Statement by the Executive Mayor of Cape Town,
Alderman Patricia de Lille: City and Province sign Human
Settlements Implementation Protocol
We are here today to sign a very significant document for the future
management of housing delivery in the City of Cape Town, the
Implementation Protocol and Deed of Delegations between the City of
Cape Town and the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements.
The signing of this protocol finalises the transfer of Accreditation Level 1
and 2 Human Settlement delegations and functions from the Province to
the City.
This enables the City to manage and administer all human settlement
programmes which it has been accredited to perform – a responsibility
that previously fell under the purview of the Provincial Department of
Human Settlements.
It also enables the City to manage the budgetary processes pertaining to
the Human Settlement funding for the implementation of National
Housing Programmes within the City’s municipal borders.
The signing of the Protocol will further pave the way for the City to
receive the Assignment ( full power and authority to implement national
housing programmes) of the Human Settlement functions, which will
enable the City to receive funding for human settlements projects directly
from National Government. The City will then be directly accountable for
the management of the funds, with the Provincial Government retaining
an oversight role.
The protocol will also help streamline housing delivery processes.
Previously, the City of Cape Town had to approach the Province to, among
other things, access the Human Settlements Development Grant (HSDG)
application and approve new human settlement projects. This will no
longer be the case and it will in time help to speed up housing delivery
and cut down on red tape.
While it will still take time to build houses for all the more than 380 000
people who are currently on the Housing Demand Database, this
development will go a long way to help us implement housing projects
faster by shifting the focus to medium and high density housing projects,
informal settlement upgrading and the backyarders programme
The housing backlog in the city, like the rest of the country, requires all
spheres of government to work together and to constantly pursue
innovative ways of fast-tracking delivery to enable us to stand a realistic
chance of stopping the backlog from growing to unmanageable
proportions.
This will require that we continue to work closely with our colleagues in
the National and Provincial Government and other key role-players to
deliver housing opportunities.