Human Settlements: Budget Vote 33
Honourable Chair.
Those with long memories will recall the first government of the democratic era promising to build a million RDP houses in its five-year term.
It was an over-ambitious target, not quite reached, but it spoke to the priority of constructing roofs over families heads.
In the 2000s, the provision of subsidised houses began to speed up.
By 2006, the National Department of Human Settlements reported that more than 270 000 housing opportunities were delivered in just one year.
Then delivery slowed down again. According to the ruling party, over the past four years an average of 107 000 houses were built across the country.
That is a 60% decline.
It has nothing to do with balancing supply and demand. The backlog is there for all to see, in the informal settlements. For 15 years, the government has been delivering less while demand has increased.
And now we meet here today to discuss cutting that budget further.
A portion of the Urban Settlement Development Grant funding is returned to Treasury each year because some housing projects run behind or become stalled.
I support the need for some of the money that is usually returned at the end of the year to come back earlier.
We need it now so that we can fight the global health crisis we are in.
We need to pay for extra nurses, doctors, hospital beds and medical equipment.
We need protective gear for teachers, healthcare and law enforcement workers. And we need more money for social support than was anticipated when these budgets were allocated last year.
I regret the cuts, and the fact that we will see fewer families in secure accommodation as a result. But I support the fight against Covid and the measures we need to take to save lives.
We must ensure that the money is not looted. And when the Covid crisis is over, we must reallocate the funds back to housing.
Honourable Chair,
Even as we fight the deadly disease, we must never abandon our quest to use public land for public good.
Wisely spent, the funds in Human Settlements must address the relationship between space and race, and provide families with dignity, comfort, security and real financial assets in the form of title deeds.
I thank you.