Zille ambushed with housing woes

Western Cape Premier Helen Zille has assured Blikkiesdorp residents housing allocation in the province will be transparent.

She added people living in the temporary relocation area near Delft should not expect to get homes when they demanded.

Zille was under the impression her visit was to discuss education but residents ambushed her with questions on housing.

Residents said they felt they had been dumped and forgotten in Blikkiesdorp.

Zille assured them she would investigate the housing waiting list to provide the residents with answers. - Eyewitness News

Low cost housing company sues government over slow payments

Sea Kay Holdings has turned to the courts for assistance because of slow and delayed government payments. (from IOL)

A multimillion-rand claim for payment has already been lodged by the Sea Kay-led Ibuyile Development Consortium in the Western Cape High Court against the government for work undertaken in the N2 Gateway project.

Gerry Holtzhausen, an executive director of the listed affordable mass housing construction company, said yesterday that documents were also being prepared for a claim of up to R100 million related to 14 housing projects in Gauteng. It is expected to be lodged at the South Gauteng High Court by next week.

Holtzhausen said Sea Kay's board had to resort to court action in terms of its fiduciary duty to shareholders.

"It's a good business if only government paid," he said.

Sea Kay has also requested an urgent meeting with Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale in an attempt to resolve the disputes outside court.

Holtzhausen said an expert that it had appointed to assess its N2 Gateway project claim had arrived at an amount of just over R133m, including interest, that was claimable.

There had been a response to its Western Cape court action involving a proposed mediation process to prove its two-year-old claim. A settlement was the key to unlocking the door to it resuming work on the project.

Ministry of Human Settlements prefer Hotels

Tokyo Sexwale's ministry of human settlements spent an average of R72,000 a day over 103 days on wining, dining and hotels...

In the past seven months Sexwale, his deputy Zoliswa Kota-Fredericks, the director-general, Itumeleng Kotsoane, and his deputy spent more than R7.4-million on hotel accommodation, restaurants and travel.

Between April 2008 and October 20 this year, R59-million was spent by the department.

This emerged in a written parliamentary response to questions posed by the DA.

In the past seven months, Kotsoane splurged close to R30,000 in restaurants and more than R1-million on travel, while his deputy spent R800,000 on travel.

The department of public works spent R132-million in one financial year on travel, hotel accommodation and restaurants.

Spokesman Lucky Mochalibane said the department had "remained within the budget under goods and services".

Between April and October this year, more than R8-million was spent on hotel accommodation and restaurants, while R24-million was spent on travel. - Times Live

Remember Remember the 5th of November

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The gunpowder treason and plot,
I know of no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot...

Union backs Sexwale on housing call

The Northern Cape branch of the Congress of South African Trade Unions said on Wednesday that it supported the demolition of poorly-built, low-cost government houses as suggested by Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale.

"It is indeed a shame and an insult to our people to allow them to stay in brick shacks under the guise of service delivery," the Northern Cape Cosatu branch said in a statement.

"However, we want to take the call further and call for a forensic investigation of all the shoddy projects in the province so that the culprits, both in construction and in government, are brought to book."

It said that for "every corrupt government official there is a corrupt businessman and vice versa" so both must be harshly dealt with.

People did not just want shelter, they wanted decent houses and badly built houses should be removed from the statistics of service delivery as they did not belong there.

"In fact we need to have statistics of the low quality houses that they built for our people before they ran away to form the Congress of the People," it said, referring to an ANC breakaway group.

It said contractors should not be paid in full until projects were completed and thoroughly inspected.

Cosatu said it was during the term of former housing MEC Pakes Dikgetsi that the houses were built with below-standard bricks.

"When we made noise and raised concerns about the poor workmanship at that point, he was the one who jumped to the defence of those projects," Cosatu said of Dikgetsi, who joined COPE in January.

Sexwale said on Tuesday that in the Northern and Eastern Cape alone, 3,000 houses would have to be destroyed as a result of "shoddy" workmanship.

Dikgetsi told OFM radio that this was due to poor monitoring. - Sapa

Sexwale declares war on housing crooks & forgets N2 Gateway

Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale has declared war on crooked housing contractors and public servants, lawyers and estate agents responsible for corruption, fraud and backlogs in housing delivery.

Sexwale wants to sue shoddy contractors who have built substandard housing with government tenders and force others to finish housing projects they have abandoned.

He said in Pretoria yesterday that he would name and shame all the crooks involved in corrupt activities, whether they be in national, provincial or local government departments or in the private sector.

Sexwale announced an extensive national housing audit to investigate, among other things: nepotism in government departments; sloppy construction work that has left thousands of houses in ruins; and the continuous awarding of government contracts to the same shoddy contractors.

He noted that the government had built 2,8 million RDP houses since 1994, yet informal settlements still proliferated.

The audit will be led by Special Investigations Unit head Willie Hofmeyr, of the National Prosecuting Authority, and supported by the Auditor-General's office, all provincial government departments, Parliament's standing committee on public accounts and the portfolio committee on human settlements.

The audit would focus on obstacles that affected housing delivery, including fraud, corruption, absentee contractors, unfinished "ghost" houses, and corruption related to housing waiting lists, Sexwale said.

Public servants guilty of criminal activities would be sacked. The SIU had already recovered more than R20-million from 800 public servants who had illegally benefited from housing subsidies.

"We can assure those who are involved in dodgy deals that there will be no place to hide. We are dealing with public money. Heads are going to roll. There are rotten people who have taken advantage of the public sector, and that way public finances get squandered."

Sexwale said "800 government officials have benefited illegally from government houses which should have gone to the poor.

"They are not the right beneficiaries and they have been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. At local government level there are 120 people who have been caught."

Although Sexwale is yet to complete his nationwide fact-finding mission on housing delivery, he said he had identified nearly 3,000 RDP houses - built in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal in the past 18 months - that had to be demolished because of inferior workmanship. At least R800m would be ploughed into rebuilding the houses.

"A sum of R300-million-plus has been budgeted just to rectify homes in the Eastern Cape, and in KZN close to R500-million.

"We have budgets for these things, but I'd rather have budgets to build new houses than close to a billion to rectify shoddy workmanship where people have been taking chances exploiting public money."

He said the audit would identify what actions to take.

"Crooks have seen a quick buck in this huge campaign of the government. You are talking about houses that are cracking within six months."

"Those who have done good work, we congratulate; we want to give them more work."

"But those people who are fingered, we want them behind bars, we want to shame them, we want to claim our money back from them, we want to bring civil action and criminal action as well."

Although the government had made it illegal for recipients to sell their RDP houses within eight years of receiving them, "fly-by-night" lawyers and estate agents were illegally selling them, he said.

"Right now the fly-by-nights come and they offer people anything - R3,000. Somebody sold a house the other day for R2,000 and these houses cost more than R60,000. We want to prevent that.

"The audit has got to deal with the illegal sale of houses to deal with these fly-by-night estate agents and teams of lawyers that are all over the poor to trick them."

- The Star

Councillor angers opposition

Controversial DA councillor Frank Martin has raised the ire of his opposition colleagues by suggesting that the city should "not feed" the thousands of people who migrate here annually because doing so compromises housing delivery to locals.

"We can't stop migration to the city, but we can stop feeding them," Martin said during a debate of the planning and environment portfolio committee yesterday, after the city's housing backlog challenges were highlighted.

Researchers have estimated annual migration figures into the city of Cape Town at between 16, 000 and 18,000 people annually.

Many of the migrants who come from other parts of South Africa and other African countries are attracted by the quality of health and education services in the city, they say.

But Martin said that the city was "promoting migration" and that "real beneficiaries" were negatively affected as a result.

"Every time a migrant gets a (housing) opportunity it puts real beneficiaries 10 years back," he said.

Committee chairman Brian Watkyns hastily attempted to salvage the situation, by saying Martin had to either explain or withdraw the comment, as it could be misconstrued.

"You meant they should not go to the top of the housing list," he prompted, to which Martin replied in the affirmative.

Martin caused an outcry two years ago when he encouraged the illegal occupation of N2 Gateway homes in Delft by nearby residents.

Those who followed his prompting and were later evicted, last week moved to Blikkiesdorp in Delft after living on the pavement along Symphony Way following their eviction.

But despite Watkyns's attempt yesterday to smooth over Martin's comment, the ANC's Koos Bredenhand lashed out at Martin, saying people should "stop using that word" - referring to migration.

"In South Africa we are not migrating anymore," he said, adding that migrants were also not animals who needed to be fed.

"It was very bad the way he said that," Bredenhand said.

Bredenhand said everyone in the country who was previously denied housing was entitled to receive it now, regardless of whether they were from Mthatha or Joburg.

"They also spent decades waiting for homes," he said. - Cape Argus

City cannot intervene on N2 flats

N2 gateway residents are seeking for the intervention of the city on crime and fraud they claim is happening in the block of flats.

Residents say the flats are not safe, thought there are security guards.

When residents approached the security company they said the Housing Development Agency is only paying them for access control and not to keep the Flats safe.

Recently a resident was hijacked at gunpoint in his own parking area.

Over the weekend 19 year old boy was stabbed to death outside his own home while the security guards slept on.

Western Cape Housing Minister Bonginkosi Madikizela was informed about the situation and said there is not much the city can do.

The Minister says his department is tied up as far as the N2 Gateway Pilot Project is concerned. - Bush Radio

Cape services meltdown looms

Power outages, poorer quality drinking water, fewer refuse collection routes and a lack of critical repairs to sewage systems will be a likely outcome of a R372-million cut to this year's utility services budget.

And the directorate has been warned that there is no guarantee that these funds will be back on the budget in the next financial year.

Concerned officials from water services, solid waste and electricity services have written to city manager Achmat Ebrahim about the risks of postponing projects on their respective budgets to future financial years.

The city's R6,2bn budget has been cut by R600m because of the global economic crisis and caution from the National Treasury that municipalities had to "align" their spending plans to their expected revenue in their adjustments budgets.

There has also been a "downward trend" in service payments, an important income-generator for the city.

The city council last week approved a recommendation to delay externally funded projects to future financial years. This will affect all the city's directorates.

According to reports submitted yesterday to the city's utility services portfolio committee, water and sanitation's capital budget will be slashed from R576m to R176m, which could affect the city's ability to refurbish or replace ageing infrastructure.

This could affect the quality of the city's drinking water.

An amount of R74m has been cut from the pump stations and outfall sewers.

"This will lead to increased bursts, blockages, spillages, possible collapses with a consequential increase in repairs and maintenance," noted the report.

There could also be environmental consequences if pollution gets into wetlands and rivers.

Housing developments in Bellville and Century City may have to be put on hold if wastewater treatment and other infrastructure projects have budget cuts.

The solid waste budget has been cut by R88,9m with funds deferred to the next financial year.

Nineteen refuse collection compactors have to be replaced in the current financial year to maintain current service levels.

If the orders of these vehicles have to be delayed because of budget deferments, "we will not have service delivery in certain areas", the report said.

The budget cut of R50,3m for electricity's network infrastructure could affect the city's ability to provide supply to new developments, such as at Century City, and consumers risk extended power outages.

A cut of R20m for the Loch Road substation upgrade would put electricity supply to the southern suburbs at "significant risk" with a failure affecting up to 80 000 residential, commercial and industrial consumers at a cost of R50m.

Utilities executive director Bulumko Msengana said the city was facing a "huge cash flow problem".

He said: "If we don't take measures, extreme measures, we'll find ourselves in a much worse situation."

But Amina Kariem of utility services said the budget deferments would have an impact on service delivery.

Mayoral committee member for utility services Clive Justus said the drop in payment collection ratios were a warning sign that the city had to be financially prudent.

A one percent collection drop meant R150m less for the city's coffers.

However, Justus said the current utility services budget, after deferments, was still higher than previous years.

- Cape Times

Government to create 10 'eco-towns' in Eastern Cape

The government has set aside R400-million for a cleaning and greening project in Mthatha, in the Eastern Cape, Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said on Thursday.

In the first phase of Project Buyisela ("give back"), 10 eco-towns modelled on sustainability would be created as a legacy project. Funds would be equally divided among the proposed pilot sites, Sonjica said.

"Buyisela seeks to supplement the municipal street cleaning efforts, clear up all hot spots, establish landfill sites where there aren't any, clean and rehabilitate dump sites and encourage recycling as part of efforts to stop the throw-away mentality," she said.

The department had also set aside R27-million for the rehabilitation of a dump site and the creation of a new waste management site in Mthatha.

Sonjica said biodiversity was not about a few endangered species, but sustaining all ecosystems that underpinned service delivery.

She said the restoration of degraded ecosystems would increase the ability of ecosystems to withstand climate change and adapt naturally.

"South Africa must act now to combat climate change. Investing in the ecological infrastructure of this country is as important as building schools, roads, hospitals and houses," she said.

- Sapa

Shocking amount needed to house Capetonians

The City of Cape Town says it would need R10-billion every year for the next five years in order to provide formal housing for all people living in backyards or in informal settlements around the city.

Shehaam Sims, mayoral committee member for housing said the council had set aside R663-million for this financial year to deliver about 8,000 homes, serviced sites and in-situ upgrades of informal settlements.

- Cape Argus

Armed mob threatens mayor

Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato was confronted by stick-wielding shack dwellers, who threatened him over the city's failure to install electricity in their homes, when he visited Overcome Heights in Steenberg on Sunday.

Plato visited the area to discuss their demands for electricity. But the encounter was characterised by shouting and swearing.

The mayor appeared shaken as the hostile crowd of about 100 people brandished sticks and hurled threats and insults.

'You are a big liar'

With a finger pointed at Plato, one fuming resident said: "Look at you, you are wearing a nice suit and you are driving an expensive car and you have bodyguards. You don't care about us."

Another told him: "You are a big liar."

With the squatters also shouting at ward councillor Demetri Qually (DA), Plato's entourage of bodyguards and Metro officers were on the alert.

"We are sick and tired of Qually," said one resident.

The police had to restrain a drunk man who shouted each time Plato spoke.

'We are not racist'

The crowd said that the City of Cape Town's failure to install electricity in people's shacks in Overcome Reserve Road smacked of racism.

The squatters, most of them black, told Plato racism was the reason that only the shacks of coloured people had electricity.

Despite promises from the city, they had been without electricity since they settled in the area three years ago.

Their coloured neighbours had electricity, they said.

Overcome Housing Forum chairperson Fawzia Cassiem said the city's failure to install electricity in the other shacks was causing conflict.

She said she had called the mayor after being accused of racism and being struck with a brick.

"We are not racist. We are prepared to help (the other shack dwellers).

Scores of people settled on the R300 road reserve about three years ago. About 2 500 shacks have been built on it, and two thirds have electricity.

Plato told the crowd he had received a letter from the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) informing him of its intention to use the reserve road to extend the R300.

Plato said the city could not continue installing electricity in the shacks if Sanral wanted to begin working on the stretch of road in the next year or so.

"If Sanral says it will start work in three years, then we will start working, we will install electricity because we are determined," Plato promised the crowd.

Electrifying the shacks while Sanral was working on the road would be "wasteful and fruitless expenditure", he said.

The group told Plato he was making empty promises.

He told them he needed to meet Sanral to discuss the matter and would report back to them in 10 days.

Plato rejected the racism claims.

He said illegal squatting and "people streaming into Cape Town hoping for a better life" were creating challenges for the city.

There were 223 informal settlements in the Western Cape and the city did not have the means to provide all with services, Plato said.

The shack dwellers said they bought power from their neighbours for R150 a week. This was achieved by drawing electricity from the neighbour's box.

But sometimes more than four residents drew on the same box, causing an overload.

One man said he was spending R500 a month on electricity, leaving him with little money to feed his three children and grandmother.

- Cape Times

Fire consumes community as 20 shacks gutted

About 80 residents lost their homes when a fire swept through their suburb.

Twenty shacks were destroyed in the fire late on Friday in Masiphumelele.

No one was hurt.

Fire and Rescue services sent out three fire tenders and one water tanker and brought the fire under control within an hour. Disaster Risk Management officials were also at the scene and provided relief.

Disaster Risk Management spokesperson, Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said officials offered alternative shelter to residents but they decided to stay with family and friends in the area.

Residents were given blankets and food parcels.

- Cape Argus

The West seems best when East has less

Mother City pulls those trying to escape poverty, lack of services elsewhere

Sabelo Mvana knows exactly why tens of thousands of people are pouring into Cape Town.

'There are no jobs in the Eastern Cape. To get a job you have to know someone in government or in the factories'

The 23-year-old father of five has joined the ranks of a massive migration of people which is changing the face of the Western Cape.

The province was once the one part of South Africa where the African population was a minority group and where Afrikaans dominated conversation. All that is changing.

Mvana, who was unemployed in the Eastern Cape, is earning a living weeks after relocating to Khayelitsha. He is building shacks for others arriving on his doorstep who are hoping to escape poverty and poor service delivery.

But the influx of people is proving to be a major challenge for the province run by the Democratic Alliance.

Western Cape premier Helen Zille said the migration of people, mostly from the Eastern Cape and Gauteng, was putting a severe strain on housing, health and education. The housing backlog of almost 470000 is expected to double, and informal settlements are spawning at an alarming rate.

Zille recently told the provincial legislature that population growth in the province was running at 2.6%, or double the national average. That is according to a report, The State of the Population in the Western Cape Province 2008, funded by the Department of Social Development.

Nearly 30% of the population in the province - which receives the second highest number of migrants after Gauteng - are migrants. The province gained 361476 people due to migration from elsewhere from 2001 to 2006.

Zille told the Sunday Times: "Migration into cities (urbanisation) is a process that continues to happen throughout the world. It is something governments need to come to terms with.

"The challenge comes where failed provinces or states lead to a rapid migration of people into other, more functional, regions, creating a situation where government services, infrastructure and the regional economy are unable to keep pace with the needs of the rapidly growing population."

According to the latest Statistics South Africa figures, the African population in the Western Cape went from being a minority group in 1996 to the second largest group, overtaking the white population in 2007. Xhosa is now the second most spoken language in the province, followed by English.

The influx of migrants has changed the landscape of Cape Town as informal dwellings - 28000 in 1994 and estimated at 105000 in 2006 - continue to mushroom.

The housing waiting list stands at 469405, with some having been on the list for more than 30 years, according to the department of local government and housing.

In his budget speech in June, MEC for housing Bonginkosi Madikizela said, "If we continue on a high growth trajectory, by 2040 the housing backlog in the Western Cape will have nearly doubled to 804000."

The influx of people is also expected to swell classes at schools. The Department of Education reported that an estimated 12000 new pupils entered the schooling system annually. And the Department of Health was "buckling under demand", Zille said in her state of the province address in May.

But Professor Sue Parnell, of the University of Cape Town, said the influx did not necessarily spell disaster: "The doom and gloom and great wave of unwashed from the Eastern Cape is nonsense. Yes of course there's very significant migration, but it is slowing. It is much more diverse. Not everybody who is coming needs a house or a job and it is manageable," she said.

Meanwhile, Mvana hopes to one day buy a house. Life is better and he is getting along with his new neighbours.

"There are no jobs in the Eastern Cape. To get a job you have to know someone in government or in the factories. Jobs are reserved for family and friends. In most cases you get turned away because you are not educated.

"The government has built roads, provided taps and electricity to rural areas, but the services don't compare with the Western Cape," he said.

Soon he plans to bring his family to his new home to visit, and those who have failed school will, like him, try to make their fortune in the Mother City.

- TimesLive