Report: Visit to Mpumalanga, dated 7 November 2001:

The Portfolio Committee on Housing, having undertaken a study tour to Mpumalanga, reports as follows:

A. Introduction

A multi-party delegation from the Committee undertook a study tour to Mpumalanga from 30 September to 3 October 2001. The delegation, under the leadership of Ms N E Hangana, consisted of five members and two officials, viz: Ms P Coetzee-Kasper (ANC), Mr G Schneemann (ANC), Mr W Skhosana (ANC), Mr B Dhlamini (IFP), Mr D G Mkono (UDM), Ms A-M Jojozi and Ms K Pasiya.

B. Objectives of visit

1. To fulfil its monitoring and oversight function, the Committee intended to establish progress made with the "Housing the Nation" programmes.

2. To have an exchange of views and experience with the Legislature, Mayors of different areas, local ward councils, contractors and developers.

3. To tour to various housing projects, such as the People's Housing Process, Rural Housing Projects, Hostel Redevelopment Projects, projects developed by women and other inner city developments.

The delegation visited six projects in different municipality areas. On the first day, the delegation met with the MEC, Mr M S Ginindza. He provided a brief outline of the future plans of the Department to ensure that the poorest of the poor will be provided shelter. The tour included meetings with the Mayors of the different municipalities. Projects visited included visits to low-income housing projects, a hostel project, a middle-income housing project and a People's Housing Process. Officials from the Department accompanied the delegation, as well as the Provincial Director, Mr S G Sono, and the Head of Department, Ms G N Sibeko.

C. Briefing by MEC and HOD

Maximum participation by the people in improving their lives is very important. In the process of building houses, the poor should be assisted financially. In the past the focus has been on getting developers and contractors to build houses for the poor. The focus now is on ensuring that beneficiaries themselves contribute to the building of their own houses. Training is provided to the unemployed in different communities. Training is provided in respect of different skills so as to try and improve the state of affairs in South Africa.

The RDP houses cost R16 000 per unit and the Department has determined that houses built should not be less than 40 square metre. The Department is now focusing on ensuring that the houses built are of good quality and are sustainable.

In the rural areas some traditional leaders have approached the Department and requested that houses be built for their communities. They emphasised that they do not want small houses to be built for their people.

1. Housing, Land and Administration

(a) Land has to be made available for building houses, in urban as well as rural areas. The Department is focusing on releasing land to build houses for the needy. The demand for houses in the rural areas suggest that there is indeed a need for them there. In Mpumalanga some of the mud houses cannot withstand the heavy rains experienced in summer. Some of the land in rural areas is held in trust by Chiefs and the Department of Housing, Land and Administration. Projects will be given tentative approval where land is a question. Land availability has been slow due to the slow pace of transfer of land from tribal state land to municipalities.

(b) The Department is unable to upgrade title deeds as quickly as it would want to because the budget allocated for that purpose is inadequate.

(c) The budget amount allocated for 2001-02 will be spent as budgeted for, as the Department is managing its projects quite well. In 2000 the focus was more on addressing administrative issues. In 2001, the focus has been on delivery. Most of the projects have been delivered, even those delayed due to the unavailability of land.

(d) In 1999, the Department conducted an intensive review and discovered that housing delivery has been urban-biased. The Department is at present attempting to address this, but has not yet reached all rural areas.

(e) The Department does approach sister departments and requests them to assist in providing services such as water, schools, clinics, etc, whenever houses are to be built in a particular area. The Department of Social Development is also playing a big role in respect of Intergrated Social Housing.

(f) The Department is trying to eradicate informal settlements by building houses in areas where there were informal settlements. However, in South Africa, it is difficult to remove these settlements completely, as there are people who continue to build them.

(g) The Head of Department meets with the Premier once a month to discuss problems experienced within the Department - corruption experienced within the Department, misconduct by personnel, etc.

(h) The Department has engaged NURCHA actively and has outlined a programme in conjunction with them, with more emphasis on the saving scheme. An action plan has been drafted and is awaiting approval by the MEC and the Head of Department. The Department has assisted NURCHA to obtain an office in the province and is willing to assist them financially. The purpose is to introduce NURCHA to the communities.

2. Nkomazi Local Municipality - Tonga East

(a) Project Profile

* The project was started at the beginning of 2001 and will be completed at the end of November 2001. The local men and women are employed to build the houses.

* Bricks used for building the houses were made by local people. A brick factory has been established nearer to the project so that people from the community could be employed. 35 people were employed to make bricks for a period of six months. A register of skilled people is maintained so that they can be employed in future projects.

* There are 900 stands in this area, and the houses are 32 square metre in extent. Beneficiaries are from 34 nearby villages in the area, most of them work in Nelspruit and Johannesburg, some live as subsistence farmers and others have an informal income.

(b) Water Supply and Electricity Installation

* A water tank was being built for the community so that they can access water from it, as there are no water taps for the community. In the meantime the community is accessing water from one tap and each household's water supply has been increased from 60 litres per day to 100 litres. With regard to electricity installation, the subsidy does not provide for electricity installation, but electricity will be installed at a later stage when the problem between Eskom and the TED has been resolved.

(c) People's Housing Process

* The Department has initiated the People's Housing Process, but the process is rather slow. On 13 and 14 September 2001, the MEC met with developers and discussed the designs of houses that could be built so as to do away with the township style. The proposal is that these houses be 50 square metres.

(d) Problems experienced

* Due to a lack of land availability, the 900 stands that were supposed to be built, were reduced to 473 stands.

* Water-borne sewage is very expensive and cannot be provided in Tonga East. The Department is trying to get funds for a water-borne sewage system.

* The whole community gets water from one tap, and are waiting for the reservoir to be finished.

* Ventilated toilets cannot be built due to a lack of funds.

* The delegation observed was that the toilets and the houses are built in such a manner that when there are floods, water would flood the toilets. The Department has promised to rectify this.

* In some houses there are spaces between the walls and the roof. The Project Manager is trying to rectify this problem. All the houses have a three-month retention clause, which will kick in three months after the houses have been built in order to rectify and address loose top structures. Mpumalanga is the only province offering this service.

(e) Positive features

* The local community was empowered with building skills, having been trained in respect of all the work done with regard to building the structures.

* The standard of living of the community has been improved, and according to the developers, they have not experienced problems from the communities.

3. Mbombela Municipality

(a) Kanyamazane Hostel Redevelopment Project

The hostel has 36 family units, still being developed. The units come in two sizes - 33 square metres and 52 square metres. 30% of the project has been completed. It is an emerging contractor that is involved in redeveloping the hostel. The hostel was built about 30 years ago, and has to be renovated to accommodate the needs of the occupants who wanted to live with their families. Only local skilled people were employed in the project, including women. Most of them were contract workers in different projects and did not have permanent employment. Occupants of the hostel will be given first preference, and some of those employed in the project are beneficiaries. The project is executed through the municipality.

(b) Problems Experienced

There is a lot of vandalism, despite security in the hostel. Bricks, roofs and windows were stolen; only the foundation was left and not demolished.

4. Albert Luthuli Municipality

(a) Jina Housing Project - Project Profile

The project has been a success. The houses are 42 square metres, and 500 stands were supposed to be built. Of the 500 houses supposed to have been built, 93 are outstanding. 2 500 additional houses still need to be built. The Housing Board has approved the building of an additional 500 houses. R8 million has been set aside for the building of these houses.

(b) Silobela Housing Project - Project Profile

The area where the project has been built, used to consist of an informal settlement and a greenfields area. The project was started in 1995. Beneficiaries occupied the houses in 2000. The houses are 40 square metres.

Problems experienced

* The project was delayed because the Department delayed in paying the constructor payment due to him.

* Poor people do not meet the requirements needed to be able gain access to the subsidy. Some of them are unemployed. The stands of the applicants who did not meet the requirements, are standing vacant.

* Some households do not have electricity and taps; those without taps use communal taps.

5. Middelburg TLC

(a) Background

* Since 1994, housing projects have been funded through funds received from the provincial department. In the municipality of Middelburg 4 000 units have been provided. 3 500 housing units have been provided in the urban area and 500 housing units in the rural area. There is only one project incomplete. The Municipality of Middelburg is satisfied with the manner in which funds have been utilised for these projects. All housing projects were done on land offered by the Council free of charge. This enabled the stands to be built on big erfs or units.

* Currently the size of the houses built is 32 square metres. The houses have water-borne sewage, electricity and installed prepaid meters.

* In Middelburg there is no land owned by Middelburg Municipality.

* There is a backlog of houses in Middelburg. The Municipality has created an area called the Organised Squatting Area. This was done to ensure that shacks are built in one area. Services in this area have been improved, roads have been built, electricity provided, and toilets erected. Residents in this area pay for their services. Those who do, have been promised that they would be given first preference once the houses have been built.

(b) Problems experienced

* Mine owners do not want to sell mine houses to their employees. Upon retirement, mine workers do not own houses and they end up building informal settlements.

* There is privately owned land which the provincial Department could buy so that houses can be built. The Council is unable to build houses on privately owned land.

* The Municipality needs more funding to ensure that vacant positions within the Municipality are filled.

* There are farm workers who are evicted and they also need houses. Because there are not enough houses being built, they end up moving into informal settlements. Most of them have their own houses in the rural areas and only need accommodation in the urban areas. In order to solve this problem, rental stock should be made available so that people are not forced to buy when they own.

* There are people who sell their RDP houses and return to the squatter camps. This makes it difficult for the squatter camps to be demolished.

6. Greater Middelburg Housing Project

(a) Hope City - Project Profile

* The project started in March 2001 and is five km away from Middelburg. It is the first kind of Social Housing in Mpumalanga. The German government assisted with the development of social housing in Mpumalanga. A group of South Africans have attended training on social development in Germany. The project is financed by the Department of Local Government and Housing, Social Housing Foundation and the German government.

* One unit cost about R61 000; disabled people are well catered for in the stand-alone units.

* The community has supported the project and it is in demand amongst the communities. Land for the project was provided by the Middelburg Municipality. The Municipality played a big role in ensuring that the project was a success.

7. Briefing by Mayor of Delmas

(a) Housing Development in Delmas

* The houses that have been delivered in Delmas are of good quality. As a result no complaints have been received from the community.

* Land has been made available to build houses without charge.

* Houses built are not less than 40 square metres.

(b) People's Housing Process

* The People's Housing Process in Delmas was the idea of a woman from the community. The idea was supported by the Council and the end product turned out to be of good quality, compared to the developer-driven process. When using contractors, few local people benefit or are employed. The developers have previously given the Council problems. The Council now supports the People's Housing Process, because developers are profit-driven.

* The People's Housing Process is generally slow, but the Council is looking at ways of ensuring that it is accelerated.

(c) Rural and urban intergration

* There are people who are evicted from the farms and are accommodated in Delmas. Of those evicted from the farms, 70 families now live in squatter camps and refuse to move to the township. The Council is trying to access land so that an Agrivillage can be established for them.

* The Council is trying to establish a township near the hospital to ensure that people live closer to the workplace.

(d) Problem experienced

People still continue to build shacks next to their 40 square metre houses. They cannot afford to extend their houses.

8. Gomasakho Housing Project - Delpark Ext 2

The size of the houses are 40 square metres, and there are about 1 817 stands. The houses do not have electricity.

9. People's Housing Process

(a) Botleng Ext 3 - Project Profile

This project was initiated by a woman from the community. It has proved to be the best project in Delmas. The houses were built by the beneficiaries themselves and they came up with their own design. The sizes of the houses are 50 and 56 square metres. The houses are three-roomed and have toilets inside the house, a big passage and two doors leading outside.

It is obvious from the size and quality of the PHP that it is the best process, as it is people-driven and as beneficiaries take ownership of the houses. The houses are of good and solid quality.

The beneficiaries of these houses, when interviewed by the delegation, were grateful to the government. They mentioned that when they lived in shacks, they never thought they would one day own a house.

D. Recommendations

1. Houses built should be monitored properly by the Department to ensure that they are of good quality.

2. The provincial Department should ensure that developers do not build houses that are less than 40 square metres.

3. Communities should be engaged so that they participate in housing projects.

E. Conclusion

The Committee would like to thank and congratulate the Department of Housing and Local Government in Mpumalanga for their commitment to Housing Delivery.