THE PEOPLE'S HOUSING PARTNERSHIP TRUST

CEO’S REPORT

1. The Policy environment

During the year, the Department of Housing conducted wide-ranging reviews of housing policy, preparatory to the National Housing Summit which was held in November 2003.

A component of the review process was consultations with alt Provinces, Local Government, Government Departments, as well as special interest groups such as the construction industry, financial institutions and civil society. This consultative process generated much material concerning housing deliver mechanisms, the subsidy system, institutional constraints and similar matters.

It was of great interest to the PHPT that there was almost unanimous support for the People's Housing Process, with many recommendations being received about how to make it more efficient and effective.

However, one aspect of the policy environment which emerged as of special importance is the new requirement for recipients of project-linked subsidies to pay a deposit of R2479. This amount is intended to reinforce the beneficiary's commitment to the unit, as well as pay for certain overheads. Participants in PHP schemes, however, are exempt from paying this sum. This has provided a significant boost to the attraction of the PHP, and is expected to result in a major rise in demand. The challenge now is to meet that demand.

Other challenges identified in the policy review concerned the location of sites. This has also been of major concern to the PHPT, as some sites which have been developed are in peripheral locations which impose considerable transport costs on the resident.

Another, related, issue which has been of continuing concern to the Department, and which emerged from the consultative process is the low quality of the environment and construction of the units in some projects. This is an area in which the PHP has always demonstrated a clear advantage over developer-led projects, as PHP units are consistently bigger and better than their contractor-built equivalents.

2. Housing outputs

Data from the last ten years indicates that PHP continues to increase as the preferred housing delivery mechanism. The demand for PHP housing is now running at 18.5% of all subsidies provided, whereas, for example it was under 5% in the period 1995 -1998. The number of subsidies approved for PHP projects during the year under review was 31 034. The PHPT started its communication and advocacy activities in 1997 and the Policy;:Supporting the People's housing Process was approved by the Minister in 1998. We believe that the advocacy 'and communication work of the PHPT contributed significantly to the current popularity of PHP as a viable choice for housing delivery.

3. The Review of the People's Housing Process

The better part of this year was spent on planning and executing the PHP National Review. It was felt that after seven years of implementing the National Housing Policy: Supporting the Housing Process, there was a need to analyse and document in detail:

The first major step was to consult with the tripartite partners (UNDP/UN-Habitat, USAID and the NDOH). UN Habitat, which is the agency for the UNDP, sent a representative for the purpose. A submission was also made to the Board to obtain approval. A report was then commissioned to address the above issues.

A Task team was immediately assembled to study a draft review document and to design the review process. The task team consisted of representatives of provinces, NGOs, CBOs, the DOH and the private sector. It brainstormed the draft review document, and consolidated and summarized the objectives of the review as follows:

A Working Group was then appointed to perform the day-to-day work required for the Review process. A letter was-sent to all stakeholders requesting the historical background of the PHP in their area, current status of PHP, interpretation of the process and resources allocated to the PHP. The letter guided the recipients in terms of the information required, how it should be provided and when.

From this input the first Review report was prepared and submitted to the working group.

The working group then prepared comments on the report which were submitted to the consultant for enhancements and amendments.

The resultant draft was reviewed in a full meeting of the Task Team which was extended to include other DOH senior officials, tertiary institutions, government departments and experts from various fields.

Enhancements and amendments were again submitted to the consultant-for further finessing of the report.

A Conference was held in December 2003 in Pretoria to discuss the report.

A final post-conference report resulting from the conference was approved by the PHPT and thereafter presented to the Board and the Department of Housing. At the time of writing, the DOH was actively analyzing the report and the recommendations with a view to shaping a more effective future arrangement for PHP.

The findings of the Review gave certain pointers such as:

These issues will be addressed in the coming year of our operations. Among the recommendations to be considered are:

The report is a comprehensive document to which the above summaries are just but some of its valuable contents.

The PHPT has studied the report in detail and consulted widely regarding the way forward and this will become evident in our future operations.

4. The Future

Following receipt of the Review referred to above, and in light of the administrative difficulties being faced by the PHPT due to a loss of staff, it was decided to commission a study regarding the institutional arrangements for the-PHPT. Work on the study is expected to start early in the next financial year.

5. Programme Activities

The People's Housing Partnership Trust continued to provide a service to its partners in PHP around the country. Our main area of focus remained:

5.1 Communication

The major event of the year was the Rand Easter Show where every year we are able to reach hundreds of potential beneficiaries.

This year our participation in the Rand Easter Show yielded good results in terms of interaction with a greater number of people and information dissemination.

In other areas, our communication activities involved participation in meetings with other organization and the sharing of information.

Examples:

The above activities are just a few highlights of the communication interactions that the PHPT engaged in during the course of the year. Our communication activities have worked well over the years in spreading understanding, acceptance and the practice of PHP. We are therefore able to report that all provinces have adopted PHP as one of their major housing delivery strategies. We are currently planning to work together with the Provinces, in building capacity at local government level where delivery takes place.

5.2 Training and technical support

5.2.1 Training

Training remains our major means of promoting understanding of the implementation of PHP as well as the transfer of much required skills. A significant training activity took place in June when a total of 88 officials from different provinces were taken through a week long Housing Support Management Course. The officials will be expected to train and set up support organisations in their areas.

A PHP project management workshop was offered to 35 members of the Housing Support Committees from Mamelodi and Ivory Park.

A House Design and Costing workshop was facilitated by the PHPT for 40 families in Mamelodi and 31 beneficiary families in Ivory Park. The same course was offered to 22 provincial officials in KwaZulu Natal in order that they may assist communities in their areas.

KZN also received training for 34 officials from the PHP facilitation unit in the province.

Most of the training activities were carried out by consultants such as the Development Action Group. The use of consultants was necessitated by the lack of capacity within the People’s Housing Partnership trust. These consulting organizations are often PHP practitioners and the partnerships that result can only strengthen the People’s Housing Process as a delivery mechanism.

      1. Technical support

In April 2001 the Gauteng Provincial Department of Housing singed an agreement with Compania de Construction Siboney of Cuba to employ architects and engineers to assist in the PHP in Gauteng Province. An extension to this agreement was signed in December 2002 as part of the Bilateral Agreement between Cuba and South Africa.

The PHPT got involved in a subsequent trip to Cuba as it became clear that the Cuban Programme was mainly about PHP.

Initially eleven such professionals were employed in Gauteng. The number was then increased to 25. Since August 2003 the programme has been extended to all provinces and a total of 62 were assigned, distributed as follows:

Gauteng 25

Free State 5

KwaZulu Natal 6

Limpopo 4

Mpumalanga 6

Northern Cape 1

North West 4

Western Cape 1

Eastern Cape 10

The programme is considered a great success in terms of training for the staff and improvements to the rate of delivery of the units especially through the People's Housing Process.

6 Corporate Governance and Accountability

Under the leadership of the Board of Trustees duly constituted on the basis of the Trust Deed No. IT 6503/97, the PHPT strives to adhere to sound corporate governance principles and to manage in a disciplined and ethical manner; with responsibility, fairness and full accountability.

7 Board of Trustees

The Board meets four times a year to focus on strategic and policy issues, giving direction to the Trust with special emphasis on its finances and strategic goals.

The Board was accountable to the Minister of Housing the Honourable Ms Brigitte S Mabandla. This is an interim Board that has been given the mandate to build an institution that will be more capable of mewing future demands from People's Housing Process projects.

Members of the Interim Board

Mr A Vawda- Chairman

Mr MC Soga

Mr Dlabantu

Mr M Tshabangu Acting Chief Executive Officer