Despite the many challenges facing the housing department, Local Government and Housing MEC Richard Dyantyi is expected to present an optimistic budget speech at the provincial legislature on Tuesday.
Dyantyi was due to announce how his department intended spending almost R4.5-billion on housing over the next three years.
He was also expected to describe the plan to implement the various human settlement programmes which make up his department's Isidima strategy.
Isidima is the provincial government's sustainable human settlement strategy to create "enabling and dignified communities".
Much anticipated, though, are the findings of the Occupancy Study which was piloted in Du Noon last week, with a representative sample of over 500 respondents.
The study was set up to assess the impact of the provision of government housing on the quality of life of beneficiaries and their households.
The provincial housing department embarked on a fact-finding mission to establish which owners have sold their houses and returned to living in shacks.
The study, to be done in other areas, is expected to be completed within the next six months.
Dyantyi was also expected to table his department's report and recommendations on the functions of libraries, museums and disaster management.
Unclear legislative definitions have led to tensions between the province and municipalities regarding the performance of particular functions.
With the approaching winter and the 2010 World Cup, in particular, another important announcement expected was with regards to the province's disaster management preparedness.
Last month, the disaster management centre launched its inter-governmental relations structures to ensure that the political and technical activities were aligned for proper implementation of the Disaster Management Act.
Dyantyi was expected to announce sector-specific contingency planning within the provincial government.
On catching up with the housing backlog, Dyantyi would also announce progress on some of the 30 human settlement projects his department was running this financial year.
These included:
Dyantyi was also expected to announce a revised business plan for the N2 Gateway project, which has been stalled because of court cases against the Housing Department and Thubelisha, the company implementing the project and which was facing closure. The plan should address institutional arrangements to support the project and other challenges which Thubelisha faces in project delivery. |
- Cape Argus
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