Reports that the Department of Human Settlements' Gap Market Housing Scheme has only assisted 274 households is an injustice to the millions of South Africans who are its intended beneficiaries.
I will write to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements, Beauty Dambuza, and request that Minister Tokyo Sexwale be summoned to Parliament to account for his Department and ensure that the programme reaches as many South Africans as possible.
In his 2012 State of the Nation Address, President Zuma said that a R1 billion guarantee fund would be available for people in the gap market, i.e. those earning between R3 500 and R15 000, to obtain credit to buy houses.
However, it's been reported that only 112 households benefitted from the scheme during the 2010/2011 financial year and 162 in 2011/2012. Furthermore, only 57 of the 835 applications during the 2012/2013 year were successful.
Between April and December last year, the Department of Human Settlements had committed a paltry R126 million budget to the programme but only R70 million has been used to date.
This is significantly less than the R206 million which is being spent on the upgrade of President Zuma's private residence in Nkandla. It represents a serious lack of priority by government on alleviating poverty and helping those in desperate need of state assistance, and inadvertently sends the message to South Africans that one man is more important than the millions of South Africans who lack decent housing.
It is high time the Department got its priorities right. The DA will do everything possible to ensure that this happens.
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