Protesters cause a stink at Zille’s office

Cape Town - The ANC Youth League members behind Monday’s porta-loo spill outside Premier Helen Zille’s office said they were “ready to be arrested” the minute they opened the first canister of raw sewage.

ANC proportional councillor and youth league member Loyiso Nkohla and former ANC councillor and banned league member Andile Lili led a group of protesters to the provincial legislature, where they emptied five porta-loos full of raw sewage outside 7 Wale Street before lunchtime.

The main entrance to the legislature was closed for more than an hour as cleaning staff hosed away the waste.

Nkohla and Lili arrived with the portable toilets in the back of an Audi around noon.

They walked to the legislature’s main entrance and emptied the canisters of sewage in full view of the police, who were seated behind a counter in the legislature’s foyer. The group left minutes later.

Lili said the spill was a “warning” and that thousands of informal dwellers would descend on the legislature in seven days to do “the real dump”.

“We will return with thousands of these bucket toilets next week and empty them around the legislature building,” Lili said.

“Zille must also be ready to be beaten with these toilets when she visits the townships. We’ve had enough of these toilets. We were ready to be arrested and will die for this.”

Nkohla said porta-loos in Philippi’s Brown’s Farm area had not been cleaned for weeks.

“It is unacceptable,” he said. “We had to do this to send a clear message.”

The ANC Youth League denied responsibility.

Mfuzo Zenzile, secretary of the league’s Dullah Omar (metro) region, said Lili was no longer a league member and that Nkohla would “be dealt with if he acted in his capacity as a youth league member”.

“We condemn this act,” Zenzile said. “The law must take its course.”

Zenzile added that residents of Philippi, Nyanga and Khayelitsha were “growing tired” of the city’s “non-delivery”.

“While we don’t condone these actions, we understand where the people are coming from,” he said.

“It is winter, people are cold and the toilets are not being cleaned. Not the city or the provincial government is offering solutions.”

Axolile Notywala of the Social Justice Coalition said yesterday’s incident was a “clear sign of the people’s frustration”.

“The authorities need to get their act together and start delivering on their promises,” he said.

“At the weekend, the city’s toilet-cleaning contractors had still not cleaned the portable loos in Philippi. These are the things that are causing protests on the N2 and acts like the one outside the premier’s office.”

Zille’s spokesman, Zak Mbhele, said the incident was “absolutely disgusting”.

He said a team from the premier’s office was analysing camera footage to identify the culprits “who, according to witnesses, are allegedly ANC Youth League members”.

“Once we have identified them, we will be pressing criminal charges,” Mbhele said.

“On May 23, the City of Cape Town was granted an interim interdict against seven identified ANC Youth League-linked residents and their supporters who spilled the contents of porta-loos on the N2 highway recently.

“As part of this interdict, these toilets (as city property) are not allowed to be removed, therefore this was a criminal act.”

Mbhele said the latest incident was another blatant example of the “ungovernability tactics” that the ANC Youth League and its cadres were planning to use in the run-up to next year’s election.

-  Cape Argus

Cape of Storms town

• Flooding, blocked drains and service disruptions can be reported to the city’s customer contact centre at 086 010 3089. 
• Inquiries and/or complaints regarding burst and leaking water mains, faulty and leaking water meters, blocked and overflowing sewers can also be sent via SMS to 31373. 
• Inquiries and/or complaints regarding electricity fault reporting can be sent via SMS to 31220.
• The city’s transport information centre can be contacted on 080 065 6463 regarding delays on roadways and deviations. 
• For all emergency situations, call 107 from a land line 
• or 021 480 7700 from a cellphone.

Cape Town cold front displaces more than 2 000 people

Cape Town - Winter storms in Cape Town have displaced more than 2 000 people, the city's disaster risk management centre said on Sunday.

“Thunderstorms were present across the Cape Peninsula last night (Saturday), resulting in gusting winds causing widespread damage and destruction,” said the centre's spokesperson Wilfred Solomons-Johannes.

He said 547 shacks were damaged and 2 266 people displaced by storms and flooding in Bishop Lavis, Hout Bay and parts of Gugulethu, Strand and Khayelitsha.

In Philippi, a graveyard was flooded. Elsewhere, the roofs of houses were blown off.

A number of mainly informal settlements were flooded in Atlantis, Blackheath, Elsies River, Kalkfontein, Langa, Lavender Hill, Lotus River, Milnerton, Parkwood.

Cape Town mayor Patricia De Lille called for “extraordinary emergency arrangements”.

Earlier, Solomons-Johannes said snowfalls were expected in parts of the Western and Northern Cape on Sunday. - Sapa

Heavy rain brings misery for W Cape

Cape Town - More than 1 000 residents were affected on Saturday by the first of the heavy winter rains as Capetonians stayed indoors in the face of severe weather warnings.

The city’s Disaster Risk Management Centre reported that it had helped 327 households and 1 286 people on Saturday in Philippi, Bishop Lavis and Strand. Spokesperson Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said they handed out 1 780 blankets and 1 280 meals.

“Other areas still to be assessed are New Village, Soli’s Town, Pholile, Maskhane, Ethembeni, Happy Rest, Wag ’n Bietjie, Lotus IFS, and WB, Y and BM sections in Khayelitsha,” he said late Saturday.

When Weekend Argus visited Philippi on Saturday, residents were struggling to get in and out of their homes as rainwater flooded pathways right up to their doorsteps, and inside their homes.

Residents baling water out of their homes said that they had been under water since yesterday morning. The authorities had yet to arrive to help.

In Lizo Sonamzi’s home, water was still seeping in through the front door.

“We’ve been filling buckets and buckets of water since this morning,” he said.

“We try to minimise the damage by pouring sand around our homes, but even that doesn’t work.

“Our children are always sick because they basically live in water, and this water is not clean so it causes other illnesses.”

Another resident,

Thandazwa Mrubata, had to stand on a crate in her spaza shop to keep dry.

“What you’re seeing now is still nothing. At least now most of the water is only in the shop section of my home. It comes in from all sides of the house, through the roof and the ground,” she said.

She said a makeshift step she had built outside her house helped to keep out the water.

“Usually I can’t even use a crate and I can’t even sell from the shop. I really don’t know what we are going to do because this is just the beginning,” Mrubata said.

Siyanda Dlepu was in a rainsuit and gumboots, still trying to sweep the water out, when the Weekend Argus visited his home, .

His cupboards were drenched in water and he was trying to raise them using planks.

“This is no way for a person to live, to be living in water.

“I have buckets all over the house because the water comes in from all over,” he said.

Community leader Lindikhaya Galeni said he had asked the city for assistance even before winter started, but had yet to receive a response.

Galeni said the rain added further financial pressure too, as people were forced to spend money on wet-weather gear just to live in their own homes.

Meanwhile, the South African Weather Service warned on Friday that heavy rainfalls were expected into Sunday, with flood warnings for the Cape metro, West Coast, Cape Winelands and the Overberg.

There were also warnings for gale-forces winds expected in the province on Sunday, with very rough seas expected from Alexander Bay to Plettenberg Bay between Sunday and Tuesday.

Disruptive snowfalls were also predicted in areas of the Northern Cape on Sunday.

Late on Saturday Solomons-Johannes said the supporting disaster response agencies were on high alert, and that the city had taken precautions for “extraordinary emergency procedures”.

“Emergency supplies for distribution of blankets, hot meals, sand and other specialised resources are stock-piled to deal with the impact of severe weather conditions forecast,” Solomons-Johannes said

“Additional staff are on duty at all contact centres to field complaints, reports and emergency calls from members of the public,” he said, adding that engineering teams were also conducting regular inspections of underground infrastructure.

Solomons-Johannes appealed to people to be careful.

“Slow down and maintain safe following distances on all roadways, as visibility may be impaired.

“Keep a watchful eye on open flames and extinguish them before going to bed.

“Boaters, fishermen, paddlers, surfers and anglers are to take heed of weather warnings, and always check official weather forecasts before going out,” he said.

- Sunday Argus

Delft housing interdict bid fails

Cape Town - The provincial government has lost its court bid to bar seven community leaders from interfering with a housing project in Delft.

It sought an interim interdict against the seven, alleging that they were central to organising a series of protests - some of which turned violent - at the site of the Delft Symphony 3 and 5 Housing Project between March 11 and 22, and that they caused the unrest.

The construction site was, at times, temporarily shut down and there had also been damage to the site.

But the Western Cape government’s application was dismissed in the Western Cape High Court yesterday.

Acting Judge Michael Wragge found that it was up to the applicants (in this case, the provincial government), to demonstrate that the seven - cited as Zwelohlanga Ndiki, Xolani Thomose, Vuyisile Goqoza, Nomthulizi Meyeki, Loyiso Mtana, Siviwe Nondomga and Mncedisi Kolisi - had committed acts that interfered with its rights, or that it had a well-grounded apprehension that they might do so.

He said that the community leaders’ advocate, Michael Bishop, had argued that there was no evidence that his clients had committed or encouraged violent or destructive acts.

“I agree… I am driven to the conclusion that, far from inciting the crowd, the respondents… took steps to pacify and disperse the crowd,” said Acting Judge Wragge.

According to his judgment, work on the project started shortly after the contract was signed with Group 5 Motlekar Cape Joint Venture - though, the award of this tender is subject to a judicial review that is still pending in the high court - in February.

Unrest had first broken out on the site on March 11.

Other incidents also occurred up until March 22, when a security company was hired to secure the site. Since then, there had been no further protests and the contractor had resumed its building operations. While certain of the seven community leaders had been present at certain of the protests, they had told the crowd to leave the site.

On March 13, after a meeting with the local councillor failed to take place, several of the community leaders had requested the crowd to go home.

After one of them was arrested the following day - and advised by the police that he had been arrested for vandalising the councillor’s house the previous night - he discovered that despite his pleas for the crowd to go home, the community had embarked on a protest without them because they knew that their leaders would try to stop them.

Acting Judge Wragge also awarded legal costs to four of the seven.

- Cape Times

Joe Slovo shacks demolished

Cape Town - Five shacks in Joe Slovo, Langa, were torn down on Wednesday after their occupants defied an order to move to make way for a R480 million housing development in the area.

The Western Cape Human Settlements Department and the Housing Development Agency plan to build 2 639 houses in the Joe Slovo Phase 3 Project for families who earn less than R3 500 per month.

In demolishing the shacks, the department was enforcing a court order that the five families had signed on April 16, agreeing to move.

Ninety other families, who had been living in the same area, moved within the project area.

Three of the five so-called “sit-tight” families said they did not want to move until the department gave them a letter stating they would be entitled to a house in the new development. Five new shacks in a nearby area were erected for the evicted families.

The sheriff of the court led a group equipped with hammers and crowbars to the site. The owners were not home and the group went from one shack to the next, smashing padlocks. Belongings were put in bin bags and the structures were knocked down.

When Nolusizo Ndaba, 16, came home from school at about 2pm she found only a pile of her family’s belongings, including mattresses, boxes, blankets, pots and groceries.

“I’m going to wait for my mother to come back from work as I don’t know what to do next,” she said. “I didn’t know this was going to happen. For now, I have to look after our things until my mother comes back.”

Bruce Oom, the spokesman for human settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela, said they were happy they had not met any resistance from the community. “Everything went peacefully and smoothly, and we believe that we have done the right thing.”

- Cape Argus

Shack residents shiver in chilly Cape

Cape Town - Residents in low-lying areas across Cape Town are feeling the brunt of the rain this week and have been mopping up their rain-drenched homes daily.

More than 1 300 people have been affected in Endlovini in Khayelitsha since the weekend and residents in Europe in Gugulethu have puddles in their shacks.

The informal settlement is in a low-lying area.

Resident Chippa Themba said he would spend most of the week indoors, trying to keep his house dry.

“Even when it rains just once a day there will be a lot of water inside the houses,” he said.

Furniture would be damaged and there was no way people could adequately prepare themselves for rainy days.

“The people just try to fix their roofs, that is the only thing we can do. There is not even sand in the area that we can put at the doors so the water doesn’t come in that much.”

Themba said they received some assistance from the city, but the last time they were given any blankets was last year.

“Our children are also sick. Some people have carpets and those take longer to dry and their children stay sicker for longer. There is nothing we can do. We just have to wait until it is summer again.”

Last year, Cape Town experienced its coldest winter in decades. The average temperature in June and July was 12.4ºC.

Rain has been forecast for Wednesday and Thursday. Friday is expected to be a touch warmer, with no rain forecast.

The City of Cape Town said planning for this winter started last year.

“It followed a structured approach and included lessons learnt in dealing with challenges last winter.

“Mitigation measures are in place to prepare for any potential storm damage.

“The city is geared to deal with any major emergency events.”

- Cape Argus

Sit-tight families to be moved

Cape Town - Five families in Joe Slovo in Langa who have refused to move from an area earmarked for a R480 million housing development will be moved by authorities on Wednesday, the Western Cape Human Settlements Department has said.

MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela announced on Tuesday that the department would enforce a court order that the five families signed on April 16, agreeing to move in order for the project to go ahead.

“If people have to be moved in this way you do expect resistance but we have no choice. We won’t allow five households to stand in the way of providing 2 051 families with homes. We will be setting a very wrong precedent,” said Madikizela.

Madikizela said they had spent more than a year trying to engage with the families and had sent them three more notices subsequent to the court order.

“They are shifting the goalposts every time the officials go there and they have not told us why they do not want to move,” he said.

“It’s a very strange thing. Why would a community and certain community leaders not assist in a case where we want to build homes for people?” Madikizela asked.

Xolile Tolobisa, who lives in one of the five households, said they were refusing to move because the city had not given them anything in writing saying where they would be relocated to or if they were entitled to a house in the new development.

“We have been waiting for them to give us something in writing but we found a letter slipped under our door on Monday saying they are coming to relocate us,” said Tolobisa.

“I don’t know what their plans are but I will be at work tomorrow (Wednesday) and when I come back I won’t have a house.”

The department and the Housing Development Agency (HDA), plans to build 2 639 houses in the Joe Slovo Phase 3 Project and has budgeted R480m for this. The projects benefits families who earn less than R3 500 per month.

Madikizela said another 90 families, who had also been living in the same area as the five remaining families, have already voluntarily relocated within the project areas.

“This order stipulated that they would relocate to vacant sites within their environs, that they would be assisted to move, would not incur any costs and would also be provided with the same basic services they currently enjoy,” said Madikizela.

“This delay also means that the department faces the risk of having to pay the contractor appointed to build the houses because of the losses the business has incurred due to the stoppages.”

Community leader and chairman of the Langa South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco), Michael Dumo said the department was consulting the wrong community leaders.

“We are now representing the community and this relocation is news to us.”

“We are not against the development of the area but we want a proper consultation to be done.”

- Cape Argus

Cape protesters ignore interdict

Cape Town - Protesters blocked roads near Cape Town International Airport on Monday morning despite an interim interdict banning such behaviour, the City of Cape Town said.

The Western Cape High Court last week granted the city an interdict against 89 former employees of toilet service company Sannicare and seven people associated with the ANC Youth League.

Utility services mayoral committee member Ernest Sonnenberg said on Monday that the sheriffs of the High Court or the SA Police Service were required to stop any conduct in contempt of the court order.

A group of people disrupted and blocked the roads around Borchards Quarry.

Sonnenberg said the interim interdict prohibited a certain group from interfering with service delivery, city staff, and property.

It also prevented the respondents from blocking any roads into and surrounding the N2, Borchards Quarry, NY108, the R300, Klipfontein Road, Stock Road, Symphony Way, Sheffield Road, and Vanguard Drive.

“The city views threats of violence and the disruption of basic service provision in a very serious light, and will not allow the actions of a small minority to affect the living conditions of the majority of citizens,” Sonnenberg said.

“We will continue to use whatever legal channels we can to stop this well co-ordinated attack on city staff, innocent citizens, and public property.”

Sannicare janitors responsible for cleaning communal toilets blocked a portion of the N2 highway with burning tyres last week and dumped faeces on the road, in protest against being dismissed.

Soon after, the city complained that residents who escorted city officials to neglected toilets were threatened.

ANCYL regional chairman Khaya Yozi denied last week that its members had played any part in the toilet dispute.

“These are very extreme and unfounded allegations. It's just poor of the city, when they are caught with their pants down, to blame it on someone else,” he said.

“We are not involved in these threats or violence whatsoever.” - Sapa

Gigantic effort needed to de-racialise residential spaces - Tokyo Sexwale

Department of Human Settlements budget speech by Minister Tokyo Sexwale in the National Assembly

1. Introduction

In his inaugural State of the Nation Address (SONA) President of the Republic, Mr Jacob Zuma made three pronouncements in respect of the then Department of Housing. These are, name change from housing to human settlements, policy change and the practicalisation of this new paradigm to transform the landscape of housing in South Africa forever.

Over the last four years, we remained seized with the implementation of this new mandate (Outcomes 8). Without any equivocation we state: A firm foundation has been laid towards a sustainable and integrated human settlements objective: Vision 2030.

Consequently, we have a comprehensive strategy premised upon three segments: Housing for the poor; for the GAP Market; and for the middle to the high income earners.

2. Implementing the Vision 2030 Strategy

2.1 Housing for the poor - grant beneficiaries

The main focus of our housing delivery strategy remains the poorest of the poor, many of whom are in and around informal settlements. At this stage, the following message must be clear: Our government does not build slums, imikhukhu, amatyotyombe! These squalid areas have their roots in the Wars of Dispossession, the 1913 Land Act whose centenary is commemorated this year and in subsequent apartheid policies. These policies gave rise to landlessness and joblessness which saw, and continues to see, the destitute escaping rural poverty towards urban areas.

Let me repeat what I said at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University concerning slums.

"They are essentially shanty towns littered across all provinces particularly around the more affluent Metros and municipalities. This therefore results in a situation of the classic undesirable urbanisation, which is driven less by economic growth and more by the rural-urban migration of the poor and jobless."

Question: What steps have we taken to address this? As stated, our focus remains the poor. Over the last four years, our department has thus far, delivered, through grants, over 750 000 houses and housing opportunities.

This has made it possible, during this term of government, for the total housing provided since 1994 to break for the first time, into the 3 million units threshold for those earning from R3 500 to zero; to be precise 3,3 million houses and opportunities now at the cost of R85 000 each towards breaking the backlog of 2,1 million houses for 8 to 10 million people.

2.2 GAP Market Housing - The financially assisted.

The second element of our strategy concerns financial guarantees for affordable housing. This policy for citizens who earn above R3 500 to R15 000 was announced by the President in his 2012 SONA. The department's task is to implement this Finance Linked policy which covers housing for, amongst others, school teachers and principals, police and members of the armed forces, nurses, firemen, prison warders, and blue collar workers. The good news is that this is now a reality and is being rolled out in all provinces via the National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC).

Our implementing agency is the National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) through a financial instrument called FLISP - Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme. This supports all qualifying beneficiaries with the certainty of being granted loans, bonds or mortgage facilities by Banks and other financial institutions.

At this amount, beneficiaries have an option to buy an existing house, to build a new one or to purchase land. Therefore, to all those people lost in the GAP Market, earning too much to qualify for an RDP house and too little to access Bank finance we say: Rest assured. This government cares - we back you to get your bond!

2.3 Housing for middle to high income earners

We rely upon three instruments which are the Home Loans and Mortage Disclosure Act, the Community Schemes Ombuds Services Act and the Estate Agency Affairs Act. Thanks to the sterling work of the EAAB Administrator, Mr Taswell Papier, this structure has been stabilised.

In summary, the three elements of our strategy are all critical and applicable for different requirements within the comprehensive human settlements environment. Quite clearly, the continuous allocation of grants for free housing to the poorest of the poor is unsustainable going forward. Strictly speaking, this is more of a welfare programme approach than a long lasting housing policy as this programme is driven by the triple evils of unemployment, poverty and inequity. For as long as this is the case, so long shall this programme remain because we as the ANC government are committed to the poor and shall not abandon them through no fault of their own.

It stands to reason therefore, that given the current socio-economic circumstances, the most optimal and practical human settlements strategic approach is that of the enhancement of the Finance Linked programme.

It is noteworthy that the assistance we provide to our citizens in this regard - black and white - empowers them to become real estate owners; to become real participants in the capital markets as asset owners; real players in the property market as sellers or buyers; as well as in the financial markets where they can borrow against their assets to advance other economic interests. The need therefore, to speed up the issuing of Title Deeds to home owners can never be more emphasised.

3. Integrated human settlements development challenges

3.1 Deracialisation of Residential Areas

Top of the list of all budgetary challenges that confront the entire country is that of having to tackle the unique question of deracialising residential space. This, more than anything else, reflects the real evil of apartheid social engineering which motivated the United Nations in 1973 to pass a unanimous resolution declaring apartheid a crime against humanity. To undo this will take gigantic efforts over a long period, requiring major resources.

At this stage, it is noteworthy to indicate that the United Nations Habitat has requested South Africa to host its next conference on human settlements issues later this year.

Our residential deracialisation strategy is underpinned by seven elements.

3.1.1 Firstly, Deracialising White Suburbs by continuing to oblige Banks through Home Loans and Mortgage Disclosure Act (HLAMDA) and to provide loans to black people desiring to purchase property previously exclusive white suburbs.

3.1.2 Secondly, Inner City Housing

Spearheaded by our agency, Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA), the department has over a period been purchasing many high rise buildings in the centres of major towns and cities. They are refurbished and transformed from office space to rented family units, some with an option to buy. This social housing is popular amongst young couples, students and single mothers.

3.1.3 Thirdly, Inner City Land

Through our Housing Development Agency (HDA), the department has acquired land parcels inside the cities from other government departments and State Owned Enterprises. These strategic pieces of land have been used for settling families.

3.1.4 Fourthly, Outer City Districts

Outer City Districts within the immediate proximity of city boundaries is land which is acquired from other Departments, or in partnership with the private sector, for housing construction. This is earmarked at integrating people within the expanding outer city parametres, a walking distance to vital amenities and facilities.

We congratulate companies that have come on board the Each-One-Settle-One campaign by building thousands of homes upon our subsidies for their employees, particularly in the mining industry.

3.1.5 Fifthly, "No-Man's-Land": Town and Township

The evil utilisation of land as a buffer by the architects of apartheid resulted in the creation of "no man's land" between Johannesburg-Soweto, Cape Town-Gugulethu, Pretoria-Mamelodi, Durban-Umlazi, Port-Elizabeth-KwaZakhele, to name a few, resulting in the black areas having little or no amenities and facilities.

Our approach is to focus on building integrated human settlements in this space to locate people closer to the towns and cities.

3.1.6 Sixth, Townships Upgrading Strategy

It is inevitable that the black townships which were created as a reservoir of labour far away from white cities must be upgraded to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants. On our part, we empower municipalities through the accreditation process by giving them direct funds and authority to construct human settlements within their jurisdiction.

It is for this reason, among others, that in partnership with the Department of Higher Education and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, we launched a four-year Bachelor's Degree in Human Settlements Development, the first of its kind, which will later extend to Masters and Doctoral levels. The same degree will be offered by the Universities of Fort Hare and UNISA in the future.

3.1.7 Seventh, new non-racial towns and cities

Our mandate is to establish new non-racial towns and cities to concretise the principle of a united people in non-racial residential areas.

The new town of Lephalale - Joe Slovo City -under construction in Limpopo, driven by the economies of the Medupi Power Station, is an example in point.

3.2 Other Human Settlements development challenges

3.2.1 Other challenges confronting us are about greater coordination together with other related government departments responsible for big ticket items like bulk services, electrification, water and sanitation, sewerage plants, roads, transportation, etc.

The Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Committee (PICC) whose efforts are beginning to bear fruit is the answer to the required coordination.

3.2.2 It is unacceptable given the fact after the passing of budgets by this House, we always speedily transfer funds to provinces and accredited municipalities. Many of them discharge their responsibilities perfectly well and are applauded. Yet some fail to spend.

Where some of them do, they sometimes resort to fiscal dumping which often results in shoddy workmanship leading to the wasteful practice of rectification amounting to billions of rands. The newly appointed Board of the National Homebuilders Regulatory Council (NHBRC) carries a huge responsibility in respect of safeguarding proper procedures in the construction industry countrywide.

Furthermore, mindful of the positive work by the Portfolio Committee led by Chairperson Dambuza in its oversight responsibilities, I urge the committee, including the Select Committee to redouble its efforts in coming down hard upon those responsible. On our part, we have taken some of the severest actions against those who engage in shoddy workmanship or fail to adhere to norms and standards on, for example, sanitation.

It is totally unacceptable that although we provide funds, responsible government entities and certain municipalities fail to even build a simple toilet whilst there is a serious stench of the bucket system in some parts of the country. Where they are built, some are left uncovered such as in the recent scandalous cases in Makhaza and Moqhaka, in the Western Cape and Free State respectively, even prompting the Human Rights Commission to get involved!

Our response of taking away funds from poor performers, as required by the law, will continue but is inadequate. Capacity issues need to be addressed. Most importantly, political parties must ensure that their deployees are capable - and there is nothing the matter with cadre deployment - and in turn such deployees should select appropriately qualified employees for the public service.

Our commitment and resolve to rooting out and exposing corruption remains undiminished. We continue to take a dim view of those housing beneficiaries who are engaged in double dipping - a practice of people coming from other parts of the country where services such as sanitation and housing have already been provided for them, yet they flock to informal settlements. This is wrong.

Others engage in the corrupt conduct of selling their houses before the expiry date, including to foreigners, with the help unscrupulous lawyers and fly-by-night estate agents. This is fraudulent. We implore members of civil society to expose such chance takers who, like many we have caused to be prosecuted, should face the full might of the law.

4. Budget focus 2013/14 to 2015/16

The department has been allocated a budget of R28.1 billion for the 2013/14 financial year representing an increase of R2,9 billion. The allocation is expected to grow to R32,7 billion in 2015/16. The conditional grants to provinces constitute a R53, 7 billion over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period while the Urban Settlements Development Grants to municipalities will be receiving an allocation of approximately R30 billion in three years of MTEF.

The conditional grants and transfers to Human Settlements Institutions constitute 97% The total capital grant allocation amounts to R26.1 billion which consists of the Human Settlements Development grant of R16.9 billion, the Urban Settlements Development Grant of R9 billion and the Rural Households Infrastructure Grant of R107 million in 2013/14.

To conclude, the National Development Plan states: "The inefficiencies and inequalities in South Africa's settlement patters are deeply entrenched. Bold measures are needed to reshape them."

In the context of all we have articulated, the 2013-2014 human settlements budget is important to the extent that it's a continuation of the critical stimulus we provide to the total economic development of the country. Our budget should be seen as a catalyst in this process including job creation through our twin empowerment and construction programmes of Women and Youth Builds.

Incrementally throughout our term, the budget has been earmarked primarily to address the poorest of the poor. In continuing to do so, let there be no doubt that our quest is not to be patted on the back for chasing numbers at the cost of quality.

We are mindful that in addressing the unique challenges of reengineering integrated human settlements in our country, there can be no socio-economic equality without providing our people with quality. On this, there is no compromise.

I thank you.

- Issued by the Department of Human Settlements, May 22 2013

Protesters loot hawkers’ stalls

Cape Town - Delft residents who were making their way through the city centre after a day of protesting outside the Western Cape High Court looted hawkers’ stalls.

The residents from Delft’s TRA5 had come to town to support seven community leaders against whom an urgent application had been brought in the high court. As they reached the Grand Parade many grabbed goods from hawkers’s stalls before fleeing towards Cape Town Station.

The court application had been brought by the provincial Department of Human Settlements against the leaders for disrupting construction of new houses which are intended for TRA5 residents.

The case is back in court on Thursday.

The residents were due to receive houses built using alternative building materials, but the residents said that they wanted brick houses.

Bruce Oom, spokesman for MEC for Human Settlements Bonginkosi Madikizela, said they had applied for an interdict against the seven leaders so that the building work could be continued without disruption.

The community leaders have been accused of intimidating building workers on the site and preventing them from performing their duties.

“The department has a mandate to deliver houses to those people who need them most, and at stake are the housing needs of thousands of people due to the unhappiness of a few individuals.”

But residents argued in court that there were no grounds for an interdict since the last disruption had been on March 22 and work at the site had continued uninterrupted since the beginning of last month.

Outside the court, Zwelohlanga Ndiki, one of the respondents in the case, said residents had marched to the site after they heard that their new houses were to be built with material similar to asbestos slabs.

“There was no show house to show the people what kind of house they will be getting and the residents want an assurance that these houses will not collapse after eight years.”

Oom said the project was expected to be complete by March next year, “but due to various challenges with the project, the completion date may be extended by a few months”.

He said that houses built with alternative materials were in many ways superior to conventional brick and mortar houses.

“All houses have to meet the standards of the National Home Builders Registration Council, which independently guarantees the quality of the houses for five years after construction.”

Oom said a show house had been built by the contractor at another site and the community leaders had been invited to inspect it.

“Minister Madikizela has also communicated the process to the community, as well as the benefits of the new houses, and so the department is satisfied there has been sufficient communication.”

- Cape Argus

Public speaks on Cape stadium’s future

Cape Town - From seeing it demolished to make way for housing to selling it to interested bidders, the public has weighed in on what should be done with the money-guzzling Cape Town Stadium.

The city is reviewing public submissions after the first round of public participation drew to a close at the end of March.

The six most popular ideas which came out of 151 submissions were (in no particular order):

* Demolishing the multibillion-rand venue and developing it into a residential space.

* Public ownership models where people can buy a seat for a series of events.

* Selling the stadium.

* Converting it into a large indoor sports arena and conference venue.

* Developing it into a mega market.

* Donating the stadium to the Western Province Rugby Union.

The public was asked to comment on several plans for the commercialisation of the R4.2 billion stadium. The city plans to apply to the provincial government to overturn the record of decision, which bans commercial activity.

The city says it also plans to start another round of engagements about the future of the stadium with labour and business sectors in the city.

At a finance portfolio committee meeting this month the true costs of the stadium were revealed. The figures show that aside from the R4.2bn it took to build the stadium, the city has, since 2009 spent R436 million on running the venue.

So far, for this financial year, the city has made R12.2m from the venue, but the operating cost for 2012/2013 after depreciation amounts to R47.8m.

The total operating cost since 2009/2010 to date amounts to R436m.

The total income to the stadium in the same time period amounts to more than R92m.

The mayco member for tourism, events and marketing, Grant Pascoe, could not give all the details of the comments, as the full public participation report first has to be tabled at next month’s portfolio committee meeting.

“At this stage we have to give serious consideration to the public’s comments, as it is all part of having the record of decision overturned.

From the submissions received we can see that the majority of people took their time to go through the proposals and really thought through their comments and put considerable effort into it.

“We appreciate the time and effort people made to comment, as this is an important matter for all ratepayers,” Pascoe said.

He said the city was in continual talks with the Western Province Rugby Union and was trying to secure the best outcome for all parties.

The city has previously indicated, in terms of its business plans, securing the union would be the most viable.

Pascoe said most of the six most popular ideas for the stadium were in line with the business plan options the city presented to the public, barring the one which suggests demolishing the stadium for residential use.

“The public’s ideas are on the table and they will be taken seriously.”

They had to be taken into consideration throughout the process of applying for the record of decision to be overturned, Pascoe said.

- Cape Times

Cape Town seeks toilet interdict

Cape Town - The City of Cape Town intends seeking an interdict against the people disrupting the servicing of toilets in informal settlements, an official said on Wednesday.

Utility services mayoral committee member Ernest Sonnenberg said services had been affected in Kanana, Barcelona, and Boystown, in Gugulethu.

“We have met with our attorneys and will be getting the interdict soon. We can't say exactly when,” he said.

Sannicare janitors responsible for cleaning communal toilets blocked the N2 highway with burning tyres on Monday and dumped faeces in the road, in protest against being dismissed.

At the weekend, residents escorted city officials to service toilets which had been left unattended because of the labour action.

“Last night (Tuesday), we received reports from community members in Europe (in Gugulethu) that they were being threatened by members of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL), who, it is alleged, threatened to burn their homes,” Sonnenberg said.

“The city will work with all relevant law enforcement agencies to investigate any such claims.”

ANCYL regional chairman Khaya Yozi denied that members had played any part in the toilet dispute.

“These are very extreme and unfounded allegations. It's just poor of the city, when they are caught with their pants down, to blame it on someone else,” he said.

“We are not involved in these threats or violence whatsoever.”

He said ANCYL leaders had played a mediating role between Sannicare and its former contract workers.

“The employees were told by their contractor that they were dismissed, but they protested because they were actually employed by a sub-contractor. There was also a discrepancy in salary being offered.”

Yozi, who is a councillor for the Nyanga areas of Vukuzenzele, Lusaka and Zimbabwe, said he and other councillors had convinced the janitors to keep on cleaning the toilets.

“The toilets are being cleaned on the basis of our intervention. We said to the cleaners: we pledge solidarity with your march, but look, we live here with yourselves. They need to be cleaned.”

Yozi asked the city to take a greater leadership role in the dispute.

Sonnenberg said six city employees had been attacked in the past few weeks. A city vehicle was set alight a month ago in Kanana.

On Friday, a city official was attacked while driving in a marked car through Boystown. He was hit on the head with a brick and glass was shattered on his arm. He was taken to hospital for treatment.

On Monday, city staff were apparently singled out and threatened.

“What is becoming increasingly clear is that the intimidation of city staff and disruption of major transport routes is part of a well co-ordinated strategy,” Sonnenberg said.

“The city will not stand idly by while our staff are being attacked, and while the rights of innocent citizens to sanitation and other services is threatened.” 

- Sapa

Protesters cause more Cape traffic chaos

Cape Town - Protests on the N2 on Monday morning resulted in traffic chaos for thousands of commuters as the inbound and outbound lanes were closed.

Nyanga residents staged a service delivery protest from early this morning.

The protesters burnt tyres at the Airport Approach intersection and littered the N2 with the contents of portable toilets and piles of burning rubbish.

The highway was closed at Airport Approach and at Borcherds Quarry. Police had not made any arrests at publication time.

City Traffic Services spokeswoman Inspector Maxine Jordaan said major delays were experienced on alternative routes because of the added influx of traffic. “The N2 is one of the main arterial routes into the city. If it is affected, the ripple effects extend to all detours, resulting in backlogs.”

The outbound lanes opened at 10.25 this morning, but the inbound lanes remained closed at publication time.

A group of workers contracted by the City of Cape Town cleared obstructions on the N2, including piles of human excrement.

Several callers to 567 CapeTalk this morning expressed frustration at police, who were seen to be “monitoring” the situation, but who did “nothing” to clear up the obstacles blocking the road.

Responding to the complaints, Cape Chamber of Commerce president Fred Jacobs suggested that the police consider employing more people and extend their mandate to “alleviate” such situations as quickly as possible.

Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Andrè Traut defended the officers.

He said the police’s mandate was “monitoring” and ensuring that “law and order” was maintained.

“The waste needs to be dealt with carefully and professionally. Police are not equipped to provide this service and it is thus the city’s responsibility.”

Jacobs said this morning’s delays were “massively damaging to the city’s economy”.

“With the background of the recent bus strike, this is once again our… productivity.

“People are late for work and the added stress means that they will be less productive,” he said, suggesting that a spokesperson for the protesters needed to be accommodated by the city in order to avoid future protests.

However, the Cape Argus was unable to locate such a spokesperson this morning.

- Cape Argus