Dichotomy dilemma Clean audit, but graft is huge problem

The Human Settlements Department has achieved its 17th consecutive unqualified audit report since 1994, MPs heard on Wednesday.

Director-General Thabane Zulu said his department would seek to ensure that the matters raised by the auditor general received attention.

This particularly applied to departmental performance management and reporting.

Zulu was briefing the National Assembly's human settlements committee on his department's 2010-11 annual report.

The annual report also revealed that almost 1 000 government officials had been arrested for and about 871 convicted of offences related to the National Subsidy Programme.

"These are officials who corruptly benefited from the housing programme meant for the poor," he said.

The sentences handed down included suspended sentences and, with conditions, to repay subsidy amounts.

Of these, 1 615 acknowledgements of debt to the value of R21.7-million had been signed by civil servants who defrauded the department and/or provinces.

The arrests resulted from the Special Investigating Unit's (SIU) work, as mandated by a presidential proclamation issued in the 2010-11 financial year.

Disciplinary processes were handled by the respective departments and municipalities, Zulu said.

Four hundred municipal employees had been arrested during the review period, with 334 court cases finalised.

To date, 860 acknowledgements of debt worth R8.2-million had been signed by municipal employees who committed fraud in terms of the National Subsidy Programme.

"The department will vigorously pursue those who seek to defraud the state because such acts affect the poor and the people targeted by government housing delivery programme," Zulu said.

The Housing Development Agency had identified more than 33,000 hectares of state land for evaluation for release for human settlements development.

However, problems remained within the department, especially its capacity to monitor all human settlements projects in the country and provinces' failure to prioritise and budget for the resolution of blocked projects, he said.

- Timeslive

RDP ‘no doorway to good living’

Subsidised low-cost housing offers no guarantee of “good living conditions”, the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements has acknowledged.

The department was responding to the findings of a study into the quality of low-cost housing in the province by researchers from the University of Stellenbosch and UCT.

The study found that residents of low-cost houses were at high risk for illnesses such as tuberculosis and diarrhoea, with poor ventilation and insulation among the major contributing factors.

The houses surveyed were built by the province or the City of Cape Town, but most did not have a bath or basin in the bathroom. The province and the city said newer houses were better equipped to prevent residents falling ill.

The city said its human settlements portfolio committee would discuss the findings of the study at its next meeting.

However, Ernest Sonnenberg, the mayoral committee member for human settlements, told the Cape Argus that houses built after the introduction of the national government’s Breaking New Ground policy had better facilities.

He said the city was looking at an urbanisation framework strategy that would include investigating the link between health and housing.

It now had an education programme detailing how homeowners should look after their houses.

Bruce Oom, a spokesman for the provincial Department of Human Settlements, said the intention of the Reconstruction and Development Programme was to transfer ownership of homes to poor people.

It was then up to these people to maintain their properties, Oom said.

Initially, the subsidy for the top structure was R6 000, but “it became apparent that building low-quality houses was creating extra problems, so gradually the housing subsidy was increased so that quality houses could be delivered”.

But Oom said this did not mean older houses would be renovated to meet the higher standards.

There were no funds to upgrade all the houses.

Since 2002, all houses had been built with ceilings and roof insulation, and the exteriors were plastered.

Houses had a bath or a shower, Oom said.

On the issue of the health threat, he said the department agreed, “to an extent”, that residents of these houses were at a higher risk of contracting some illnesses.

“The department agrees that the designs of many of the subsidy houses, in particular the older projects, are no guarantee of good living conditions.”

Oom confirmed that Professor Jo Barnes had related the findings to the department.

- Cape Argus

Have mercy on those who live in masions, pleads Sexwale

HUMAN Settlements Minister and ANC NEC member Tokyo Sexwale threw down the gauntlet to President Jacob Zuma at the weekend and made a protracted appeal for mercy for embattled ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema.

His comments came just days after Zuma took issue with the ANC national working committee after “hearing in the corridors” that certain ANC leaders were suggesting a political solution be found to the Malema disciplinary process, but had failed to put such a request forward formally.

Zuma’s complaints followed an earlier public accusation by Winnie Madikizela- Mandela that the ruling party was ill treating Malema.

Facing his second set of misconduct charges, Malema could face suspension or expulsion from the ANC. The friction that had resulted was so grave that it was causing “war”, according to insiders.

During the week Sexwale, who is due to testify in Malema’s defence along with Madikizela-Mandela when the disciplinary hearing resumes , warned on television that the Malema affair was causing serious divisions within the party.

Speaking near Tsolo on Friday, Sexwale made an impassioned appeal for mercy for the ANCYL leader:

“This young man called Malema sometimes does things and speaks a lot. He sometimes lands himself in trouble. Thereafter [he] cries to us to retrieve him from the trouble he puts himself in ... We should not destroy him [Malema[ ... Please don’t throw them away they are too young.”

Occupy the Mansions

Sexwale was speaking to hundreds of people at the amaMpondomise heritage celebration at Nkosi Dalukhanyo Ngudle’s Kambi great place at Upper Mjika great place. The event was organised by Mhlontlo local municipality and traditional leaders.

Sexwale said although Malema made controversial utterances on sensitive issues, he needed to be guided, not destroyed.

“When you are young you go wrong – we fix you and you go wrong again and we fix you, not to destroy you. You cannot destroy a league. So, when they are wrong, just correct them,” he said.
Sexwale said neither he nor Malema had been born a Nelson Mandela.

Occupy the Mansions

“I was born Tokyo. I have my own failings, and Malema was not born Mandela or Sisulu. We do make mistakes,” he said.

He urged the elders to “listen to what the youth are saying because they are our future”.

(Well what he means is listen to the youth that live in mansions like me)

But at the same time, he said, “the youth must also listen to us”.
“The youth must listen to us because many times the things they are saying are ululwatha (rubbish) – [but] it’s because they are young.”

He added: “Normally, about 40 percent of what they are saying is right and about 60 percent of the time batheth’ulwatha (they talk rubbish). So that’s why we are going to teach them, so that the 60 percent of rubbish that is uttered declines. That is the task of leaders.”

He told the crowd that Police Minister Fikile Mbalula, the former ANCYL president, had been much like Malema in his youth but was now a changed person.

“You can now see where Mbaks [Mbalulu] is going. Yet it was not long ago, just five years ago – wow, Jola [Mbalula’s clan name] was spitting fire. Each time he spoke, we had to douse the fire and fix him and take him to task, but we never destroyed him.”

Sexwale said the ANC could have no doubts today about their actions regarding Mbalula, but could only be proud of crafting him into the leader he was.

“Look at him now. He made many mistakes as a youth. What would have happened had we destroyed him? We make a mistake and people say ‘let us destroy the individual’. No, no! It is not the way it should be.”

Tokyo said Malema was no different to how Mbalula or the late Peter Mokaba were as youth leaders and young people.... EHM Except for that R16 MILLION Mansion!!!

Read the rest of the story in Thursday's print edition of the Daily Dispatch or subscribe to the paper's e-Edition for the full electronic version.

Malema’s mansion woes

Planning Minister and ANC stalwart Trevor Manuel has urged Julius Malema to come clean on his financial affairs amid ongoing claims over the youth league leader’s R16 million Sandton mansion.

In an interview on the UK’s Channel 4 documentary Unreported World last night, Manuel acknowledged “high level” corruption among senior officials and that conviction rates were too low.

Respected journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy is told to “mind your business” by Malema after he challenged the youth leader over the funding of his Sandton house.

Guru-Murthy asked: “People in the townships, they say how is Mr Malema getting a new expensive mansion when I’ve been waiting decades?”

Dressed in an Orlando Pirates tracksuit top, the smiling youth league boss replied: “Where do I get money to build such a mansion within a short space of time? It’s none of your business. Mind your business. How I make my money…”

Guru-Murthy asked again: “But you’re here to justify…”

Malema interrupted: “I didn’t come here to justify. I came here to tell you to mind your business. I’m not here to justify to you.”

Guru-Murthy added: “Well I’m just asking you what the poor people say about rich ANC politicians and they say why are they living so well while we’re living so badly?”

Malema concluded: “It’s not about where we stay. Our people know that very well. It’s not about the type of shoes we wear, that is petty.”

In the half-hour documentary filmed two months ago, Guru-Murthy visited Diepsloot and Kliptown to investigate poor property conditions and alleged corruption among local housing officials. They caught an official on camera taking a R5 000 bribe to help a family leapfrog the housing queue.

They also visited Malema’s house in Sandton where a site manager warned them to “close your eyes and go” and threatened to damage their television equipment before telling them to “get f****d”.

Asked about the allegedly corrupt housing official in Diepsloot who used to be an ANC councillor but now works in local government, Manuel told the programme: “I say it frequently, that all corruption is theft from the poor. An official like that needs to be reported, needs to be acted upon.

“I think that the planning commission would concur that there is too much corruption. our conviction rates are too low, the investigations are too poor, but every instance is an instance too many.”

When asked if Malema’s financial affairs should be investigated, Manuel said: “I do think that he should, I think that all of us who have influence over political processes should be open to scrutiny.”

The construction of the mansion is a source of major consternation for neighbours.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, they told how the drilling underground had dug up pavements, damaged several irrigation systems and become an irritant in the quiet gated neighbourhood.

Many are too scared to speak out openly about what they see as an inappropriately large building for fear of being branded racist.

According to one resident, about a month ago the neighbourhood was left without water for several hours after the contractor had drilled into the water pipes that supplied some of the residents in the estate.

“We had to call Joburg Water to come fix the damaged pipes, while the contractor did not even bother to report that water that was running down the street,” said the resident.

“What probably irritates everyone is that they are getting away with so much. If I was to build in the same area, I would not get the approvals overnight as Malema gets.”

Neighbours said when they inquired with the contractor about approvals on many of the activities, they were shown what appeared to be legitimate official plans from the City of Joburg with Joburg Water letterheads.

Meanwhile, Malema, the man at the centre of this spat, spent the week in hospital suffering from stress and exhaustion as the disciplinary hearing against him and his top officials, continued in absentia.

It is unlikely to be wrapped up next Saturday, the date set for it to resume in the latest of at least four postponements since the end of August, according to insiders.

ANC spokesman Keith Khoza said it would have been preferable to wrap up the hearings, but a number of issues had been raised, including “political arguments”, which had led to the postponements.

Malema’s lawyer, advocate Dali Mpofu, said his client’s health was a concern. While he acknowledged that Sexwale would testify next Saturday, Mpofu declined to confirm who else might appear. It was not clear whether Malema was discharged as expected from the Limpopo Medi-Clinic yesterday after his condition was described as “tired and stressed”.

ANCYL spokesman Floyd Shivambu declined to provide an update on Malema’s health, saying it was “disrespectful”.

Meanwhile, a TNS research survey showed this week that Malema’s popularity among young people had dropped to 40 percent.

- Saturday Star

RDP criteria needs to be examined - MEC

Western Cape Human Settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela on Friday echoed the national minister's comments that free housing would not be available, forever.

Madikizela handed over 62 Plettenberg Bay homes earlier as part of a project comprising more than 1,000 units.

Sexwale said in September that the solution to the country's backlog of 2.3 million homes did not lay in providing homes free of charge.

Madikizela said the qualifying criteria for a government home needed to be re-examined.

“We are going to be stricter now in making sure that we give these houses to people with special needs because we are facing a daunting task of housing everybody that is on the waiting list,” he said.

- Eyewitness News

Analysis: South African carbon tax plan hurts job ambitions

(Reuters) - South Africa's carbon tax plan is running headlong into a clash with its job creation plans, putting the government in a bind ahead of hosting of a global climate summit at the end of the year as it seeks to rein in emissions without hurting growth.

Africa's biggest economy wants to cut CO2 emissions by 34 percent over the next decade but has little flexibility to make fast changes with major employers among the top polluters and its cash-strapped power sector almost fully reliant on coal.

The government has said its top priority is to cut into a chronic 25 percent unemployment rate but industry will have less money for new employees if it is forced to pay high carbon taxes and while exports flounder due to an economic slump in Europe and the United States.

South Africa said it would consider sector-specific tax reductions and exemptions to protect key industries, although these would be temporary, raising fears the proposed tax will force some mining or industrial operations to close.

"The carbon tax as currently proposed would certainly kill the South African steel industry," Nonkululeko Nyembezi-Heita, the chief executive ArcelorMittal South Africa said.

The government said a tax imposed directly on all measured emissions at a rate of 75 rand ($9) a tonne of CO2 and eventually rising to around 200 rand ($25) a tonne, seemed "most appropriate," although analysts said the rates were high.

The benchmark EU Allowances carbon price is at just under 11 euros ($14.6) per tonne of CO2.

Australia, a mining hub like South Africa, said it would tax its top 500 polluters at a price starting at A$23($22) per tonne that would rise about 5 percent a year before moving to a market-based emissions trading scheme in 2015.

Nearly all of South Africa's power is generated by state-utility Eskom's coal-fired plants, making it impossible for companies to choose less carbon-heavy electricity.

South Africa is investing heavily to diversify its energy mix away from coal and to have renewable energy and nuclear power supply a big portion of its electricity, but it may take decades until such measures materialize.

"You can't be introducing any penal measures in the form of a carbon tax until the government has restructured its energy source," said Duane Newman, a tax director at Deloitte.

TOP POLLUTERS

South Africa hopes the tax will influence behavior, especially at top polluters Eskom and petrochemicals group Sasol, which collectively spew out more than half of the country's annual emissions of around 500 million tonnes.

Yet emissions in South Africa are still disclosed on a voluntary basis, making it difficult to name the full extent of pollution or to calculate an appropriate tax, analysts said.

"We are making decisions based on potentially factually incorrect information," Deloitte's Newman said.

A carbon tax would put further strain on industries that are already battling with steep increases in power tariffs, meant to help Eskom pay for new power plants and avoid a repeat of a crisis which brought industry to a halt in early 2008.

Cash-strapped Eskom's chief executive Brian Dames said any cost of a carbon tax be fully passed to consumers, with analysts saying it could raise tariffs by up to 30 percent.

Critics question South Africa's desire to be a frontrunner on the tax, especially as its voluntary offer to cut emissions is tied to commitments of financial and technical support from developed nations, which so far have not materialized.

They argue it is too early to look at a tax, especially given the absence of international climate change agreements.

South Africa is hoping the tax, along with investments in renewable energy, will spur the development of a local green industry, create a renewable power manufacturing base and jobs.

But analysts said the tax may instead force miners to choose to relocate their smelting or other energy-intensive activities.

"This could potentially have a material impact on our competitiveness in the export market, in particular the coal market," said Stan Pillay, manager for climate change and energy at global miner Anglo American.

Some fear South Africa may be rushing on the tax decision as it seeks to improve its carbon credentials ahead of hosting the Conference of Parties (COP17) in Durban at the end of 2011.

ArcelorMittal said industries should be given allowances based on global benchmarks and be taxed if they exceed them.

"Then you would be taxed on something over which you have some control and which you can manage down overtime by implementing improvement projects," said Siegfried Spanig, the steelmaker's environmental manager.

Sasol's chief executive David Constable said it would push for voluntary reductions over the punitive measures currently proposed.

"We would much rather like to see a carrot rather than a stick approach," he said.

"There will have to be different rulings and guidelines by sector. Voluntary targets with incentives will not affect the competitiveness of the country and reduce jobs."

A draft tax policy paper will be released in November. ($1 = 7.879 South African Rand) ($1 = 0.751 Euros) ($1 = 1.041 Australian Dollars)

- Reuters

Excerpts From Minister Bonginkosi Madikizela's Address At the Hand Over of High Density Housing Units in Qolweni, Plettenburg Bay

Mr Bonginkosi Madikizela, Minister of Human Settlements for the Provincial Government of the Western Cape, delivered the keynote address and performed the official handover of government subsidised high density housing units in the Qolweni/Bossiesgif/Pinetree/Gaatjie project near Plettenburg Bay, Southern Cape. The project is the result of an upgrading of an informal settlement project (UISP).

"I want to thank everyone for helping build these houses. Everything we do is with taxpayers money, and you the people have given us a lot of responsibility to build these houses for you. When we work together, as government and community, we are able to do good work."

"The delivery of houses is not a political issue, and must not be used for political purposes. Whatever issues political leaders have must not affect the people of the communities. Housing is a social issue, and the government must make sure houses are provided for people who really need them. The houses are for South Africans, and getting a house doesn't depend on the political party they support".

"There is backlog of 500 000 houses in the Western Cape. The people getting houses today belong to the lucky few who are getting houses. It is very important for people who get houses to take responsibility to maintain the houses, to fix the door if they are broken and the roof if its leaking. Once you become a homeowner, you must take responsibility to maintain the houses. Its no longer the responsibility of the government."

"I am happy that today we are handing over houses that talk directly to our strategic objectives of maximum use of resources and creating integrated and sustainable settlements. We are doing this by providing quality high density houses, the first of their kind in the Southern Cape."

"Today is a day to celebrate with the beneficiaries. Whoever gets a house is very luck today, and my message to you is to take good care of your new houses. Today this gives hope to everyone still waiting that their turn is coming."

Project overview

Phase one of 265 units, has been completed, and 52 high density units have been constructed in Phase two. The high density units are the first of their kind in the Southern Cape and are significant in creating a denser settlement. Higher density settlements fulfill one of the departments strategic objectives of maximum use of resources, and are important in creating integrated and sustainable settlements.

The housing project consists of four sections, Qolweni, Gaatjie, Bossiesgif and Pinetree. The project is being developed in four phases. Phase one is 265 units, Phase two 415 units, Phase three 290 units, and Phase four 450 unit.

Issued by: Western Cape Human Settlements

- AllAfrica

DA hands over communal land rights bill

Legislation aimed at giving people living on communally owned land in the former homelands full and unhindered individual ownership of their land, has been drafted by the DA.

The party will submit its private member's bill on communal land rights to National Assembly Speaker Max Sisulu on Thursday, DA spokeswomen Lindiwe Mazibuko and Annette Steyn told journalists at Parliament.

“People living in the former homelands make up half of South Africa's population. It is unacceptable that, in the 17th year of democracy, they are still waiting for their land rights to be made secure,” they said.

Full individual ownership should be extended to ensure people living on communally owned land were empowered to live unencumbered on their land, and use it to improve their livelihoods.

Without full individual property rights, residents could not use their land as loan collateral, rent it out, or sell any portion of it to enjoy the full benefits of land ownership.

Land ownership had the potential to expand and diversify South Africa's commercial agriculture sector to increase productivity, create more rural jobs, and promote food security, they said.

In May last year, the Constitutional Court found the Communal Land Rights Act unconstitutional. The court ruled that it had been enacted in a procedurally incorrect manner.

The DA's bill proposed, among other things, that all land in the former homelands be surveyed to determine exactly how much land existed and who was living on it.

Once this had been done, land should be registered in individuals' names in the deeds registry, after a public announcement had been made calling for individual community members to register ownership of the land they were living on.

The rates collection system applicable in municipal areas should be applied in these areas as well, so the entire country was covered by a simple and uniform rates collection system.

– Sapa

Mthethwa: Time to rethink shock-and-awe crowd control

The severity of police force used when responding to protest action needed to be revisited, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said on Tuesday.

The "constant negative public scrutiny" of force used against protesters further strengthened the need for clarity, Mthethwa said in a speech prepared for delivery on Tuesday.

He was speaking at a public order policing (POP) conference in Midrand.

The minister said developments since 1994 required a focus on the transformation and accountability of the police, and adaptation to the needs of a democratic state.

"The type of police service required is one that is professional, upholds the Constitution and respects human dignity."

Restructuring of policy would require examining the police's approach in dealing with mass action protests.

"This must include, but not necessarily be limited to, the use of force in general, the use of physical and mechanical force, the use of deadly force, and the limitations that govern the use of force and deadly force."

Protest action has spiked in the last couple of months, according a local government data and intelligence service.

Municipal IQ, which measures service delivery protests in municipalities, said 56 major protests had been registered from January to August.

Most of the protests were in Gauteng (30%) followed by the Western Cape (15%), North West (12%), and Free State (11%). - Sapa

The RDP ticking timebomb

Thousands of people living in RDP homes across the Western Cape are at risk of contracting TB or diarrhoea, after a study found a direct link between defects in the poorly built homes and people falling ill.

The study found that the health of backyarders was better than that of people living in the homes.

The study by researchers from the University of Stellenbosch and UCT found that leaking roofs, cracked walls, insufficient insulation and meagre sanitation facilities negatively affected health.

After the findings were made public earlier this year, the city’s Human Settlements portfolio committee requested a more detailed report. The report which analysed the study said health issues needed to be considered in housing policy and design.

TB and diarrhoea were the key conditions linked to poor design and maintenance of the RDP housing, the report said.

Leaking roofs was one of the most common problems, the study found.

“... The study revealed that the majority of the owners interviewed could neither afford to maintain the houses nor to repair the structural defects,” read the city report on the study. According to the study, 99 percent of the respondents could not afford repairs to their home.

The study also found that 33 percent of the respondents had had diarrhoea in the two weeks before the study. The report on the study said 38 percent had TB.

“The lack of proper insulation and ventilation, as well as over-crowding, were the major contributors to this problem,” said the report on the study.

The study, which was done last year, included a survey of 1 080 people at 336 “dwellings” in Driftsands, Tafelsig, Masiphumelele and Greenfields.

Fatima Ismail of Tafelsig was one of the respondents.

Entering the home, a small passage of just a few paces leads to an open-plan kitchen and dining area. Because there was only one bedroom, Ismail converted the dining area into a bedroom. There is a small passage leading to the bedroom, which is opposite the toilet.

The homes are untiled, with only cement floors.

All RDP homes are between 30 and 36m2.

Ismail moved into her one-bedroomed home about three years ago. She shares it with her husband and their five children. The family has spent thousands of rands trying to make it more liveable.

Ismail said when she moved in there was no bath or wash basin. They had to bathe in a plastic basin in the kitchen. For the first month, Ismail said they used a candle before installing electricity.

She has plastered the bedroom and front room, where four of her children sleep on double bunks.

Ismail has removed the plastic sink and replaced it with a glass one.

However, patches of thick mould are still on the bedroom walls and in the dining room. When it rains water often seeps into the house.

“I didn’t ask any questions when they told me I was getting a house. I was happy, I just jumped for it. I’m not ungrateful, I’m happy my children have a roof over their heads.”

Fatgia Davids, another Tafelsig resident, said her disabled son, Mogamat Zaid, suffered constant “sickness and allergies” since they moved in.

She said she was grateful to the city for building a ramp at her home which made it easier to move wheelchair-bound Mogamat.

Another resident, who did not want to be named, said he had lodged several complaints with city officials about the state of his house.

Ernest Sonnenberg, the city’s mayoral committee member for housing, said although some of the houses had been built by the city, the majority had been built by the provincial government.

He said the city agreed with the study that there were problems with the general upkeep of the homes. The city believed the key reasons for this were unemployment, poverty and a lack of education. “We did not understand the causality between the actual design of the RDP houses and the spread of disease.

“Over-crowding, unemployment and low levels of education are all contributing to poor maintenance and the improvement of the houses, and are more social and economic factors rather than design factors.”

Sonnenberg said RDP houses were privately owned after they were built, so it was the home owners’ responsibility to maintain them. - Cape Argus

Bringing the poor in from the cold

The poor do not live in Cape Town. They live next to it. They service and maintain “the city that works for you”, but the majority of Capetonians feel as though they have no right to their city. Election after election, “democracy” ends the moment the last vote is cast – all that follows are empty references to “consultation” and desperate running battles over basic services and whether your self-built house will still be standing when you return at night.

The levels of inequality, poverty and injustice in our city seem to demand easy and quick answers, usually framed in terms of growth or redistribution, but there are none.

If we really want to find solutions, then these problems shouldn’t only be the concern of government officials and poor communities. Everything we know about the economic prospects and environmental sustainability of the city of Cape Town demands that we are all involved in finding sustainable and creative solutions.

At the heart of the failure to tackle these problems is a persistent duality that has been around since the advent of democracy. The needs of business and the middle class are carefully catered for by the city to ensure continued economic growth and, hopefully, create new jobs. The revenue generated by this growth is then used by the city to deliver services to poor communities.

There are two problems with this pattern. The first is the difference in the experience of these two different groups when being serviced by the state.

Businesses and middle class residents are treated as “stakeholders” able and important enough to participate in processes that will shape the functioning and layout of the city. In contrast, poor communities are frequently provided services with little to no interaction with the city official making the decision. There are now innumerable examples of inappropriate or poorly positioned services being delivered to informal settlements which are vandalised or neglected because the community feels no ownership over the process.

There is still a strong sense among officials and politicians that the poor should just feel lucky they are receiving services. The sentiment of the poor, however, is “if the city ‘gives’ me a toilet but does not consult me about its placement in my neighbourhood or its maintenance, why should I feel any sense of ownership”?

The second is that this pattern – growth plus service delivery – does not equal greater equality or sustainability. In fact it feeds the divisions between different social groups and different parts of the city, and worsens the city’s impact on our environment. For example, infrastructure investment around the city centre may attract business and tourists, but it continues to drive up property prices. This pushes middle and working class families further and further out of the city.

What is to be done? There are three spheres of response that we, as a society, need to debate. The first is that it is imperative that politicians and the middle class recognise that informal settlements will be a feature of South African cities for the foreseeable future. They cannot be “eradicated” and we should not spend our scarce resources on hiding them (as was unsuccessfully tried with the N2 Gateway project). They are self-help solutions created by the poor to address structural problems in our society and economy. Until these are addressed, informal settlements will re-emerge irrespective of our desires.

Our challenge as a society is to acknowledge the right of these residents to be in the city (on the land they currently occupy) and make these settlements safer and more healthy places to live. This has very real implications for changes in the policy and practices of the state from monotonous, poorly located “RDP housing” towards working in partnership with communities, and existing dynamics and assets, for the in situ upgrading of their settlements. It signals a change in the attitude of politicians and officials to these communities and their rights, and it also requires us as a society to prioritise the use of this well-placed land and the investment of public money on creating poor yet sustainable communities close(r) to the city centre.

The second area of debate has to do with linking these communities to the benefits and opportunities to be found in our cities. This is about building more inclusive and employment-generating economies that create real opportunities for poor South Africans to begin to convert survival strategies (like small-scale hawking) into sustainable livelihoods.

This requires a complex set of actions from both the state and the private sector.

It also signals the need to invest in those parts of our city’s resources that connect the different parts. Leading these is a focus on transport-lead development – public investment in transport infrastructure can have a deep impact on private development, thereby increasing access to the city and also influencing the spatial development of cities. Investment in a truly useful, accessible and productive public spatial network with the poor as the primary intended beneficiaries is another unrealised possibility. Nisa Mammon, a Cape Town-based urban planner, reminds us that this is about creating venues for people to congregate, discuss, perform, protest and interact outside of the confines of their private domains. They ultimately create room for the possibilities for personal development, societal healing, the development of social networks and access to a range of markets.

“This is where social capital is produced and economic opportunity created,” she argues. “If we cannot create a spatially coherent and productive public realm, we are failing those at the bottom of the economic ladder.”

While securing the right to be in and access the city are urgent first steps, they cannot be truly transformative without a third area of debate: how to increase public participation in those political and technical planning and decision-making processes that shape the development of cities. This stretches from communities being able to access information about their rights and settlements, to being actively engaged by the state or private companies who seek to deliver services, to experimenting with novel ways of involving poor communities in wider area and city scale processes of decision-making.

It is this latter aspect of participation that remains the underexplored key to shifting the patterns that dominate our cities. Unfortunately it requires a degree of flexibility and patient respect for the interests and aspirations of the poor which clash with the time-bound, technical interests of state officials, the politicising interests of local politicians seeking to score quick points or the phobic attitude of the middle and ruling classes who “know” that “they” can’t possibly understand the complexities of decision-making at this scale.

These three sets of priorities have emerged from a dialogue series cohosted by Isandla Institute, Community Organisation Resource Centre and Informal Settlements Network, with participants from urban NGOs and organisations of the urban poor, about understanding the contextual relevance and practical potential of a concept drawn from international development discourse – the Right to the City. This is fundamentally about reasserting the poor’s right to be involved in the making and shaping of their city, and claim the benefits of being urban citizens.

The arguments in this article will be used by the participant organisations in a national dialogue in November to more clearly indicate to the government the kinds of priorities, activities and partnerships that are required to ultimately enable the urban poor to claim their right to their city.

- Tristan Gorgens is a land policy researcher at the Islanda Institute.

- Cape Argus

Divisions curb house delivery

HUMAN settlement MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela says divisions and infighting in the local housing committees is hampering the delivery of houses in many communities.

Madikizela was speaking at the handing over of houses in K-Section in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.

More than 500 people, including City of Cape Town officials, former mayor of Khayelitsha Clifford Sitonga, developers and members of the public attended the event.

Four families out of a total of 50 received the keys to their homes on Saturday.

Madikizela said divisions and infighting by some members of the local housing committees were hampering housing development in many communities.

"We are very concerned about people who are pursuing selfish interests at the expense of residents," he said.

"Some housing projects were approved by the provincial government or the City of Cape Town several years ago but have not been started," Madikizela said.

The problem was affecting the development in the communities badly since many residents were waiting for houses.

He said the department was investigating projects that had been stopped or had not yet started and said it would take action against the perpetrators.

Madikizela said before Saturdays ceremony he had visited the project and was very impressed by the standard of the houses.

He also urged the residents to take a leading role in the delivery of houses in their communities.

Madikizela said service delivery protests were common in Gauteng and Western Cape. He said that was surprising because it was in these provinces that service delivery was taking place.

Madikizela said the provincial government had also approved about R430million for housing projects over the next three years in Khayelitsha.

Nwabisa Mabece, chairperson of Nonkqubela Housing Project in Khayelitsha, said the project was begun in June this year and would be completed by June 2012.

- Sowetan

What is the purpose of this gigantic state?

‘One of the most important aspects of policy making should be learning from our mistakes, preferably quickly’

I FIND Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale’s comment that we need a cutoff date for the provision of government housing to poor South Africans, perplexing. For a government critical of private enterprise’s contribution to bridging inequality, and one that expects 25% of the world’s 36th largest economy to be black owned, why such a weak commitment to the creation of pro-poor assets?

The government is emphatic it has an active role in economic growth and social development. It arrogates national resources and monopoly power to define whatever role for itself it sees fit, from policy formation to the provision of public goods and a virtual monopoly on network industries. The effect on the economy of the network industries is immense, constricting output because of logistics bottlenecks and energy shortages. State-owned enterprises increase the costs of business (and inflation) without creating any substantive developmental contribution.

The government is already a bigger player in economic and social development than it pretends or realises. Yet it does not hold itself to account in any obvious way for failure or success. It does not set tangible objectives and therefore cannot be measured even on its pursuit of goals, much less its results.

So we return to Sexwale’s signals on affordability and the need to plan for an end to government-provided housing. On what basis has a conclusion been reached that one of the pillars of government’s social protection and development agenda is not sustainable? Is there a view that government efforts should focus on other, more effective interventions, and will we then see a concomitant reallocation by the Treasury? Will the government prioritise the most cost- efficient and effective procurement policy to maximise the creation of pro-poor housing stock? Will it present a quantitative target and a clear plan for reaching that target? After all, unlike social grants, or even healthcare and education, substantial provision of housing need not be perpetual — we can reach a point at which it is simply a top-up measure.

Can we be assured that poor South Africans (and the country’s development agenda) are not being held hostage to a poorly conceptualised, narrow-effect black economic empowerment agenda that nurtures nondelivery millionaires or nonscalable, survivalist enterprises? Will we consider public-private partnerships that would combine the not inconsiderable centralised purchasing and pricing power of the government with the capacity and potential efficiency of the construction sector — pegged to a more methodical design for empowerment that builds real businesses, with real capacity, engendering a notion of hard work and delivery, instead of easy money for filling in tender forms? Alternatively, is there a reason housing has not been a more prominent feature of the extended public works programme ? Oh, will we consider publicly owned social housing stock as part of the mix? That way we can recycle publicly owned housing stock when those millions finally move up the economic ladder.

One assumes that there is an objective for the government’s housing programme. Consequently, instead of an imperious message about ending it one day, would it not be more useful and accountable to discuss delivery against that objective and give an evaluation of the effect of the programme? One of the most important aspects of policy making should be learning from our mistakes.

For the record, I have no idea whether social housing is affordable or even an appropriate policy. My concern is with management, communication and accountability in the exploitation of public capital — both financial and social. The government persists in claiming an obligation to micro-manage economic development and social delivery. Should this obligation not extend to an exhaustive commitment to delivering on its biggest promises?

Michelle Bachelet, the former president of Chile, once said that her government considered extreme inequality to be a hindrance to growth and a contributor to populism. Chile, she argued, therefore needed to commit to social protection, not merely for the sake of social justice but in order to fully protect open economies. Her government held itself accountable to the delivery of that social protection. Does ours? Our government decries market failure and blames it for rising populism. Where does the failure of social protection feature? The government sees private sector and civil society failures everywhere, yet is curiously easy on itself, rejecting genuine accountability for social delivery while increasing its presence in the public sphere and often rejecting genuine collaboration with nongovernment actors. The natural question becomes, what is the purpose of this gigantic state?

Of course, I may have misinterpreted the trajectory of Sexwale’s comments. Perhaps they are not policy but political signals.

• Mahabane is a partner at Brunswick. He writes in his personal capacity.

- BusinessDay

Sexwale slated over housing

TWO housing rights organisations have called on Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale to withdraw talk of a possible "cut-off date" for free housing.

The National Informal Settlements of South Africa (NISSA) organisation and Abahlali baseMjondolo (shack dwellers' movement) said Sexwale's statement, made last week, was a recipe for "uncontrolled protests".

Last week Sexwale told an international conference in Cape Town that the government was discussing an end to free housing.

"There has to be a cut-off date. We are discussing that. But you can't cut off the poor right now, particularly in the current national economic environment. We can't sustain what we are doing for a long time" he said.

NISSA president Phumelele Ntshiqela, who is also Congress of the People MP, said he had been flooded with complaints from his organisation's members since Sexwale made the statement.

"Sexwale must withdraw his statement. People are fuming over it," Ntshiqela said, "If the government cannot build houses or deliver services, what do we have a government for? Housing people is sustainable because it creates jobs and restores dignity. We will fight this decision and it is not going to happen."

Abahlali baseMjondolo Western Cape chairman Mzonke Poni, who yesterday completed a three-day fast in protest against the housing shortage, said the government should have held public hearings before discussing an end to free housing.

"If they open this for public comment the government will see it has no support at all," Poni said. "The state is already failing to build houses for the poor and now they want a cut-off date. Then, again, when people occupy unused pieces of land they unleash the police against us. We cannot accept an announcement that will see people move from bad to worse."

Rhodes University political science lecturer Richard Pithouse backed the organisations and said the government had to continue providing housing until everyone was housed.

"If Sexwale thinks providing housing is negotiable he is completely out of touch with the realities of South Africa," Pithouse said.

- Sowetan