Mortgage Default Insurance to boost housing market

With a large number of South Africans not qualifying for home loans from the commercial and private banking sector, while also not qualifying for the State-funded subsidy housing programme, the introduction of a mortgage default insurance product is timely, according to the National Housing Finance Corporation.

It said on Monday that this would go a long way in ensuring that risk sharing with lenders took place, while addressing the housing finance needs of the low to middle income households.

"In his State of the Nation Address in February 2010, President Jacob Zuma announced government's plans to set up a guarantee fund of R1 billion to incentivise the private banking and housing sector to develop new products to meet the housing demand in the country. This was later followed with an announcement by Minister of Human Settlements, Honourable Tokyo Sexwale, where he mentioned that the NHFC, through its Mortgage Default Insurance Programme (MDI) would serve as an optimal means of utilising the R1 bn government guarantee.

"The NHFC has maintained a clear line of sight of government imperatives to compliment the housing finance market endeavours, to improve access to affordable housing," the body said in a statement.

Chief Executive Officer Samson Moraba said: "The MDI programme is at an advanced stage of development and at different levels of engagement with relevant stakeholders."

MDI is a form of credit insurance that protects a lender against the default risk of a residential mortgage borrower.

Thus, largely the underserved segments of the housing market - first-time home buyers, professionally self-employed, public servants and other lower-income households - would have a greater ability to access affordable mortgage finance.

"In line with public policy, this product will go far in expanding the number of low to middle income households that can access affordable housing, on a commercially sustainable basis," Moraba added.

- Businesslive

Residents elated to have enclosed toilets

The City of Cape Town says it is on track with its efforts to enclose more than 1 000 toilets in three informal settlements in Khayelitsha.

In 2009, residents from the informal settlements, particularly Makhaza, took to the streets to protest about unenclosed toilets in their areas.

The city said at the time that residents had agreed to enclose the toilets themselves.

The protests turned rapidly violent, and put the issue of unenclosed toilets firmly in the nation spotlight.

They triggered a political mud-slinging match between the DA-led city and the ANC.

The Human Rights Commission investigated and found the city had breached human rights in failing to enclose the toilets.

In April, Judge Nathan Erasmus ruled in the Western Cape High Court that the city should enclose the 1 316 toilets. He said the open toilets violated residents’ human rights.

At a council meeting in June, mayor Patricia de Lille announced that city officials and facilitators would be meeting residents to enclose the toilets with concrete structures.

This would be done “in compliance with the court order”, she said.

When the Cape Argus visited the areas of Khayelitsha in which the city is enclosing toilets, many residents said they were delighted by the work done so far.

Sandile Sandamsaku, a father of four, said he was overjoyed at having his toilet enclosed.

“It makes my family’s life easier,” he said.

“They came to cover my toilet last month and ever since I’ve been a happy man.”

Ntomentsha Beja, 76, was one of the first applicants who applied for an enclosed toilet. Beja is one of the area’s oldest residents.

“This is what we fought for. It is our right to have these toilets covered.”

A man who was at the centre of the 2009 protests, Andile Lili, said he was pleased that more than two thirds of the toilets built had been enclosed.

Lili, now a proportional city councillor, was an ANC Youth League leader in the Makhaza area and led the residents’ protests against the city.

Lili did say, however, that some residents wanted compensation for the “inconvenience” of using unenclosed toilets at night.

“One of our elderly ladies was stabbed and she is very ill at the moment,” Lili said.

He said the attack on the woman took place before the toilets were enclosed.

Solly Malatsi, De Lille’s spokesman, said 220 of the 298 toilets in Makhaza had been enclosed.

He said Makhaza had been the starting point for the process.

The city would now move to the SS2 and Town 2 informal settlements.

He said the project should be complete by the end of the year.

- Cape Argus

Sexwale’s mystery African safari

WHAT plot is our much- loved Human Settlements Minister, Tokyo Sexwale, hatching in West Africa? A wandering albatross whose compass went astray flew in last night to say he had seen Sexwale in Guinea in the company of Mohamed Condé, son of the president of Guinea — he’s hard to miss because he towers over everyone at more than 2m (6ft 7ins) tall. And, far off in the background, the albatross thought he could see the figure of George Soros.

The whole thing is fascinating because Guinea is the repository of more than 25-billion tons of bauxite — perhaps as much as half the world’s known reserves. It also has about 4-billion tons of high-grade iron ore and substantial quantities of diamonds, gold and uranium.

With a small population of 10- million you’d think this richly endowed country would enjoy high living standards. Instead, it’s another African basket case.

Sekou Toure became president when Guinea gained independence from France in 1958 and hung on using violent oppression until he died in March 1984. Lansana Conté replaced him after a quick coup d’état and stayed in power until he died in 2008.

Moussa Dadis Camara seized control at the head of a junta in December 2008 until he was shot and wounded by an aide a year later. After many interventions a general election was held in November and was won by Alpha Condé, the current president, who fought off a fierce attempt to depose him last month; he has promised to reform the security sector and review mining contracts.

This is where it gets interesting. Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinea is the main player in the bauxite industry. It is owned 49% by the Guinean government and 51% by a consortium led by Alcoa and Alcan. It exports about 14-million tons a year. Then there’s CBK, a joint venture between the Guinean government and Russki Aluminium (Rusal), which exports 2,5-million tons a year to Russia and Eastern Europe. And there are a few rats and mice, alongside conventions requiring Alcoa- Alcan and Global Alumina to build alumina refineries with a combined capacity of 4-million tons a year.

There is also a joint diamond mining venture, gold mining, and Rio Tinto has signed a binding agreement to establish a joint venture for the Simandou iron-ore project, said to be of the same size as the massive Pilbara in Western Australia.

So what? Well, it seems that Sexwale, Condé junior and other politically well-connected West African associates are telling foreign investors they have pretty much bagged some vital mining assets. Which ones? That’s unclear, but the albatross says concessions or parts of them held by Brazilian house Vale and Rio Tinto may be in their sights. When I asked about Rusal, the giant aluminium producer led by oligarch Oleg Deripaska, the answer was that he’d seen what was coming and had "done a deal" with Condé.

If Soros is involved you can be sure he can tap into a rich vein of the world’s wealthiest investors. Many will remember that Soros was once labelled "the man who broke the Bank of England".

I guess that an offshore vehicle, or several, will be established to house these assets and to help raise the capital required to bring product to market.

So Sexwale, having made a large fortune from mining opportunities thrown in his path in SA, is establishing himself as a multinational mining entrepreneur with interests that may range across the continent. I’m not sure how this interacts with his role as a South African Cabinet minister but I have to presume he’s been given the nod by JZ.


TALKING about George Soros, 81, brings to mind that he is thought to be worth something north of $20bn. Well, that helps in securing happiness — but doesn’t guarantee it. Sexy Brazilian soap star Adriana Ferreyr, 28, a former girlfriend, is suing for $50m.

She says he promised to buy her an apartment and assaulted her. Soros’s lawyer says that’s "baseless. The complaint is obviously an attempt to extract money from my client, who is known to be a very wealthy man."


THE JSE has been something of a shrinking violet over the past decade.

In 2000 the stock exchange listed 617 companies; by 2003 that had fallen to 472.

It now lists 399 companies including those on the AltX, venture capital and Africa boards.

Still, the value of those companies was a modest R1,5-trillion in 2003. The value now, despite a fall in numbers of 35%, is R6,7-trillion.

A BDO Research report prepared in March carries a list of complaints gathered from interviews with the CEs of 30 listed companies.

They think the regulations of the JSE too onerous; its news service is considered out of date and needs re- engineering; the application of International Financial Reporting Standards is a significant problem; and the King Report on Corporate Governance is a "material burden".

Their most stinging criticism was of AltX. It is, they say, tarnished by poorly performing companies and those with compliance problems; many investors are precluded from investing in AltX companies by their own rules; there is a lack of liquidity; AltX shares receive little media prominence; stricter rules and more discipline are needed; and the lower standards set for AltX companies impair its image.

My friend Humphrey Borkum, the JSE’s chairman, will be cross that I have reported this but the message should be heard.

Many CEs think that the JSE has overbalanced on compliance, its AltX doesn’t match up to the standards of similar boards elsewhere, and not enough is done generally by its executives to cut costs.

- BusinessDay

Govt battles to kick the bucket

Cape Town - Almost a decade ago, government vowed to eradicate the so-called bucket system - the default sewage option for hundreds of thousands of poor South Africans - but the problem has not gone away.

In a written reply to a parliamentary question tabled on Friday, Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale revealed that there were still 86 443 households around the country using buckets instead of toilets.

The highest number of such households were in the Free State (38 366), followed by the Eastern Cape (28 887) and the Northern Cape (14 797).

The problem also persisted in the North West (3 503 households), the Western Cape (832) and Gauteng (58), according to a table attached to his reply.

Fifty-one municipalities were affected.

If each household included four residents, the total number of people using what former water minister Ronnie Kasrils once described as a "filthy remnant of apartheid abuse" is well over 300 000.

The actual total could be far higher; government sanitation figures refer only to those living in recognised "formal settlements".

Responsibility for the provision of sanitation services was transferred from water affairs to the department of human settlements last year.

In the early 2000s, government set the end of 2007 as the date on which the bucket system would be totally eradicated. This slipped to the end of 2008. Three years later, it persists.

In his reply, Sexwale said that in most of the affected provinces financing had been secured, or was in the process of being secured, to "upgrade" the bucket system. He did not say when this would happen.

He also said there were no "bucket systems" in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

- SAPA

WikiLeaks Cablegate South Africa: Is the ANC As Democratic As It Claims?

The text of a cable from the U.S. Embassy to Washington on January 8, 2010, according to WikiLeaks:

1. (SBU) SUMMARY. What began as a Durban road blockade in 2005 has become a shack-dwellers movement in South Africa.

Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM, which means 'those who live in the shacks' in Zulu) now includes thousands of shack-dwellers from more than 30 informal settlements throughout the country. AbM has garnered international support and has won legal battles against the African National Congress's (ANC) attempts at forced removal. While the ANC claims to be making efforts to clean up slums and provide the poor with adequate housing, AbM leadership claims intimidation and anti-democratic tactics are used against its members by the ruling party. AbM represents a true test of democratic governance for the ANC. END SUMMARY.

History

2. (SBU) Kennedy Road (KR) is a shack settlement located next to Durban's largest dumpsite, southwest of central Durban.

Homeless individuals began living in KR in the late 1970s. As the number of residents grew, local government attempted to force people out of KR but was unsuccessful. By the late 1980s, the City of Durban ended its eviction efforts. However, in 1995, a year after the end of apartheid, the local ANC government began its own eviction campaign. KR now has approximately 10, 000 residents, who live in squalor. A lack of electricity, potable water, and toilets has resulted in daily fires, open sewers, and rat infestations, according to local media.

Birth of a Movement

3. (SBU) In 1999, residents of KR formed the Kennedy Road Development Committee (KRDC) as a way to petition local authorities for basic utilities in their settlement while they awaited permanent housing. S'busiso Zikode was elected chairperson, and under his leadership, KR was able to secure interim services from the city of Durban, said Zikode to Pol/Econ officer during a two-hour December 3, 2009 meeting.

Encouraged by municipal promises of permanent housing and better living conditions and hoping to increase his credibility and influence with city lawmakers, Zikode joined the ANC in 2000.

By 2004, however, KR residents had not yet seen any movement on their promised housing. Zikode also claims he began to feel pressure from the Durban municipality to avoid discussing housing and service delivery issues during KRDC meetings.

Zikode withdrew from the ANC, and he along with other KR residents declared that 2005 would be a 'year of action.'

4. (SBU) On March 19, 2005, KR residents protested the demolition and sale of a tract of land that had been promised to the residents of KR by the Durban municipality as a new housing site, said Zikode. The protest drew over 800 participants, including residents from other informal settlements, who blockaded a major Durban road for several hours. The protesters were ultimately dispersed by police dogs, and 14 people were arrested, according to local media.

Subsequent to the protest, residents from KR and 13 other informal settlements formed Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM). In September 2008, AbM joined the Landless People's Movement, the Rural Network, and the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign to form The Poor People's Alliance, the largest shack-dwellers organization in South Africa.

AbM Philosophy and Demands

5. (SBU) Zikode emphasizes that AbM is a 'radical poor people's movement that is democratic. Our movement is a homemade politics that everyone can understand and find a home in.' The politics of AbM are conducted 'by the poor, for the poor, and where the poor people live,' said Zikode. AbM shuns top-down 'self-enriching,' 'professional' politics and refuses representational roles, personal power, and financial reward.

'Such a top-down system has terrorized our society. In fact, it

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is an insult to assume that poor people cannot think for themselves, that someone else must talk for them without their concern. Our demands are simple: land and homes in the cities where we live,' said Zikode. And while AbM members wait for the local government to act, they demand water, electricity, and basic sanitation facilities.

Shack Dwellers Movement Flexes its Muscle

6. (SBU) In 2007, the KZN Legislature passed the KwaZulu-Natal Elimination & Prevention of Re-emergence of Slums Act. The act was controversial because it gave the provincial MEC (Member of Executive Committee, like a 'provincial minister) for Housing authority to forcibly remove residents from informal settlements. AbM contested the act in the KZN High Court, arguing that it was repressive, anti-poor, and unconstitutional.

AbM also argued that rather than evict slum residents, KZN was mandated to deal with the lack of inadequate housing in the province. AbM lost in the KZN High Court but on October 14, 2009, the South African Constitutional Court ruled that the act was unconstitutional. This was a great blow to the ANC and municipalities in other provinces that had hoped to pass similar acts, Imraan Buccus - who teaches politics at the University of KZN - told Pol/Econ Officer on November 22, 2009.

Intimidation and Oppression

7. (SBU) AbM members have endured harassment from the state in the form of unwarranted arrests, and repeated and severe police violence in people's homes, in the streets and in detention, according to Zikode. On a number of occasions the police have used live ammunition, armored vehicles and helicopters in their attacks on unarmed shack dwellers, according to local media.

AbM has filed numerous police brutality and wrongful arrest charges against the police, to no avail. To date, not one of the AbM members who was arrested has ever been convicted of an offence, according to Zikode.

The Kennedy Road Attack

8. (SBU) On September 26, 2009, 40 local tavern owners disrupted a AbM youth camp, demanding that the youth join them in a protest against AbM, said Secretary of AbM Youth League Zodwa Nsibande to Pol/Econ officer on December 3. The tavern owners gathered outside AbM's office and called for Zikode and Nsibande to come out, accusing them of being Xhosa-speaking meddlers intent on ruling the lives of Zulus living in KR, said Zikode. Nsibande and Zikode hid from the tavern owners, but the mob ransacked and demolished AbM's office, Zikode's home and those of several other AbM members in the presence of the police, said Nsibande and Zikode. The attacks continued through September 28, and five people were killed, reported local media.

Thirteen AbM members were subsequently held without bail or charges until early December when eight were released. In the aftermath, ANC Ward Councilor Yakoob Baig reported to local media that 'harmony has been restored now that the Abahlali criminals are gone.'

9. (SBU) Nsibande and Zikode claim that the September 26 KR attack was 'planned by the ANC at the very highest political level.' According to Zikode, the ANC retaliated against AbM because the party was incensed that 'a group of dirty shack dwellers would dare to expose the ANC's corruption' and challenge them in the highest courts of the land. 'Although we have won some important battles against the ANC, we are now paying for those victories with our lives. Thousands of us no longer have homes, and many of us live in fear in our own country. I am a refugee in my own country, in my own city,' declared Zikode to Pol/Econ Officer.

10. (SBU) KZN MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison

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Willies Mchunu denied in an October 20 op-ed piece that the ANC was behind the September 26 KR attack. Mchunu argued that the attack on AbM members was the result of an illegal curfew imposed on KR residents by an illegal safety and security forum formed by AbM. Zikode acknowledges the formation of the forum, but insists that the curfew was a 12a.m. sales curfew imposed on illegal taverns selling liquor 24 hours a day. Also, Zikode points out that the forum was formed with the consent of the local police commissioner and therefore was empowered to impose such a curfew. Mchunu has since placed under investigation the police commissioner who authorized the forum. He declared the forum a 'vigilante group that must be dissolved.' Mchunu also placed KR under a 24-hour police watch and promised improved lighting and that a new housing project for 600 households would begin in January 2010.

Democracy under Attack

11. (SBU) AbM leaders argue that their movement is a threat to the ANC's authority and to the elites who have enriched themselves at the expense of the poor. 'Democracy itself is under threat in South Africa. A coup happened on September 26. The ANC violently replaced a democratically elected community organization. Who are they to do this!' exclaimed Zikode.

After the politicians and the police departed from KR on September 26 in KR, the settlement was left in the hands of armed young ANC men who patrolled the area and made it clear, via death threats, that AbM was now banned from Kennedy Road, alleged Zikode. 'We always allowed free political activity in Kennedy and all settlements in which AbM candidates have been elected to leadership. Now we are banned.'

12. (SBU) ANC leaders, including MEC for Economic Development and Tourism Mike Mabuyakhulu, Durban City Mayor Obed Mlaba, and Durban City Manager Mike Sutcliffe, have often accused AbM of being 'manipulated by a third force or a foreign intelligence agency intent on destabilizing the country,' according to Zikode. No evidence has ever been presented to substantiate these claims 'because they are patently ludicrous and paranoid but they have created a climate that justifies violent repression.' In support of AbM's claim, Anglican Bishop Rubin Phillip said, 'It is essential that the attack on democracy in KR is widely publicized so that we can all confront what has happened and ensure that it never happens again.'

Support from Other Political Parties

13. (SBU) 'The AbM situation reveals the ANC's inability to address the serious housing shortage problem in the Durban area,' contended Democratic Alliance (DA) Representative Dean McPherson to Pol/Econ Officer during a November 20, 2009 meeting. The DA also supports AbM's efforts to expose the ANC's 'corrupt and unfair system of housing allocation, McPherson added.

14. (SBU) 'COPE is concerned about what is going on in Kennedy Rd. We are worried about reports of police biasness and alleged ANC involvement. Our [parliamentary representative] Lucky Gabela will ask KZN MEC Willies Mchunu to give the legislature a report on Kennedy Road as soon the legislature resumes. We believe there is a need for an independent inquiry into the Kennedy Road situation,' KZN Congress of the People (COPE) Provincial Secretary Phillip Mhlongo told Pol/Econ Assistant on January 5.

15. (SBU) 'The IFP is monitoring developments in Kennedy Road and is very concerned about the plight of Abahlali leaders who have been exiled from their homes. Kennedy Road is part of a bigger housing problem in eThekwini and needs urgent attention of the municipality. The ANC is treating Kennedy Road badly because it is not their stronghold area and they don't enjoy support there. We will call for an independent inquiry to determine the cause of violence in the area,' reported Inkatha

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Freedom Party (IFP) eThekwini Spokesperson Joshua Mazibuko to Pol/Econ Assistant on January 5.

Church Support, International Calls for Action

16. (SBU) The plight of AbM has garnered the attention of churches and international civil rights organizations. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing Miloon Kothari on February 29, 2008 expressed great concern about the well being of KR residents living under 'far short of safe and sustainable living conditions.' He added, 'This situation is compounded by tenure insecurity and the threat of forced eviction.'

In a speech at the AbM Unfreedom Day event on April 27, 2008 Anglican Bishop Rubin Phillip said: 'You have faced fires, sickness, evictions, arrest, beatings, slander, and still you stand bravely for what is true. Your principle that everyone matters, that every life is precious, is very simple but it is also utterly profound. Many of us who hold dear the most noble traditions of our country take hope from your courage and your dignity.' (Note. In Germany on October 30, 2009, Bishop Phillip received the 2009 International Bremen Peace Award in recognition of his work for justice, peace and integrity. End Note.)

17. (SBU) The September 26 KR attacks led to a petition in support of an independent investigation signed by over 1200 academics, NGOs and church leaders. Executive Director of Children of South Africa (CHOSA) Jared Sacks lambasted the ANC in a September 30 op-ed piece for its treatment of KR residents and also called for support of the investigation demanded by AbM.

18. (SBU) In response to the arrest and detainment without charge or bail of the 13 AbM members after the September 26 KR attack, the Diakonia Council of Churches on November 18 made an 'urgent call to defend our democracy and to support the voiceless.' On December 16, 2009 Bishop Phillip presented Zikode with the Order of the Holy Nativity, saying: 'We believe what [AbM] are doing is right. They stand for democracy and human rights.' On the same day, Amnesty International also threw its weight behind a call for an investigation. 'Amnesty International deplores the continuing failure of the South African authorities to investigate impartially and fully human rights abuses which occurred during and after armed violence at the Kennedy Road Informal Settlement in Durban last September.'

19. (SBU) On December 24, the KZN Church Leaders' Group released a joint Advent message regarding the 'battles of the poor.' Regarding AbM, the message stated: '[AbM] has called for land and housing to be made available within the city. By doing so it has exposed corruption and mismanagement in the allocation of houses. Since September 2009, when the KR settlement was attacked by armed and organized vigilantes, the political elites have brought a horrifying wave of violence upon the movement, including forced evictions, targeted destruction of homes and death threats against its leaders. In all of these instances, an unholy but by now characteristic, alliance of profit-seeking economic elites and elements in the governing party are implicated in a broader project of elite enrichment and accumulation.'

Comment

20. (SBU) The parallels between AbM's struggles against the ANC and the latter's fight against the apartheid regime cannot be ignored. The accounts of forced removals, violence, intimidation, and leaders in hiding seem like echoes of a time supposedly gone forever. Even talk by ANC leaders of a 'third force' at work are eerily reminiscent of a paranoid apartheid era. Post has found local ANC officials reluctant to discuss the matter and repeated attempts by Pol/Econ Assistant to secure a meeting with municipal housing authorities came to naught.

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21. (SBU) The AbM movement is a test of democratic governance for the ANC, as it decides what to do when its own people do not support its vision of development (Reftel). The ANC's tolerance for dissent will be further tested during next year's FIFA World cup; AbM members plan mass demonstrations for the entire world to see - even if they do not get a permit to do so.

22. (SBU) Providing free housing for the nearly 800,000 residents living in 500 informal settlements in the Durban area is a great challenge for the ANC. Apart from the funds required to build sufficient housing, there simply isn't enough space in Durban proper for such expansion. City housing may be a central demand of AbM, but its members must face the reality that accepting free housing in the rural periphery may be the only viable option for most.

- allAfrica

Minister and Councillor to Inspect Emergency Housing Kits

Western Cape Provincial Government Human Settlements Minister, Bonginkosi Madikizela, and City of Cape Town Housing MAYCO Member Councillor, Ernest Sonnenberg, will inspect the emergency housing kits in Ndabeni at 11:00 on 24 August.

The Department of Human Settlements has recently approved an extra R10 million in funding to provide fire and flood kits. The money is supplied to the City of Cape Town, who buys the kits and makes them available to those in need of emergency housing.

People who lose their houses due to floods or fire beyond their control and are left destitute require emergency assistance and sometimes relocation. Most of those assisted are from informal settlements in the City of Cape Town.

Since the initial approval by the Provincial Department of Housing in 2004, various fund extensions have been granted with the intention of providing victims of floods and fire disasters with interim relief in the form of fire or flood kits and relocation assistance.

An amount of R10 million was allocated from December 2009 to July 2011. A total of 4 277 families were assisted during the last financial year (1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011) with 1 657 flood kits and 2 620 fire kits provided at a cost of just over R4 million. The amount has been increased by another R10 million until April 2012.

The Emergency Housing Programme came about due to problems highlighted through the Irene Grootboom Constitutional Court case, which stated that the various organs of State did not have a programme to help the most destitute and vulnerable in realising their right to access to housing.

On a provincial level, a similar strategy or mechanism is also used for all municipalities outside the Metropole (City of Cape Town) to aid victims of fires and flood. An amount of R5 million has been approved and is shared between the municipalities, based on the need within the respective municipal areas.

Minister Madikizela and Councillor Sonnenberg will be available for comments and photo opportunities at the depot.

- Cape Gateway

Sexwale's 'evil farmers' remarks not hate speech - SAHRC

Sandi Baai

25 August 2011

Commission finds that housing minister was not intending to incite harm

STATEMENT DELIVERED BY COMMISSIONER SANDI BAAI AT THE NEWS BRIEFING TO RELEASE THE REPORT OF THE INVESTIGATION INTO THE COMPLAINT BY AGRI-SA AGAINST THE MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

Date: Thursday, 25 August 2011

On behalf of the SA Human Rights Commission, I would like to thank you for responding to our invitation to attend this media briefing.

On the 08^th of February 2010, the Commission received a complaint from the AGRI-SA against the Minister of Human Settlements, Mr Tokyo Sexwale, for the remarks he made during an interview on the SABC - Morning Live Programme, on the 03^rd November 2009.

THE COMPLAINT

During the interview the Minister made the following remarks: "....the growing number of squatter camps in South Africa is caused by people who are kicked out by very, very evil farmers from the farms, fearful of the fact that laws say that you got to provide these people with security of comfort...."

The complaint also related to the "Beeld" quote newspaper of the 29^th of January 2010, wherein the Minister is reported to have told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements on the 28^th January 2010 that "baie van die mense wat hulle nou in plakkerskampe bevind is daar omdat baie boere miljoene swart mense van hulle plase afgejaag het".

The Agri-SA argued that the Minister's utterances were accusations which were or can usually not be substantiated and were therefore harmful to the image of the commercial farming community.

FINDINGS

Following our perusal of Section 09 and 16 of the Constitution, as well as Section 10, read with Section 12 of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 4 of 2000, including case law, we came to the conclusion that the Minister was merely expressing an opinion, without presenting facts, on some of what he perceived as the causes of the increase in squatter camps in the country.

Consequently, we therefore find that the Minister's speech cannot reasonably be construed to have had the intention to make the members of the farming community feel marginalised, alienated or under attack.

We would like to point out that even though we find that the Minister's utterances do not amount to hate or harmful speech, we are however of the view they were insensitive.

In terms of legislation, advocacy of hatred does not rise to the level of hate speech unless there is also incitement to cause harm. The speech must be intended to incite or produce imminent action and must be likely to incite or produce such action. "Incited" should be taken to mean ‘directed at' or ‘intended'.

There must be a causal connection between the advocacy of hatred based on one of the listed grounds and the harm that is caused. The weaker the proximity or causal link, the less likely it is that the expression would be deemed to be hate speech. There must be a real likelihood that the expression causes harm before it can be deemed to be hate speech.

The Commission is of the view that the Minister made the utterances in the context of an interview on challenges faced by the National Ministry of Human Settlements and specifically in responding to a question on the causes of the many squatter camps in South Africa.

It is important to note that according to the recording of the interview that the Minister specifically mentions that people in farms are being kicked out of farms by certain very, very evil farmers. Therefore considered in context, the Minister's utterances are not general and cannot be said to have been aimed at all farmers. Furthermore, that "baie van die mense wat hulle nou in plakkerskampe bevind is daar omdat baie boere miljoene swart mense van hulle plase afgejaag het" may merely be inaccurate or unsubstantiated.

Based on the context of the Minister's utterances outlined above, it is the Commission's view that whilst negative utterances or allegations, made without presenting any proof, may have the potential to be inaccurate and irresponsible, the Minister's utterances were not made with the intention to harm identifiable and or commercial farmers in general in the country.

The Commission is further of the view that the substantiation (or lack thereof) of the said utterances by the Minister would not cause the utterances to amount to a violation of any of the fundamental human rights enshrined in the Constitution.

RECOMMENDATIONS

In light of our findings, we therefore recommend that, in general, all South Africans, and in particular those in public office or in decision making positions, should refrain from making utterances or statements, and expressing opinions which have the potential to be unpalatable and/or offensive to others.

Instead these officials should use such public platforms to communicate in a manner that respects and upholds the rights of others, promotes the values of the Constitution and contributes towards the building of a nation that is united in its diversity.

I thank you.

Issued by the South African Human Rights Commission, August 25 2011

Bid to tap into bamboo

SA’s underdeveloped Eastern Cape province is hoping to add bamboo to its agricultural mix, allowing it to tap into a US$7bn international bamboo industry.

The Eastern Cape Development Corp (ECDC) and the Industrial Development Corp (IDC) have been exploring opportunities in the industry — which has been introduced successfully in a number of developing countries — and last week held a two-day symposium and exhibition in East London.

Each of the development agencies has invested about R1m in exploratory work and the IDC will soon finalise a study to identify opportunities for the role of bamboo in rural economic development , says senior project manager Bertie Strydom.

ECDC regional head Ken Bern says the bamboo project is one step in a bid to grow a number of diverse industries in the countryside with the aim of securing the participation of rural communities and bringing them, through these products, into the mainstream economy.

In the Eastern Cape, bamboo may be grown together with crops such as pineapples, hemp or flax — crops which are being promoted in an attempt to rebuild the province’s agriculture sector.

“Bamboo as an emerging crop in Africa is already turning fortunes around in countries such as Ethiopia, where leather and sugar are also contributing to rising wealth,” says Bern.

Louis de Lange, a founder of Gaia Carbon Sciences, says bamboo is a versatile non invasive crop that can help develop the agricultural sector without threatening the environment.

“It can be used in a number of applications, including renewable energy. It is fast-growing and can build large biomass stock.”

Bhargavi Motukuri, from India, introduced the symposium to the work of the International Network for Bamboo & Rattan. Established by a UN treaty, this 37-member intergovernmental body promotes global trade in the crop with the aim of helping the poor communities which grow it.

“Unlike trees, where planting to harvest takes years or even decades, bamboo provides steady income for farmers on a monthly or even weekly basis.

“It can be cut and transported by a single person, splits linearly and can be processed by hand with a knife. ”

The crop has a wide variety of uses, including construction, making all types of furniture, fittings such as window blinds, fencing, flooring, arts and crafts and charcoal production.

It is a viable alternative for all types of housing, with the costs of bamboo dwellings comparing very favourably to conventional construction.

A notable advantage of bamboo is that it can replace the use of trees as a source of wood, with environmental benefits.

In addition, it can be grown in marginal soils, uses groundwater efficiently and thrives even in drought conditions. It is a multibillion-dollar industry in China, India and Brazil.

China leads world exports with 46% of the total, followed by Indonesia with 16%.

And though studies have been carried out primarily with the Eastern Cape in mind, they have revealed that two other provinces might have even greater potential for bamboo cultivation.

Hamman Oosthuizen of Optimal Agriculture Business Systems, the lead consultants in the project, says only about 10% of SA land is suitable for rain-fed bamboo cultivation. About half of this has “marginal potential” and only 0,5% of SA land is “high potential”.

Of this high-potential land, about 80% is in KwaZulu Natal (45% or 188000ha) and Mpumalanga (35% or 148000ha). Just 10% of SA land, or less than 43000ha, is seen as having high potential for the cultivation of bamboo in the Eastern Cape, with a slightly smaller area also suitable in Limpopo.

As it stands, the cultivation of bamboo is limited in SA. Three pilot projects near Port Elizabeth, Stutterheim and Centane will be extended when the project is expanded in three or four years.

Pelo Gabaraane, director of SA Bamboo, which has been commissioned by the ECDC to manage the pilots, says 12 people have already been employed.

“We look forward to more of the local people gaining employment and skills when the project goes full scale.”

- Financial Mail

Manyi slams report on ministers’ homes

The latest attempt to focus attention on ministerial housing is a “barefaced move” to embarrass the executive, government spokesman Jimmy Manyi said on Tuesday.

He was responding to media reports that taxpayers had to fork out R183 million for 34 new VIP homes since President Jacob Zuma extended his Cabinet.

The government had indicated in 2009 that it planned to buy and upgrade housing for ministers, members of Parliament and top government officials, Manyi said in a statement.

At the time R150 million had been earmarked as planned spending on ministerial housing, in line with the government's budgetary and supply chain management process.

“Attempts to now compare the trend in austerity measures around the world today are mischievous; at the time spending allocated to ministerial housing had been developed in line with available resources and requirements.”

The increase in spending on ministerial housing was “dictated by the reconfiguration of the national executive”.

Six new Cabinet positions were created in May 2009 and 17 new deputy ministers appointed in October 2010 to ensure “maximum performance” of the executive, Manyi said.

The work and travel of ministers and deputy ministers required housing in Cape Town and Pretoria. The government paid for the official residence in one of the two cities.

“It must be reiterated that ministerial houses do not belong to the ministers and deputy ministers,” he said.

“They are only available to them during their tenure and remain assets of the state and therefore of the people of South Africa.”

Investment into these properties would also be for the use of future ministers and deputy ministers. Their security arrangements were in line with world practice.

“There is nothing wrong in ministers and deputy ministers having two residences (one paid for by the state and another by themselves) as currently regulated by the existing ministerial handbook.

“There is currently a review of the ministerial handbook which regulates benefits and privileges of members of the executive authority, and attempts to project the executive as insensitive are at best opportunistic and at worst disingenuous,” Manyi said. - Sapa

R580m inner city facelift

A huge R580 million development, including flats, parking and retail space within walking distance of Parliament, is set to change the face of the Cape Town city centre.

Investment and property development company Eurocape’s plans for the first phase include 9 900m² of retail space and parking.

The development, in Roeland Street and sections of Hope Street, includes the building housing Equal Education’s Bookery, and may have a supermarket as an anchor tenant.

This is the latest in a series of city centre developments and comes as the national Department of Public Works is demolishing eight buildings in the vicinity of Parliament to create short-term parking for parliamentary staff.

The first phase would cost more than R216m, including the land, and the cost of all phases would be R580m, said Simphiwe Mathebula, Eurocape’s sales and marketing manager.

Plans for phase one were at an advanced stage and planning approvals were in place, he said.

“Tenants for more than 40 percent of the retail space have been secured. As soon as the balance has been secured, ground breaking will commence.”

Phase two would include 100 flats for “young city workers” while the third phase could include more flats or offices.

The development was expected to be completed in 2013.

Public Works spokesman Thami Mchunu said the eight buildings around Parliament, which are being demolished at a cost of R11m, would be replaced by surface parking for parliamentary staff in the short term.

In the long term it would be an extension to the parliamentary precinct which could include offices.

In 2009 it was reported that housing for MPs also formed part of Eurocape’s plans.

Mathebula said this might be included in phase three.

Plans for MP accommodation in the precinct depended on funding and approvals, said Mchunu.

Demolition was expected to be completed in November.

The Cape Argus recently reported that a 32-storey skyscraper, which would be the city’s tallest, was also expected to be completed by the end of 2013, and would accommodate about 3 000 people.

The R1.6 billion Portside building will be between Buitengracht, Hans Strijdom Avenue and Bree and Mechau streets.

It is the biggest commercial building project in the city since Safmarine House was built in 1993.

Michael Bagraim, president of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the Eurocape and Portside developments showed “people have faith in the economy. Our city is making a comeback”.

In April the Weekend Argus reported there were plans for the regeneration of six city precincts.

Public Works and Transport MEC Robin Carlisle said at the time these were the Artscape, Somerset, Prestwich Street, Government and Garage precincts and the area around Oude Molen, which would be named the Two Rivers Urban Park.

The Artscape Precinct would involve the expansion of the Cape Town International Convention Centre and the area around the theatre, and raising the Artscape Garden to freeway level, allowing for parking underneath.

The R4.5bn project would turn the area into a 24-hour entertainment zone, with coffee shops and about 30 000m2 of retail space.

Plans for the Somerset Precinct, around Somerset Hospital, have not yet been finalised.

The plan for the Prestwich Street precinct was to link the city with the V&A Waterfront via a pedestrian route similar to the fan mile between the CBD and Green Point for the Soccer World Cup.

The Government Precinct would centre on provincial government-owned buildings such as those in Dorp Street and the provincial administration building in Wale Street. Changes would include one main entrance to government buildings beneath the arches in Keerom Street, while a high-rise is to be built on the corner of Loop and Leeuwen streets to house government departments.

The Government Precinct comprises land in the Buitenkant, Mill, Hope and Roeland street areas.

The government garage will move to the old abattoir site at Maitland, along with the ambulance depot, freeing up valuable land. Entry-level housing is part of the plan.

The urban park around Oude Molen and the Valkenberg psychiatric hospital will be the base for a hi-tech medical park.

- Cape Argus

China's buildings need to go 'green' - before it's too late

However, Li Keqiang (pronounced "Lee Ker-chang") was in the Home Counties to pay a visit to the Building Research Establishment (BRE) – a group of architects, engineers and scientists at the cutting edge of new building techniques.

Founded in 1921, BRE started off by studying the behaviour of reinforced concrete and later came up with a British standard for bricks. Today, it experiments with how to make houses out of hemp and wool, how to insulate them properly, and how to take our old buildings and make them energy efficient.

As the man about to become second-in-command of a nation that plans to build the equivalent of a new Chicago every year until 2030, Mr Li didn't have to feign interest as he inspected a zero-carbon home, a house built from recycled steel, and a converted and modernised Victorian stable block.

In the next 20 years, China plans to urbanise as many as 300m of its rural people, driving an insatiable demand for energy and materials as almost the equivalent of America's population fires up their new fridges and air-conditioners.

Fast-forward six months and BRE was signed up by the Chinese to create a £100m, 4.8m sq ft innovation park along similar lines in Beijing, together with Vanke, China's largest property developer.

The Chinese park will hopefully take BRE's research and adapt it for the skyscrapers and climate of the Chinese market, where energy savings incorporated into today's buildings can slash billions of watts off tomorrow's (mostly coal-fired) energy-generating demands.

"Britain is arguably leading the world in is architectural design, engineering, costing and integrated expertise," said Peter Bonfield, BRE chief executive. "We hope to bring demonstrations [to China] of how this can work. I think that will lead the charge so there will be more procurement from Chinese companies and the Chinese government."

China is currently juggling drought, crippling power outages and the world's highest carbon emissions. The country's government is painfully aware that buildings account for a quarter of China's energy use and has pushed hard for developers to spend time thinking about water, energy and carbon savings.

The "green building" industry could eventually be worth 1.5 trillion yuan (£144bn) according to Qiu Baoxing, the vice minister of the Housing and Urban-Rural Development ministry.

The new five-year plan explicitly names green building as one way of meeting the binding target of reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 16pc and 17pc respectively by 2015. And while there are no prescriptive measures on how builders should act, architects said the plan had provided a framework to work around.

"It represents a direction that can be translated into action here on the ground," said Mark Harrison, the Beijing urban planning director of the Epsom-based architectural design firm Atkins.

Already, Chinese buildings are being retro-fitted with better windows and heating systems, and the number of buildings certified with badges of sustainability, such as LEED and BREEAM, are rising rapidly.

The first LEED certification was awarded in China in 2005. By 2009 more than 100 projects had applied for some kind of green rating. Now that number is approaching 400, which largely consists of government buildings, museums and high-end hotels.
But considering there are 21bn square feet of new buildings going up every year, equivalent to 150,000 eight-storey buildings, there is a long way to go.

One major challenge is China's huge range of climates, which make it difficult to roll out a national standard building regulation.

Another is the focus among developers on quick profits over long-term sustainability.
"Most architects don't know how to calculate energy use, they just build buildings like boxes," said Zhu Yingxin, vice-dean of Tsinghua University's Department of Building Science. "We can use computer simulations to calculate energy beforehand, but it's time-consuming work and many developers only want to pay for what they can see."

"There's a lot of opportunity for dilution and reinterpretation between the top level and what happens locally," said Chris Twinn, Shanghai director of sustainability at the London-based design and engineering consultation Arup. "There's a certain desire on the part of developers to give a good [green] impression when they're trying to seek land use changes, but in reality they may not be taking it all the way through."

Developers still commonly believe sustainable construction means simply tacking on green components, which alone can cost 10pc to 40pc more than traditional building materials.
But when integrated intelligently from the start, utilities savings quickly cancel out the extra costs. Total upfront costs sometimes even dip below the price of traditional buildings.

China's first LEED-certified green building in Beijing uses 74pc less energy and 64pc less water than average office buildings in the neighbourhood. And, most importantly, its upfront building costs were also 5pc lower.

"There are a lot of trade-offs involved," said Barbara Finamore, China programme director for the Natural Resources Defence Council. "You pay more for the windows, for example, and your insulation is better. Therefore you don't need to spend as much on the heating and ventilation system."

Alan Kell, managing director of the UK-China Eco-cities & Green Building Group, which promotes building cooperation between the two countries, said this is where UK companies are well-positioned to help China.

"It's not easy to deliver green anywhere in the world," he said. "But in China because of the limitations on skills, products and standard practice, the whole integration of systems into buildings is still an area with a lot to be done where British engineering and design is very much leading the way."

Mr Kell's group has partnered with UK Trade & Investment and the Chinese government to bring in more than 140 British investors, law firms and construction companies to initiate pilot eco-cities across China.

The plan is to gradually incorporate sustainable habits in cities of 500,000 to 1m people through green building projects combined with clean transportation and energy production.
It's one of the first stages in a larger goal the Chinese government has to build 300 eco-cities across China over the next 25 years - an undertaking China has invited the UK to be a strategic partner in.

Project organisers estimate, based on UN Environmental Council reports, that if the full 300 city scale is reached, it would save 600m to 2.4bn tonnes of carbon emissions – 1.8pc to 7.2pc of the world's 2010 total.

Steve O'Leary, director of infrastructure and low carbon at UK Trade & Investment, said sustainable buildings' prospects are promising for foreign enterprises.
"The city expansion, the rate of movement from the rural to the urban economy is gigantic; the number of developments is gigantic," he said. "Nobody has the market sewn up. In the domestic market, Vanke turns out ludicrous numbers of houses and it has only 4pc of the market."

The London-based architectural firm Benoy entered the Chinese market in 2001 and derives more than 40pc of its global revenue there.
Stricter regulations on residential real estate investment stemming from fears of a housing bubble have led many investors to the commercial and mixed-use facilities Benoy specialises in.

Trevor Vivian, a director at Benoy, said that in spite of a lot of lip service to sustainable building over the years, increased awareness and commitments are starting to take hold among developers, government officials and even tenants. "They understand it more," he said. They know what it's going to cost and what the advantages are."

This understanding, he said, is a matter of survival. "Let's face it, in sustainability terms, unless we can help China change direction the whole planet is screwed."

- The Telegraph

Tyres burn in homes spat

Backyarders in Makhaza have been scattering rubbish and burning tyres on busy Lansdowne road every evening for the past week in protest over their exclusion from a housing project in the area.

Hundreds of backyarders from Sections 41 and 42 are outraged over residents in an informal settlement in K-Section being allocated houses in the proposed Nonqubela Housing project to take place on land identified in K-Section.

The backyarders say the 163 houses to be built in the Nonqubela project are supposed to be for them, but the previous ward councillor, Tobile Ludidi, sold them out by allocating the houses to residents of the K-Section informal settlement.

The continuing protest was sparked on Monday last week when people squatting on vacant land in K-Section were moved off the site in order to make way for the construction of the RDP houses. Backyarders said there wouldn’t be a project until they were put back on the Nonqubela housing list.

Protesting backyarder Masibulele Mpompo said he had been living in a shack behind his parents’ house for 19 years and there were three other shacks in the yard.

“We can’t live like this. The city needs to build us houses. How can they take people from other areas and build them houses in our area. What about us?” said Mpompo.

The city called a halt to the housing project after protests began last week.

Angry backyarders, who did not want to be named, said they would prevent any housing project taking place until the proposed houses were allocated to them.

The backyarders claim when they first heard the proposed houses would be allocated to other people in 2009 they reported the matter to housing MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela, who promised to investigate.

“Till now, we don’t know what he found. They can’t take people from other areas and give them houses while we are waiting.”

But on Saturday, the K-Section informal settlers now in line to benefit from the housing project, launched their own protest. They blamed present ward councillor Danile Khatshwa for siding with the backyarders, as he also lived in a backyard.

About 150 K-Section residents have been taking to the streets surrounding K-Section since Saturday, demanding Khatshwa provides them with answers.

A housing beneficiary from K-Section, Mzothando Skwasha, 45, said everyone was given a chance to register for a house and backyarders were “busy with politics”.

“People are living with fear because of them. We don’t know what they’re up to. Every night they have meetings and throw rubbish in the streets,” said Skwasha.

K-Section community leader Thamsanqa Kondile said Khatshwa was siding with the backyarders.

“Ever since the backyarders started to protest he’s been behind them. He doesn’t care for us.”

He said it was Khatshwa’s fault that construction at the housing project had been halted when the backyarders began their protests last week.

“We want to know why he is choosing sides. We will protest until the project is back on track,” said Kondile.

Khatshwa said he was aware of both protests. He said he met with the backyarders on Monday last week and the only reason he hadn’t yet met with the K-Section informal settlers was because they threatened to beat him up.

He said he needed to organise police protection before he could attend their meetings.

Cape Town human settlements mayoral committee member Ernest Sonnenberg said the aim of the Nonqubela Housing Project was to “eradicate the informal settlements in K-Section”.

Sonnenberg said due to the large number of people in the informal settlement, not all of them could be accommodated in the housing project and the city, together with the province, was “in consultation” with community leadership to resolve the issue.

– West Cape News

Tyres burn in homes spat

Backyarders in Makhaza have been scattering rubbish and burning tyres on busy Lansdowne road every evening for the past week in protest over their exclusion from a housing project in the area.

Hundreds of backyarders from Sections 41 and 42 are outraged over residents in an informal settlement in K-Section being allocated houses in the proposed Nonqubela Housing project to take place on land identified in K-Section.

The backyarders say the 163 houses to be built in the Nonqubela project are supposed to be for them, but the previous ward councillor, Tobile Ludidi, sold them out by allocating the houses to residents of the K-Section informal settlement.

The continuing protest was sparked on Monday last week when people squatting on vacant land in K-Section were moved off the site in order to make way for the construction of the RDP houses. Backyarders said there wouldn’t be a project until they were put back on the Nonqubela housing list.

Protesting backyarder Masibulele Mpompo said he had been living in a shack behind his parents’ house for 19 years and there were three other shacks in the yard.

“We can’t live like this. The city needs to build us houses. How can they take people from other areas and build them houses in our area. What about us?” said Mpompo.

The city called a halt to the housing project after protests began last week.

Angry backyarders, who did not want to be named, said they would prevent any housing project taking place until the proposed houses were allocated to them.

The backyarders claim when they first heard the proposed houses would be allocated to other people in 2009 they reported the matter to housing MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela, who promised to investigate.

“Till now, we don’t know what he found. They can’t take people from other areas and give them houses while we are waiting.”

But on Saturday, the K-Section informal settlers now in line to benefit from the housing project, launched their own protest. They blamed present ward councillor Danile Khatshwa for siding with the backyarders, as he also lived in a backyard.

About 150 K-Section residents have been taking to the streets surrounding K-Section since Saturday, demanding Khatshwa provides them with answers.

A housing beneficiary from K-Section, Mzothando Skwasha, 45, said everyone was given a chance to register for a house and backyarders were “busy with politics”.

“People are living with fear because of them. We don’t know what they’re up to. Every night they have meetings and throw rubbish in the streets,” said Skwasha.

K-Section community leader Thamsanqa Kondile said Khatshwa was siding with the backyarders.

“Ever since the backyarders started to protest he’s been behind them. He doesn’t care for us.”

He said it was Khatshwa’s fault that construction at the housing project had been halted when the backyarders began their protests last week.

“We want to know why he is choosing sides. We will protest until the project is back on track,” said Kondile.

Khatshwa said he was aware of both protests. He said he met with the backyarders on Monday last week and the only reason he hadn’t yet met with the K-Section informal settlers was because they threatened to beat him up.

He said he needed to organise police protection before he could attend their meetings.

Cape Town human settlements mayoral committee member Ernest Sonnenberg said the aim of the Nonqubela Housing Project was to “eradicate the informal settlements in K-Section”.

Sonnenberg said due to the large number of people in the informal settlement, not all of them could be accommodated in the housing project and the city, together with the province, was “in consultation” with community leadership to resolve the issue.

– West Cape News

Mamma Winnie to the rescue

ANC stalwart Winnie Madikizela-Mandela will lead a government task team to advise on the eradication of informal settlements, Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale said on Thursday.

Sexwale said the formal announcement and the team that would help her would be made known next week.

Madikizela-Mandela and Sexwale visited a women’s building project in Brandfort in the Free State as part of Women’s Month.

It was expected the team would look at all aspects of housing development, including sanitation.

“She will help us develop informal settlements because we cannot solve it without the Winnie Madikizela-Mandela motherly heart,” Sexwale told hundreds of people gathered in Brandfort.

Earlier, he said the country had 2 450 informal settlements and only a woman with a “motherly heart” could help change “prisons” into homes.

“Many houses are still prisons,” he said.

Madikizela-Mandela was kept under house arrest by the apartheid government in Brandfort in the late 1970s.

The provincial government intended turning that house into a museum.

102-year-old gets own home

Before addressing the gathering, Sexwale, Madikizela-Mandela and Free State premier Ace Magashule were driven around in the township from building site to building site, where they helped and talked to the new house owners.

Dressed in blue overalls and purple hard hats, the minister and premier led a government delegation through the Majwemasweu settlement and even tried painting an outside wall.

The government was building 100 houses in Brandfort, of which women were helping to build 55.

Magashule handed title deeds to various women on whose land a new house was being erected.

Sexwale said Madikizela-Mandela’s presence in Brandfort would give people hope that “someday you will be out of a shack”.

The minister said one of those that received her own house was a 102-year-old woman.

“What a shame to be 102 years old and not have a house,” he told the crowd later.

At one of the building sites visited, Selina Motsatsa, 55, was excited to see Sexwale and Madikizela-Mandela visiting a homeowner across the street.

“So bly, dit voel lekker [So glad, it feels nice]."

'Everybody is glad'

Two other women with her, Lidia Jackson, 53, and Amelia Moholo, 56, were also in high spirits.

“Brandfort is now big with Madikizela-Mandela. Here the houses are beautiful,” said a smiling Moholo.

All three women had a young child on their backs under a blanket, with one of their grandchildren sitting at their feet.

“Everybody is glad,” said Jackson, waving at the small crowd of officials squeezed into the yard across the road.

The women’s building project was an annual initiative to commemorate the 1956 women's march to the Union Building against apartheid pass laws. (News24)

Screams heard as house burns

Neighbours who desperately tried to battle the flames as a house at the Sweet Home Farm settlement burnt down could hear children inside scream and bang on the house’s door.

But their efforts early yesterday morning came to nothing, as resident Gadija Blankenberg, 46, her two young children of 10 and 12 and her seven-year-old grandson burnt to death in their home.

Neighbours said they had noticed the fire at Blankenberg’s home at about 2am yesterday and had called other neighbours to help fight the blaze.

While fighting the flames, neighbours heard the screams of Blankenberg’s two children, Riedewaan and Aysha Blankenberg and her grandson, Mansoer Blankenberg.

“We heard the children screaming and banging against the door but we couldn’t help them because the door was locked with a chain and lock,” said Lindelwa Kofi, Blankenberg’s neighbour.

Police have opened an inquest docket to investigate the incident. - Cape Argus

‘More can be done to prevent shack fires’

Cape Town's Fire and Rescue Service on Tuesday said more could be done to prevent shack fires in the Western Cape.

This came after four people, including two children, died in a shack fire in Philippi on Monday.

This brings the shack fire death toll to 54 this year.

Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service's Theo Layne said various campaigns have been put in place to educate people about the dangers of shack fires.

“We go out to the various departments, schools, old age homes and hospitals,” he said.

- Eyewitnessnews

More children die in shack fires

A second shack fire in as little as two weeks claimed the lives of three people on Saturday in the Masiphumelele informal settlement near Kommetjie.

Both parents and a child died in the weekend blaze, bringing to five the number of children who have died in shack fires in the past two weeks.

Last week another deadly fire claimed the lives of four siblings in Makhaza, Khayelitsha. Sesona, 2, Nthabiseng, 7, Masithembe, 11, and Tebego Matewu, 15, died in the blaze that engulfed their home. Only the children’s mother, Bulelwa Matewu, survived the deadly fire.

The children’s father, Maxwell Matewa, who was not home when the fire broke out, found it very difficult to utter a word.

“I’m in shock and do not have any words to explain how I feel. I have lost four of my children. I loved all of them very much,” he said.

Two of Matewa’s children were not at home during the fire.

WO November Filander, a provincial police spokesperson, said police were still unsure what caused the fire at the house.

According to the police, the latest fire in the Masiphumelele informal settlement broke out on Saturday evening. The family, who were trapped by the fire inside their shack, died.

Col André Traut said: “The cause of the fire is yet to be established.”

About three months ago another fire in the same informal settlement also took the lives of two people and left thousands of people homeless.

It was believed that particular fire was started by an electrical fault in a brick house near the shacks.

Kylie Hatton, a spokesperson for the City of Cape Town, said they had provided the displaced families with building material, blankets and food.

“We have also done a lot of educational programmes around the dangers of candles and paraffin.”

Earlier this year, a two-year-old child died in a shack fire in Paarl.

- newage

R2K and AEC Western Cape Statement

The residents of Newfields Village are still waiting for Minister of Human Settlements Tokyo Sexwale to respond to their demand for access to an audit of the low-cost housing provided by the controversial Cape Town Community Housing Company (CTCHC).

The Auditor-General conducted a preliminary investigation of houses provided by the CTCHC in November 2010, following years of residents’ complaints of the shoddy quality of houses and mismanagement of funds.

On 24 May 2011, residents of Newfields Village approached the National Department of Human Settlements to make a formal demand for access to the audit in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA). When the Minister failed to respond within the 30-day period stipulated in the Act, our attorney submitted a Notice of Internal to Minister Sexwale for a response within an additional 30 days.

The legal deadline for Minister Sexwale is Monday 15 August 2011.

(Read the background to R2K's demand for information from the Department of Human Settlements here and here. This report in the Sowetan details the auditor-general's inspection of CTCHC houses.)

The residents of Newfields Village have struggled for over ten years to fulfill their right to adequate housing – a struggle that has been hampered at every corner by lack of transparency and lack of access to information from officials at every level of government.

At the same time that the community of Newfields Village is mobilising against the Protection of Information Bill in Parliament, the community’s struggle for adequate housing is equally mired by the existing climate of secrecy in South Africa.

As communities of the Right2Know campaign, we call on Minister Sexwale to release this report now!

For comment please contact:
Gary Hartzenberg (Newfields Village CRC Chairperson): 072 392 5859
Nkwame Cedile (R2K Western Cape coordinator): 078 227 6008

Act on toilet saga instead of making flushing sounds

The headline "Tokyo out for blood over toilets for sale" on July 13 required action on the part of Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale.

One still has to see whether his angry reaction to the situation is just ANC embarrassment, or party commitment to eradicate corruption.

Why the sudden burst of outrage?

Corruption is such a well-known feature of this government's projects that enables the well-connected and powerful to cream off their share.

Sexwale must now prove his commitment to fighting corruption by ensuring that the guilty are dealt with severely, not "redeployed".

It is to this country's great financial loss that there is massive hypocrisy within the ruling party, because it does not deal decisively with its crooked but loyal cadres.

The people in the lower rung simply watch and copy those at the higher level.

They observe how their seniors get away with perhaps more subtle corruption practices.

Even worse, they witness how the ruling party's funds benefit from "commissions" from those who are awarded large state contracts.

While this practice continues, the ANC and the government will never win against the entrenched and spreading corruption within its ranks.

Note how the government covered up the arms deal scandal and how any investigation into a prominent ANC cadre is drawn out and is usually swept under the carpet.

The latest trend in the ANC is for leading figures to make politically appropriate sounds about fighting corruption.

If Sexwale wants to convince us of his deep commitment to fight corruption, let him now campaign openly to stop the practice of redeploying corrupt persons into other jobs.

What about Sexwale supporting an unfettered inquiry (without intimidation) into the arms deal scandal and that of the SAPS headquarters deal, for a start?

Then we may begin to believe there is still some integrity in the cabinet, and that they are not just a bunch of ja broers, as is observed in the arms deal scandal.

- timeslive

Calls for serviced land close to city to house poor

Shack dwellers and housing NGOs have dismissed sentiments expressed by Human Settlement MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela that affordable housing would provide a lasting solution for the province's housing needs.

Madikizela made the statement during an Affordable Housing Development, Human Settlement and Finance Summit in Durban recently.

DAG CEO Kailash Bhana said residents earning between R3 500 and R12 500 a month could be accommodated through the formal housing market by approaching banks to facilitate loans.

"This strategy will free up government to focus on the poor who are unable to access housing without state assistance in the form of subsidies," argued Bhana.

She noted that single residential accommodation for urban living was more expensive to provide than row housing, semi-detached housing or three-storey walk-ups.

"The designs do not make efficient use of the land available and the high cost of extending infrastructure, roads and services to areas located on the periphery should also be taken into account," she said.

She added that the location of many of Cape Town's 222 informal settlements offered residents access to job opportunities, transport, health and education facilities

Bhana called on Madikizela to release "well-located public and private serviced land for housing families earning below R3 500".

"These parcels of land could be used for mixed income and mixed-use development.

"Well located infill land in established communities can be utilised to provide mediumdensity, public rental accommodation and also limit the sprawl of cities, contributing to greater sustainability," she said.

One of the leaders at Symphony Way Pavement Dwellers, Tilla Groepe, was cynical of Madikizela's statement and alleged that corruption was the root cause of Cape Town's housing problems.

Khaya Xintolo of the Mandela Park Backyarders' Association said affordable housing would not provide a lasting solution to Cape Town's housing problems because the majority of the population earned below R3 500.

Meanwhile, Madikizela's spokesman Bruce Oom maintained that the department would continue providing subsidised housing to the poor, but that it was looking for a solution to the housing needs of residents who could pay for rates and services.

- Cape Times

One injured in Grabouw protest

A woman was injured during service delivery protests in Grabouw in the Western Cape on Wednesday, police said.

A rubber bullet hit the 19-year-old woman in the eye, Warrant Officer November Filander said.

“Rubber bullets were fired at the crowd after they started throwing stones at police,” said Filander.

He said the group dispersed at midday after community leaders spoke to them.

No police officers were injured, but police vehicles were damaged. A case of illegal gathering and public violence was opened.

No arrests had been made. -Sapa

The squat with a view

A group of vagrants are enjoying one of South Africa"s best views after invading a R12-million mansion in Camps Bay in Cape Town.

And they"re not alone. At least a dozen other empty multimillion-rand homes have been taken over by squatters in the area.

The six-bedroom mansion, in Victoria Road, has been stripped of windows and fittings, and the walls have been blackened by the squatters" fires.

The homeless moved in while the owners of the property and the city battled over plans to demolish the house.

"Resident" Smiley Bonfus, 40, a homeless man from Burundi, this week said he had recently summoned the police to chase off a fellow squatter - who had built fires so large that the fire brigade had to be called in.

"You cannot just have any guy staying in this nice place," Bonfus said.

Byron Herbert, owner of Herbert Properties in Camps Bay, said the price of similar properties in the neighbourhood ranged from R10- to R35-million.

Gavin Oliver, head of Cape Town"s Problem Buildings Unit, said other luxury homes taken over by squatters included two in up-market Bishopscourt, one overlooking Fourth Beach in Clifton, and a total of four in Gordon"s Bay and Somerset West.

Oliver said the unit had "cleaned up" almost 40 buildings declared health hazards or drug dens since November, and had evicted illegal squatters from 93 flats in the Senator Park block last month.

He said the Victoria Road house "is a health risk and is rodent infested", and the city would issue its owners with a notice demanding that they "clean up this mess" or face having the property attached.

Herbert said that, had the house been in good condition, Bonfus would have been expected to pay up to R5000 a day for the flat he uses in the house.

Instead, baths, geysers and the plumbing have been stolen, the floors covered with sand and rubbish, and the walls adorned with religious-themed graffiti.

Herbert said: "That property has been an ongoing battle between the ratepayers" association, the owners, SAPS and the city council."

The house was bought five years ago for R8.3-million by a group of partners including Johannesburg businessman Khalil Sayed.

The businessman has blamed the problems on the authorities "for needlessly holding up our (development) plans".

He wants to demolish the house and build luxury apartments in its place.

He said the house was invaded after security systems "fell into neglect" - and admitted the neighbours had complained.

"The property is an eyesore, so I sympathise with ratepayers there - but really, this is the city"s doing," he said.

"We are prepared to assist the city in getting these people out. We have contracted South Africa"s top architect for our development and we want to get going with it."

However, Oliver said the owners were trying to make their problems the city"s: "It"s entirely the owner"s responsibility."

Bonfus, who works occasionally as a car guard, lives in the mansion"s flat with his wife, Julie de Leeuw, 36, and her 18-year-old son.

He said: "No one was here so I am helping myself. If I want the toilet I go in the bushes by the beach. I like the view."

Bonfus said, however, he would move out if he was instructed to do so. "I know this is not my place."

By contrast, the city has had to go to court to evict squatters who have taken over an eight-bedroom home in Maclear Road, Bishopscourt.

Oliver said the house had become "a drug den, with suspected stolen vehicles on site", and that residents had 60 days to vacate the premises.

A generator could be heard running at the house this week as squatters peered at Oliver"s team. They refused to open the gate.

Less than 1km down the road, vagrants have moved into an unfinished suburban home which was abandoned when developers ran out of money.

House rules like "pour water after using toilet (sic)" are scribbled on the walls, while one bedroom contains a TV and DVD player, a hi-fi and an illegal electricity connection.

Oliver said: "Vagrants first visit a few times to make sure a house is not occupied. Then everything of value is stolen and then people move in. Owners must be responsible for maintaining their own properties."

- timeslive

Rain, cold weather hit Khayelitsha

Several homes in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, have been flooded - affecting about 100 people - during the heavy rain and cold weather conditions since Wednesday, the city said on Friday.

“The city's disaster response teams assisted affected residents by providing warm meals, plastic sheets, and blankets on Wednesday night,” spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said in a statement.

“We will conduct damage assessments throughout the day to assist people in distress,” he said.

The Cape Peninsula was experiencing very cold weather with gale-force and gusting winds.

“There has been rough sea conditions along the Cape coastline, and heavy rains.

“Snowfalls on the high ground of the Western and Northern Cape resulted in temperatures dropping to below 10 degrees Celsius,” Solomons-Johannes said.

And in the Eastern Cape, the Port Elizabeth weather office's Hugh van Niekerk said the easterly parts of the city had received most of the significant rainfall with mainly Uitenhage and the Coega Industrial Development Zone affected.

“Disaster management officials were scouting various parts of the Nelson Mandela Bay metro to identify and relieve families in need,” he said. - Sapa

Police disperse residents protesting over electricity

POLICE fired rubber bullets to disperse a group of protesters in Delft yesterday who were demanding electricity for their new subsidised houses in the N2 Gateway.

About 50 residents burnt tyres in front of the Housing Development Agency’s (HDA) office before smashing its windows. The residents said they had been waiting for electricity since December, when they first moved into their houses.

“This is the eighth month that we’ve been without lights,” resident Kenneth Nielsen said, adding that he spent R600 of his pension on rent, candles and cooking gas.

“What then do I get from my pension? How am I supposed to live?”

Another resident, Thabiso Mapalane, said without electricity their area was not safe.

A member of the SAPS fires rubber bullets at the fleeing crowd of the N2 Gateway residents in Delft. Photo: Brenton Geach

INLSA

There had been six murders in the past three weeks, he said.

“This area is close to a dark forest which presents criminals with a hiding place.”

Mapalane added that some houses had been burgled while a house was set alight when a burning candle had fallen over.

N2 Gateway Area Committee leader Brian Macaba said when they had moved into the new houses, HDA promised them that the area would have electricity by January.

“However, Eskom didn’t do the work and the developers later promised us that they would electrify the area in April,” Macaba said.

The residents said that, after nothing had happened in April, they were told they would have electricity in June, but that had not transpired.

On June 20, Eskom wrote to the community to say that the electrification process would start at the beginning of this month.

According to a copy of the letter, Eskom assured the community that it was committed to delivering electricity to the area.

“As per our discussions (at the) Friday meeting (which was) held on site, Eskom wants to apologise for the delay in electrifying the area.

“Please be advised that Eskom promises to be on site beginning of August 2011 to start electrification,” the letter read in part.

Eskom spokeswoman Jolene Henn denied that Eskom was behind schedule.

She said she did not know why the residents had taken to the streets without informing them.

“Eskom is currently on site as per the communicated construction date, which is August 1, 2011,” Henn said.

She added that the site was handed over to the Eskom contractor on Monday in the presence of community leaders as well as the councillor’s representatives for the Delft Symphony Precincts 1 and 2.

Residents, however, have denied this and say no work has been done by Eskom or its contractor this week.

- Cape Times

Malema backs out of R3,5m farm deal

ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema has allegedly backed out on a deal to buy a R3,5m farm near Polokwane, in Limpopo, the Beeld newspaper reported on Saturday.

“I believe it is because of all the rumours (of his secret trust),” Dries Kotzé, the owner of the farm reportedly told the newspaper.

He said that Malema had cancelled the purchase earlier this week.

Malema had already allegedly paid a R800 000 deposit on the 139 hectare farm.

Kotzé said Malema made an offer for R1.5 million for the farm four months ago, but he had refused to sell below his asking price.

Kotzé's neighbours said the transaction was still happening and that the news of Malema backing out was only a way to try and deceive the media.

ANCYL spokesman Floyd Shivambu when contacted by Sapa refused to comment on the alleged sale.

“Do not bother us with stuff like this, we will only comment on political issues,” he said.

The City Press, last weekend published a report on a secret family trust, that Malema had allegedly used to finance his lavish lifestyle.

According to the newspaper, the Ratanang Family Trust was registered at the Office of the Master of the High Court in Pretoria in 2008, just weeks after Malema was first elected president of the youth league.

Opposition political parties have also called on the SA Revenue Services to investigate his wealth, claiming it is not compatible with his reported R25,000 a month salary.

- Sapa

Swaziland loan a 'handout from a sugar daddy'

President Jacob Zuma and the African National Congress (ANC) appear to be conflicted over personal and business ties in relation to the controversial R2.4-billion bailout offered to Swaziland's King Mswati III, which was announced this week.

It is well known that the ANC's investment vehicle, Chancellor House Holdings (CHH), holds a 75% stake in the Maloma Colliery, an anthracite mine in the poverty-stricken country.

A Chancellor House-led consortium paid a reported R25-million for the stake, which was purchased from Xstrata in May 2010.

Now the Mail & Guardian has established that:

The other 25% is held not by the Swazi government but by Tibiyo Taka Ngwane, the billion-rand trust that is effectively controlled personally by Mswati.

Sibusisiwe Mngomezulu, described in correspondence about the Maloma deal as the "finance and business development executive" of Chancellor House, is the brother of one of Mswati's wives, Sibonelo Mngomezulu. Sibusisiwe previously also served as a director of Tibiyo Insurance Brokers, a subsidiary of the trust.

Company registration records show that Sibusisiwe is a director of two other South African companies with Bongani Mahlalela, the ANC's chief financial officer.

Internal documents on the purchase of the Maloma mine, which also involved Nehawu Investment Company, show that Chancellor House was the entity with influence in the kingdom. A draft agreement records that Chancellor House will ensure Tibiyo Taka Ngwane is "agreeable to the propositions put to them". Key to the success of the mine is the expansion of mining rights to adjacent areas, which will extend its life.

According to the document, Chancellor House is also committed "to identify other assets in Swaziland, in particular, to use best efforts in ensuring that once the St Phillips asset is acquired it shall be contributed into the Consortium in order to offset CHH's part of the debt". St Phillips is understood to be another mining property.

The mining royalty, set at 3%, flows to Tibiyo Taka Ngwane.

The Maloma transaction had a number of odd features. The mine, which supplies anthracite to Xstrata's ferrochrome operations and Richards Bay Minerals, appeared to be making losses. The seller, Xstrata, disclosed Maloma had an assessed tax loss of R198-million and a "non-interest-bearing loan account liability" to Xstrata of R192-million.

Despite this, it appears the buyers were talking of raising loans that wildly overvalued the purchase. One document states: "The parties … have to raise the amount of R500-million or such other amount as represents the fair enterprise value of the target company."

ANC treasurer general Mathews Phosa has also served as a special adviser to the Swazi government on the country's Millennium Project. This is highly controversial, given that its centrepiece was the construction of the Sikhupe International Airport, which critics say Swaziland does not need and cannot afford.

As for Zuma's Swazi connections, in 2002 he was officially engaged to Sebentile Dlamini, one of Mswati's nieces. He paid a part of the lobola, the negotiations for which were handled by KwaZulu-Natal Premier Zweli Mkhize, who was the provincial health minister at the time. Zuma was reportedly introduced to Sebentile by his former financial adviser, Schabir Shaik.

Sebentile is a daughter of the late Swazi prince Phiwokwakhe Dlamini, who served as both health and labour minister and sat on Mswati's panel of advisers. He died in January 2004 in Durban.

Sour engagement

The engagement seems to have been soured politically by Shaik's arrest and trial, although the Swazi press reported that Sebentile was distressed when Zuma married again in 2008 and 2010 despite her long engagement to him.

Zuma was in and out of Swaziland in the 1980s, when the country was a key frontline state. His mentor, Moses Mabhida, was close to Mswati's father, Sobhuza. And, during his rape trial senior Swazi prince Mfanasibili Dlamini spoke out publicly in support of him.

More broadly, there are close ties between the Swazi royal family and the Zulu monarchy, to which Zuma is now close. Princess Mantfombi, Mswati's sister, is Zulu king Goodwill Zwelithini's first wife.

The negotiations around South Africa’s loan to Swaziland have been conducted in great secrecy, with direct talks between Zuma and Mswati playing a central role.

Presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj has repeatedly referred questions about the meeting to South Africa's international relations department, which, in turn, has referred reporters to Maharaj.

The department of treasury and finance failed to respond to specific questions about whether Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was involved in or consulted about such meetings. Mswati announced on Tuesday that the loan had been concluded, clearly catching Gordhan by surprise. He was forced to convene a press conference to explain the terms of the R2.4-billion package.

Strikingly, there are limited requirements for democratic reforms attached to the loan, something Swazi activists have been demanding because Mswati is effectively still an absolute monarch.

Swaziland Solidarity Network spokesperson Lucky Lukhele slammed Zuma, saying: "He has decided to postpone the democratisation of Swaziland. This is not a bailout, it is a handout from a sugar daddy."

And you, Roux?

Controversial property tycoon Roux Shabangu, who first claimed and then denied a relationship with Zuma, emerged as a significant player in Swaziland in 2009. In October that year the Swazi Observer, which is owned by Tibyo Taka Ngwane, announced that Shabangu's consortium would invest R1.5-billion in a shopping and office park development in the capital, Mbabane.

It later emerged that Shabangu would be given three pieces of state-owned land for the development; in exchange he would construct a new office building for the municipality.

Shabangu also emerged that year as the buyer of 50% of Swaziland's dormant Dvokolwako diamond mine, in which Mswati's trust holds the remaining 50%. This set off a flurry of efforts by Swaziland to secure the Kimberley Process certification for Swazi diamonds, which was granted earlier this year.

Meanwhile, this week Maharaj moved to distance Zuma from Shabangu in the wake of damning reports by the public protector on the police leases that Shabangu's company concluded with the public works department.

In a statement Maharaj referred to the "urban legend" that Zuma removed Geoff Doidge as public works minister in October last year and appointed Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde to replace him "for the sole purpose of getting her to approve the leases, which Doidge had apparently dodged".

"This is all based on a rumour that Roux Shabangu, owner of the buildings, is supposedly a friend of the president. The rumours are without foundation ... The president barely knows Shabangu and any statement to the contrary is false.

"There is also no link between the release of Doidge and the appointment of Mahlangu-Nkabinde to the public works portfolio."

Meanwhile, Shabangu also has an indirect connection with Phosa, who is a director of the controversial LagoonBay Lifestyle Estate project near George. On his website Shabangu claims the LagoonBay development as one of his projects.

While the ANC had controlled the Western Cape, the provincial government did its best to push through approval for the project, despite significant environmental concerns and opposition.

The decision was reversed when the Democratic Alliance took over and the project is still in limbo.

From Mail & Guardian

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