phase 1, the provincial department planned to build 16 083 units. Currently, 11 437 units have been handed over to the beneficiaries while the construction of 4 646 is still in progress.
Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Jacob Mamabolo also stressed the importance of identifying beneficiaries upfront to avoid chaotic allocations, as well as communication throughout the lifespan of the project.
“It is critical to educate people about the responsibilities of living in an integrated environment. Municipal governance structures must also ensure adequate sustained communication for integrated human settlements to function. If there are delays ensure that the community representative structures are informed,” said Mamabolo.
The Gauteng BNG includes Cosmo City/Malibongwe Ridge and Fleurhof Integrated Mixed Development Housing Projects.
Cosmo City is a R3.5 billion project with over 11 000 houses of different typologies developed over 115 hectares of land. 12 500 mixed income houses have been developed.
Public and private schools, including a hotel school, various churches, parks and community facilities have been established. Industrial and retail facilities are operational as part of the development.
Almost 31 000 employment was created
Almost 31 000 jobs created during the construction with more than 22 000 employment created during post construction.
Mamabolo said the types of integrated human settlement developments offered by BNG bring with them improved access to sustainable living conditions and must be accelerated. – SAnews.gov.za
