HOUSING DELIVERY COLLAPSES IN CAPE TOWN : The Western Cape government has confirmed that the City of Cape Town’s housing delivery declined by 28% last year. The delivery of serviced sites has reduced by more than half.
19 February 2020
Statement by Brett Herron. Secretary General of GOOD.
The MEC of Human Settlements in the Western Cape, MEC Simmers, this week responded to my concerns regarding the lack of reporting on housing delivery in the City of Cape Town.
Simmers has this week confirmed a collapse in the delivery of new housing opportunities by the City of Cape Town last year. The completion of Breaking New Ground housing projects slightly increased by 5% in 2018/19 relative to the 2017/18 year, but the delivery of new serviced sites has declining by more than half. Overall, the delivery of new housing opportunities in the city declined by 28% from 2018 to 2019.
Cape Town’s housing demand, overcrowding and homelessness are all rapidly increasing. The dramatic declines in delivery of housing opportunities can be attributed to the ill-informed decision that Dan Plato took within weeks of becoming Mayor. He restructured the City to create more highly paid Executive Director posts – spending more on executive salaries, but delivering less.
In late 2016, the City’s administration was restructured to improve service delivery. New housing – Breaking New Gound (BNG) homes and serviced sites – was within the Transport and Urban Development Authority (TDA) from late 2016 until 2018. During this period, the City achieved a near doubling of new housing opportunities within the 2 years that the TDA was in existence.
In its first year, delivery increased by 32%, from 4,293 new housing opportunities in the 2015/16 year to 5,664 in the 2016/17 year when TDA took over new housing. The next year, delivery increased again – by 42% to 8.061 opportunities. In this 2017/18 financial year, the City’s annual housing delivery targets were met and exceeded for the first time ever since the metro was created.
DELIVERY BY: COCT TDA (2016-2018) COCT
Year: 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19
houses 3191 4461 3712 3919
serviced sites 1102 1203 4349 1908
TOTAL 4,293 5,664 8,061 5,827
Plato irrationally disbanded the TDA within days of arriving in the City. In the process he collapsed our exceptional delivery and preferred to retreat back to mediocrity, which he has achieved.
In 2019, the City has not met its housing delivery target. Looking ahead, the cancellation of so many other housing projects in the inner city by the DA means that the future delivery of housing is also in jeopardy. The cancelled housing projects and ill-advised restructuring of a department that was performing exceptionally well have cost thousands of families the chance of secure, decent housing.
Ends
For media enquiries:
Brett Herron 082 518 3264