HUMAN Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale was his ever-charming self at yesterday's media conference following his first meeting with the provincial housing MECs, even seeking to take some of the venom out of the national government's tense relationship with the Democratic Alliance by referring tongue-in-cheek to the "Republic of the Western Cape". We hope he was being serious, though, when he spoke of the need for the two spheres of government to work together to address the housing backlog, and that the issues that were raised at the meeting would be passed on to the Cabinet at the lekgotla scheduled to take place later today .
High on that list should be the outgoing African National Congress (ANC)-controlled Western Cape government's extraordinary decision, on the eve of the recent election, to transfer 1000ha of prime land, worth as much as R500m, to the Housing Development Agency, a newly formed body that now falls under Sexwale.
On the face of it, the move appears to be an astonishingly petty attempt to hobble the now DA-controlled provincial housing department and prevent it from carrying out Premier Helen Zille's grand plan to use accelerated service delivery in the Western Cape -- the only province not controlled by the ANC -- as a stepping stone to increased national support for her party.
ANC provincial spokesman and former finance MEC Garth Strachan insists the timing of the transfer is mere coincidence, and that the process was set in motion more than three years ago. Others in the party say the decision was prompted by disputes that arose over which sphere of government should be in charge of housing delivery after the ANC lost control of Cape Town to a DA-led coalition in the 2006 municipal election.
That may be, but there are indications that the transfer itself was at least speeded up with the looming election in mind, since neither the public nor the Cape Town metropolitan council were informed, contrary to the original provincial cabinet resolution. In addition, the move comes to light in the context of a clear strategy by the ANC in the Western Cape to frustrate the new administration, with little regard for the implications for service delivery.
Indeed, it has been clear since the DA triumphed in Cape Town that the ANC has great difficulty accepting the outcome of elections that do not go its way, and has no compunction in blocking others' attempts to improve poor people's standard of living if this is deemed politically expedient.
Even if the land transfer is legal, which is a matter for debate and possibly the courts, the fact is that the ANC's track record on housing delivery is at best patchy in Cape Town. The DA-led city council, on the other hand, delivered more houses in its first year than its predecessor managed during the three it was in power.
When the people of the province went to the polls last month they voted for change. Instead, the ANC has contrived to ensure they get more of the same mediocrity, at least when it comes to housing delivery.
No comments:
Post a Comment