A number of MPs on the human settlements portfolio committee rushed to ask questions about housing and bulk service delivery when Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale appeared before the committee yesterday.
One after the other spoke about villages in their constituencies or near their own homes where there were houses built without services. One village near Tarkastad did not have electricity supply, complained one MP. Another complained about lack of services in his village in KwaZulu-Natal. Each one seemed to have a tale to tell.
Good-humouredly Sexwale said he was pleased that Butch Steyn – a Gauteng-based MP – did not raise the matter of poor delivery at any village nearby to where he lived. Steyn complained instead about the fact that there was “fiscal dumping” – spending by delivery departments, including housing, at the end of their financial years. This was suspicious as houses took a long time to build and there was something dubious about a sudden rush of spending at the end of each financial year.
Sexwale acknowledged that difficulties supplying services to rural areas was not only a South African problem. All developing countries had a push of the population to the urban areas. It meant there was “a scattering” of people living in little towns and villages all over the country. Pipelines had to be dug for “thousands of kilometres” to provide people with services. It was expensive – and probably unsustainable – to provide certain services to little communities of 150 people or fewer.
The push to the cities was something governments could do little about. Noting that he was very pleased to interact with the oversight committee – as he could “escape from cabinet”, which met yesterday – he said it was difficult to plan when there was constant migration from rural to urban areas. “The majority will move to the urban areas… unless there is a dictatorship.” That probably means that people will not be forced to stay in places – at gunpoint – where the services have been provided in rural areas.
One after the other spoke about villages in their constituencies or near their own homes where there were houses built without services. One village near Tarkastad did not have electricity supply, complained one MP. Another complained about lack of services in his village in KwaZulu-Natal. Each one seemed to have a tale to tell.
Good-humouredly Sexwale said he was pleased that Butch Steyn – a Gauteng-based MP – did not raise the matter of poor delivery at any village nearby to where he lived. Steyn complained instead about the fact that there was “fiscal dumping” – spending by delivery departments, including housing, at the end of their financial years. This was suspicious as houses took a long time to build and there was something dubious about a sudden rush of spending at the end of each financial year.
Sexwale acknowledged that difficulties supplying services to rural areas was not only a South African problem. All developing countries had a push of the population to the urban areas. It meant there was “a scattering” of people living in little towns and villages all over the country. Pipelines had to be dug for “thousands of kilometres” to provide people with services. It was expensive – and probably unsustainable – to provide certain services to little communities of 150 people or fewer.
The push to the cities was something governments could do little about. Noting that he was very pleased to interact with the oversight committee – as he could “escape from cabinet”, which met yesterday – he said it was difficult to plan when there was constant migration from rural to urban areas. “The majority will move to the urban areas… unless there is a dictatorship.” That probably means that people will not be forced to stay in places – at gunpoint – where the services have been provided in rural areas.
Eskom
Eskom was a bearer of good news this week – something uncommon in the company over the past two years.
First, it reported impressive results for the six months through September, in which it recorded a R9.5 billion net profit.
Second, it announced that it had solved its R50bn funding shortfall by either securing or identifying funding sources.
Third, it has begun signing up some independent power producers (IPPs) who will deliver 277 megawatts of power. The parastatal is working on more contracts with IPPs and other mechanisms of securing power supply over the next three years.
Brian Dames, the chief executive at Eskom, also happily announced that the utility had not only kept the lights on during the World Cup, but there had not been any load shedding since April 2008.
And not only is the company financially stable but it has filled critical executive positions within a short period of time.
Dames said Eskom realised it also needed to eventually get to a point where it would not rely on state financial assistance and “thereby allow the government to free up resources that are needed elsewhere in the country”.
Since Eskom would now be able to fund all its capital investment commitments up to 2017, Dames said it was up to it to deliver – the company has no more excuses.
Dames also went on about how the power utility had done an introspection that produced six imperatives that would make it a better firm.
Malusi Gigaba, the newly appointed Minister of Public Enterprises, said he was delighted to be welcomed into the portfolio in this fashion. He was referring to the interim results.
So, it looks like there is hope at the end of the tunnel. One just hopes Eskom will maintain the momentum and not drag the country back to darkness.
Cape Town tourism
Hosting the Fifa World Cup seems to be paying off already for Cape Town – at least in terms of tourism from overseas, even if other parts of the country are not yet benefiting to the same extent.
After the initial disappointment that the event was not followed up by tourism arrivals in early spring – leading to forecasts that the hoped for boom would not happen until late next year – both the Cape branch of the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa (Fedhasa) and the regional tourism authority Cape Town Routes Unlimited report an encouraging start to the tourism season.
The numbers are arriving, mostly from the UK, Germany and Holland at this stage. They are not spending as freely as in past years, but this is not surprising. At least they are here.
However, the pleasure felt in Cape Town by the tourism arrivals has been dampened by news that the UN’s 17th Conference of Parties (COP 17) on combating global warming, to be held in December next year, will be held in Durban and not in the Mother City.
Dirk Elzinga, the Cape chairman of Fedhasa, described this as a “terrible disappointment” in view of the campaign to make Cape Town a green city and the fact that the Western Cape had the only wind farm in South Africa providing renewable energy. He pointed out that the conference would attract about 30 000 people and Cape Town – which currently has 18 five-star hotels in addition to others of a high standard – was better able than Durban to accommodate the delegates and other arrivals.
In view of this, he suggested that the decision to have it in Durban was a political one. But Elzinga – who until recently was managing director of the Cape Town International Convention Centre, which is run on very “green” lines, saving electricity and water and recycling waste – added that although COP 17 would not come to the city, 40 other international conferences would be held there next year.
-IOL
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