SPEECH BY BRETT HERRON, GOOD MEMBER OF WESTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL PARLIAMENT AND SECRETARY-GENERAL
20 AUGUST 2020
WESTERN CAPE GOVERNMENT WILL NEVER MEET THE HOUSING DEMAND UNLESS IT IS WILLING TO USE PUBLIC LAND TO LEVERAGE PRIVATE SECTOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING DELIVERY
The Human Settlement budget, exclusively funded by conditional grants with not a cent contributed by this government from its own resources, will never address the housing backlog.
This government plods along, celebrating the development of a few thousand houses a year, while the backlog sits at 600 000 at grows at a pace that outstrips supply.
If we are to meet the challenge and make a dent in the housing crisis this government will have to embrace its constitutional role to provide decent housing and it will have to innovate.
Until the provincial government sees that leveraging well-located and high value public land to incentivise the private sector to contribute to the delivery of affordable housing we are doomed to fail and this government will continue to rely on the blame-game to distract us.
Exactly a year ago, Mayor Dan Plato cancelled 5 inner city housing projects that leveraged well-located land to provide 4000 affordable housing units in the inner city – including at least 2000 social housing units.
Those 5 inner city sites still lie vacant and unused.
Last year the Premier committed to this house that he would settle the Tafelberg litigation. He did not want the sale of Tafelberg School site to overshadow his term of office.
The Tafelberg School site should have been used for social housing in Sea Point. The Premier did not settle that dispute and we now await the judgment of the high court which was asked to review and set aside the sale.
Desperate homeless people literally have to drag this government kicking and screaming to the table of common sense.
The Western Cape had its housing budget cut. Whatever the arguments about the merits of the cuts and the obvious consequences – the fact remains that this government can change the housing delivery trajectory – if it was just willing to do so.
To do so, without contributing direct funding, will require a different attitude to public land.
Can the Minister commit to turning the page on this government’s attitude to land and start to consider how public land can be leveraged to supplement the delivery of housing under the national housing programme?
Ends…