THE lack of transparency and communication on the criteria used by government in rendering services created rumours in local communities which fuelled xenophobic sentiments and the attacks which erupted across SA last month, experts say.
This comes after MEC Nomvula Mokonyane's housing department and the Alexandra Renewal Project (ARP) said foreign nationals deemed to be permanent residents were by law entitled to social housing if they met all the criteria.
Kevin Allan, a researcher with data service MunicipalIQ , said social housing waiting lists should be made public and government should inform communities on how the rewarding criteria worked.
"People should know who is on the list. The fact that lists are secret allows people to suspect corruption," Allan said.
In some areas where xenophobic attacks took place, there were reports that the allocation of houses to foreigners had contributed to the violence . The Democratic Alliance (DA) compiled a list of beneficiaries said to be foreign nationals who were allocated RDP houses in Alexandra. The Gauteng legislature portfolio committee on housing forwarded the list to the housing department for investigation.
The department yesterday admitted that nine houses were allocated to foreign nationals in Alexandra's Ext 7 -- but said all of them had permanent residence permits.
According to the national housing code, a person qualifies for a housing subsidy only if he or she is a citizen or is in possession of a permanent residence permit. Certified copies of the relevant documents must be submitted with the application.
The housing department and the ARP told the portfolio committee on housing yesterday that their investigation revealed that the nine beneficiaries in Alexandra qualified according to government policy.
Allan said if communities understood the criteria, the attacks would not have taken place. "Even if some people would be unhappy with the allocation of a house to a foreigner ... they would understand if they were well informed about the criteria."
Allan said the government should use structures on the ground such as ward forums to communicate with communities on how services were delivered and who qualified.
Although the committee accepted the department's explanation, DA member Kate Lorimer told members the DA did not accept the allocation of houses to foreigners.
"The DA cannot accept the policy stance but the allocation has been fair in terms of legislation and policy."
She said the DA position was that South African citizens should get houses before foreigners.
"We believe the policy of allocating houses to foreign passport holders contributed to the outbreak of violence. Unless this fact is faced, the causes of the violence will never be defused."
ARP director Julian Baskin said the way the policy issue had manifested was a challenge "but that does not mean that the policy is unjust".
Baskin said it was clear there were problems with the policy, but he was not part of a political structure. "My department cannot enter into a debate on who is a citizen and who is not," he said.
He said the ARP's function was to allocate according to government policy. He said they allocated houses to people who were in SA lawfully.
"There is no person who has been allocated a house who does not deserve it according to government policy. We take every precaution to ensure transparency," he said.
Department representative Mongezi Mnyani said thorough investigations were conducted before a house was allocated, such as checking the person was not earning above the social housing threshold as well as the validity of the submitted documents. - Business Day
This comes after MEC Nomvula Mokonyane's housing department and the Alexandra Renewal Project (ARP) said foreign nationals deemed to be permanent residents were by law entitled to social housing if they met all the criteria.
Kevin Allan, a researcher with data service MunicipalIQ , said social housing waiting lists should be made public and government should inform communities on how the rewarding criteria worked.
"People should know who is on the list. The fact that lists are secret allows people to suspect corruption," Allan said.
In some areas where xenophobic attacks took place, there were reports that the allocation of houses to foreigners had contributed to the violence . The Democratic Alliance (DA) compiled a list of beneficiaries said to be foreign nationals who were allocated RDP houses in Alexandra. The Gauteng legislature portfolio committee on housing forwarded the list to the housing department for investigation.
The department yesterday admitted that nine houses were allocated to foreign nationals in Alexandra's Ext 7 -- but said all of them had permanent residence permits.
According to the national housing code, a person qualifies for a housing subsidy only if he or she is a citizen or is in possession of a permanent residence permit. Certified copies of the relevant documents must be submitted with the application.
The housing department and the ARP told the portfolio committee on housing yesterday that their investigation revealed that the nine beneficiaries in Alexandra qualified according to government policy.
Allan said if communities understood the criteria, the attacks would not have taken place. "Even if some people would be unhappy with the allocation of a house to a foreigner ... they would understand if they were well informed about the criteria."
Allan said the government should use structures on the ground such as ward forums to communicate with communities on how services were delivered and who qualified.
Although the committee accepted the department's explanation, DA member Kate Lorimer told members the DA did not accept the allocation of houses to foreigners.
"The DA cannot accept the policy stance but the allocation has been fair in terms of legislation and policy."
She said the DA position was that South African citizens should get houses before foreigners.
"We believe the policy of allocating houses to foreign passport holders contributed to the outbreak of violence. Unless this fact is faced, the causes of the violence will never be defused."
ARP director Julian Baskin said the way the policy issue had manifested was a challenge "but that does not mean that the policy is unjust".
Baskin said it was clear there were problems with the policy, but he was not part of a political structure. "My department cannot enter into a debate on who is a citizen and who is not," he said.
He said the ARP's function was to allocate according to government policy. He said they allocated houses to people who were in SA lawfully.
"There is no person who has been allocated a house who does not deserve it according to government policy. We take every precaution to ensure transparency," he said.
Baskin said the violence had more to do with stealing houses than xenophobia.
Department representative Mongezi Mnyani said thorough investigations were conducted before a house was allocated, such as checking the person was not earning above the social housing threshold as well as the validity of the submitted documents. - Business Day
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