Service delivery protests are back, this time accompanied by violence. Where is the promised housing and "services" the protestors want to know. The recently re-elected ANC has rebranded the Department of Housing as the Department of Human Settlements having adopted the "concept of human settlements" at Polokwane.
“Housing is not just about building houses. It is also about transforming our residential areas and building communities with closer access to work and social amenities, including sports and recreation facilities,” - President Jacob Zuma
The enigmatic Tokyo Sexwale was duly appointed as Minister of Human Settlements:
"We lived in poverty and we were all subjected to the humiliation which the whites imposed upon the blacks. We lived in the same typical 'matchbox' houses; we were continually aware that there was not enough money available to meet our needs for food, clothing and education; and when we went into town and saw the relative luxury in which white people lived, this made an indelible impression on our young minds..."
The impression was indelible and Tokyo Sexwale proceeded to hog a massive slice of the BEE cake for himself. He arguably knows absolutely very little about the value for money. No other South African has spent R56 million on a single family home. Spending that much money on a house is evidence of losing touch with reality. No one else will say it: "The man got ripped off... the emperor has no clothes."
So how then are we going to house the shackdwelling millions? It turns out we are not! ("beyond Housing" in Engineering News)
Human Settlements Portfolio Committee chairperson Beauty Dambuza says that government is moving away from building houses to “building communities”. (Building communities involves the provision of services and public space, which should be part of any development regardless. The feel good factor and novelty of having facilities will hopefully placate the souls disappointed by not getting the house they were promised)
“A human settlement is a labour-based infrastructure development that can make an important contribution to measures to [deal with] unemployment. The integrated infrastructure provision also assists in driving rural, urban and human settlement development, facilitated by an enhanced strategy for land acquisition, including the acquisition of strategically located and developed sites in urban households, as well as in rural areas, through the disposal of State-owned land . . . and the Housing Development Agency has been established to acquire land for human settlements.” THERE YOU GO... EVERYTHING... AND NOTHING...
“Housing is not just about building houses. It is also about transforming our residential areas and building communities with closer access to work and social amenities, including sports and recreation facilities,” - President Jacob Zuma
The enigmatic Tokyo Sexwale was duly appointed as Minister of Human Settlements:
"We lived in poverty and we were all subjected to the humiliation which the whites imposed upon the blacks. We lived in the same typical 'matchbox' houses; we were continually aware that there was not enough money available to meet our needs for food, clothing and education; and when we went into town and saw the relative luxury in which white people lived, this made an indelible impression on our young minds..."
The impression was indelible and Tokyo Sexwale proceeded to hog a massive slice of the BEE cake for himself. He arguably knows absolutely very little about the value for money. No other South African has spent R56 million on a single family home. Spending that much money on a house is evidence of losing touch with reality. No one else will say it: "The man got ripped off... the emperor has no clothes."
So how then are we going to house the shackdwelling millions? It turns out we are not! ("beyond Housing" in Engineering News)
Human Settlements Portfolio Committee chairperson Beauty Dambuza says that government is moving away from building houses to “building communities”. (Building communities involves the provision of services and public space, which should be part of any development regardless. The feel good factor and novelty of having facilities will hopefully placate the souls disappointed by not getting the house they were promised)
“A human settlement is a labour-based infrastructure development that can make an important contribution to measures to [deal with] unemployment. The integrated infrastructure provision also assists in driving rural, urban and human settlement development, facilitated by an enhanced strategy for land acquisition, including the acquisition of strategically located and developed sites in urban households, as well as in rural areas, through the disposal of State-owned land . . . and the Housing Development Agency has been established to acquire land for human settlements.” THERE YOU GO... EVERYTHING... AND NOTHING...
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