Introductory speech on the debate on the 2013/14 annual report by Human
Settlements MEC Jacob Mamabolo at the Gauteng Legislature on 30
September 2014
Honourable Premier
Madam Speaker
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee
Members of the Legislature
Ladies and Gentlemen
It gives me a great pleasure to present the 2013/14 Annual Report of the
Department of Human Settlements in Gauteng. This is indeed a unique annual
report in that it is the final annual report of the last electoral term which saw
us celebrating the greatest milestone of arriving at the 20 years in Democracy
and Freedom. In the last term alone, the Department of Human Settlements
delivered around 190 000 human settlements opportunities. Between 2009
and 2014 the Department spent over R14 billion in the delivery of these
different housing opportunities across its various programmes which include
Mixed Housing Development, Rural Housing, Alternative Tenure, Informal
Settlement Upgrading and Urban Renewal Programmes on to ensure that the
people of Gauteng secure access to shelter. Madam Speaker, indeed this is a
good story to tell.
Under the auspices of Outcome 8, during the previous term and as part of
continuous improvement, the Department had the following strategic
outcome-oriented goals:
 Address housing needs, through effective research, planning and the
development of appropriate human settlements policies.
 Build cohesive and sustainable communities by ensuring that innovative
services and infrastructure are provided to create sustainable human
settlements.
 Build an inclusive economic environment which is conducive to the
creation of decent work.
 Efficient management
management.
of
provincial
assets
through
property
These were all attempts at ensuring increased access to housing for the everincreasing population of Gauteng. Unlike anywhere in the country, Gauteng
continues to attract hundreds of thousands of new people. Gauteng is an
urbanised province with almost 97% of its people living in the urban areas.
Census 2011 has confirmed that Gauteng is home to the majority of South
Africans, being home to more than 12 million people. The millions of migrants
from neighbouring countries come to settle in Gauteng in pursuit of economic
and employment opportunities. This impacts negatively on infrastructure and
service delivery. These patterns are expected to continue as Gauteng remains
a destiny of choice for many job seekers.
Madam Speaker, the house will also note that it is in the last term that the
concept of housing accreditation to the municipalities was introduced.
Such rapid urbanisation and in-migration places an enormous pressure on the
limited resources that we have as a state. Thus proper planning becomes key
in maximising value off the limited resources we have at our disposal.
As a result, in the period under review the Department, under the stewardship
of the now Speaker of Legislature and former MEC Ntombi Mekgwe,
undertook various efforts to effectively respond to the growing housing needs
in Gauteng. Key amongst these includes the following;

Advanced work done on Densification Policy, Land Invasion Framework.
 Process is underway to develop Gauteng Rental Housing Strategy.
 Drafted Densification Policy and Land Invasion
engagements internally and with municipalities.
Framework
-
 Stakeholder engagements on the findings of the review of Backyard
Rental were successfully undertaken as planned, and significant progress
was made.
 A Backyard Summit was identified as a way forward which will be
undertaken in the 2014/15 financial year.
 The Community Residential Units (CRU) Research study was finalised;
the Gauteng Policy Research and Strategy Forum was launched.
 Service Delivery Improvement Plan
Madam Speaker one of the critical challenges we had to pay attention to is the
illegal invasion of land and illegal occupation of RDP houses in the province.
With the critical shortages of land in Gauteng, any land invasion compounds
and adds to the problem we already have on access to land. On the other side
of the coin, when evictions are effected to remove the invaders, all too often it
is harsh and as government we are forced to provide alternative
accommodation, something always not budgeted for. So the Land Invasion
framework is a key strategic intervention dealing with this problem.
As a post merger reconfiguration of the Department, the Sedibeng/West Rand
Region was divided into two distinct regions, namely Sedibeng region and West
Rand region thereby linking each to the two municipal districts in the province.
This was done to ensure improved efficiency and ease of planning which
should result in better and improved housing delivery.
Madam Speaker, in the year under review the Department also continued to
keep a closer look at GEYODI empowerment. The Human Settlements
Incubator programme was resuscitated and 30 construction companies were
invited to participate in this empowerment programme. The targeted groups
are as follows; 10 women, 10 youths, and 10 PWDs (People with disabilities).
Our work across various projects throughout the province created A total of 13
189 jobs, which benefited 1 716 adult females, 1 456 youth females, 76 PWDs,
5 764 adult males and 4 177 youth.
Whilst we secured a total of 31 313 housing opportunities in the 2013/14
financial year, the Department received a qualified report. This is of concern to
us and we are taking all the recommendations of the Auditor-General to heart,
and we shall ensure that all matters raised in the report are remedied. As an
urgent intervention, we are in the process of appointing a Chief Financial
Officer to take the financial reigns and assist in improving the financial
management system in the Department.
Madam Speaker, as the new administration we will work faster and harder to
build on the legacy that started in 1994, as led by the African National
Congress. As we march gallantly towards a radically transformed society, we
will make sure that we put our people at the centre of housing delivery. We
know that housing is a very basic need and something very emotional hence
the service delivery protests. Our assurance to the people of Gauteng is that
we continue in our endeavours to ensure that we procure prime land and
optimize how we utilize available the land for housing densification.
I thank you all.