RDP housing breeds poverty, says Makhura

Over 2 million state-subsidised houses, popularly known as "RDPs", built since 1994 "are nothing but incubators of poverty".

That is the view of Gauteng Premier David Makhura, who was speaking at the launch of a giant provincial housing project in Illovo, northern Johannesburg, yesterday.

Makhura blamed the collapse of planning at all levels of the government for the state's haphazard approach to housing in the past 20 years.

"We've had a virtual collapse of planning. Municipalities say they are planning with [environmental impact assessments] but they are just wasting time," said Makhura.

"Serious planning will stop private-sector, municipal and provincial projects that are not desirable. We are breaking away from the old mode of development of small projects and [will]develop large-scale projects of no less than 15000 units."

Makhura said his administration would deliver 700000 houses in four years, relying on funding of R11.2-billion annually - R6-billion from the Gauteng department of human settlements, R5-billion from the Urban Settlement Development Grant to Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni, and a R200-million grant from the government.

Gauteng, he said, would research the possibility of providing serviced stands to individuals, allowing them to build their own houses.

"We are doing away with poverty-stricken human settlements in which the day [after taking possession of a house] people have nowhere to go. What's called 'RDP houses' is a bad dream. There are no trees, no proper infrastructure and no integration," he said.

Makhura said old-style development was concerned with increasing the number of houses built, with little regard to efficient use of land and sustainable economic activity.

He said that one of the problems with the old approach was that the government built houses without knowing exactly for whom they were intended.

"We have been building houses without properly knowing whom we were building for. We want to make sure that when we build these houses the ownership is beyond dispute."

In place of the "poverty-stricken human settlements" "mega housing projects" will establish residential areas of from 15000 to 60000 units, complete with amenities such as schools, parks, health facilities, infrastructure and "light industry".

Although private developers are being encouraged to take part - 43 companies pledged their support for the projects yesterday - approval of their plans will depend on whether they cater for low-cost housing.

Makhura promised the private sector that all environmental impact assessments would be approved in three months.

- TimesLive