The Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements has called on the provincial departments of Human Settlements in Limpopo and Mpumalanga to work with municipalities to resolve the challenge of availability of bulk infrastructure as this will remove blockages to the delivery of human settlements projects. The committee this week received updates on the progress in delivering MinMec priorities in Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

“The committee noted that the lack of bulk infrastructure has been identified as a leading cause of delays in delivering projects and this can only be resolved through joint planning with municipalities. It is unacceptable that there seems to be a continuing lack of collaboration in planning, especially now that national government has encouraged integrated planning through the District Development Programme,” said Ms Machwene Semenya, the committee Chairperson. It is in this context that the committee has instructed better planning between all spheres of government.

MPUMALANGA

It is concerning that in the Govan Mbeki Local Municipality, a project to deliver 1 471 service sites was stalled due to lack of municipal bulk infrastructure services to support the service sites and construction of low-cost housing units. This, according to the committee, deprives many beneficiaries from benefiting from departmental projects. Also, the economic impact of the stalled project is unwarranted, as communities cannot get employment opportunities that could have been unlocked by the project and businesses in the area would have benefited through increased demand for building materials.

Regarding the programme to eradicate mud houses, the committee is concerned that there is no credible data to ensure proper planning to deliver the project. While the committee welcomes the collaboration with the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, the lack of credible data will impact on the delivery of the programme. Also, the information that the department has not undertaken geotechnical studies, which will prevent enrolment with the National Home Builders Registration Council, and that the scattered nature of the houses make it difficult for planning must be addressed.

The committee is concerns with the inadequate funding to replace asbestos roofed houses in the province. The R50 million budget for this project is insufficient to replace the identified 20 056 asbestos roofed houses. The committee believes that an identified priority area must be supported by the resources adequate to address the focus area. To this end, Mpumalanga can only replace 650 asbestos roofing sheets, which means more families are exposed to health risks associated with asbestos.

Despite these concerns, the committee welcomes the information that the province is doing well in allocating procurement contracts to the youth and women. The committee reiterated its call that the department of Human Settlements is central in driving the transformation of the built environment. Awarding contracts to the youth and women will ensure that these companies are skilled and will be able to grow and contribute to greater economic participation.

The committee also welcomed the additional R200 million for the upgrade of informal settlements due to better performance in the programme. The committee urged the province to continue the performance and ensure the upgrading of more informal settlements.

It is also concerning that the province is not meeting planned targets in relation to the title deeds backlog eradication programme. The committee was informed that the department only registered 2 770 of the planed 5 000 title deeds for various reasons. The committee has urged the department to find solutions, such as collaborating with sister government departments, traditional leadership and municipalities.

LIMPOPO

The committee is concerned with the department’s performance in spending critical grants, such as the Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership Grant (ISUPG) with the department spending only R 57 726 950 by end of August, translating to 21% of the original budget spend. The dangers of not spending resources are, on the one hand, that communities are deprived of much-needed services and, on the other, the province runs the risk of losing this funding to other provinces.

Furthermore, the committee is concerned with the lack of credible data about asbestos houses in the province. This lack will impact on planning and budgeting. The department has been urged to work with municipalities to urgently compile a credible database to ensure proper planning and delivery of projects.

Meanwhile, the committee welcomed improvements in delivery of various programmes, when compared to previous financial years and the projection that the department will spend all its allocation this financial year relating to delivering quality human settlements in the province.

Source: Parliament of South Africa