Poor communication with the public is the likely cause of protests about the pace of housing delivery, Minister of Housing Lindiwe Sisulu said on Friday.
”If there are protests, then it is possible we are not communicating properly,” she told reporters after meeting the nine provincial housing ministers in Pretoria.
Sisulu said the government realises many people are living in abominable conditions.
”We have long accepted that some of the grievances are genuine, borne out of years of living in abominable situations.”
She said 1,6-million houses have been built since 1994. The housing backlog is still enormous, but her department can only do so much.
”There is only so much money that the government has. This cake has to be shared equally among competing interests.”
There has been a spate of protests in the past two weeks over the pace of the government’s housing delivery programme.
On Wednesday, squatters protested against their eviction from an illegal settlement near Boksburg by burning tyres and throwing stones.
About 600 ”Red Ants” moved into the Angelo informal settlement in Lilianton on Wednesday morning to demolish about 6 000 shacks housing 18 000 to 20 000 people.
There were also violent protests in the Western Cape and in the Nelson Mandela metropolitan area in the Eastern Cape this week over housing shortages.
Sisulu said R162-million has been fast-tracked for delivery to the Nelson Mandela metropolitan area.
”This was not a reward for the people going on the streets. We fast-tracked it. It was not new money, it was already in the budget.”
Sisulu said her department is devoted to phasing out informal settlements.
”We will not sit by and allow the creation of new slums,” she said.
Sisulu said a major impediment to housing delivery is a lack of alignment between national, provincial and local government.
”The department is planning a comprehensive capacity building programme for municipalities.”
Auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has been commissioned to audit all the housing waiting lists, Sisulu said.
”We hope this will bring stability, integrity and transparency to the waiting-list system.”
Sisulu said the department has made an agreement with banks, NGOs and the construction industry to help deal with the housing crisis.
The department has set June as a roll-out month for some of its projects.
Sisulu said she wants to introduce a system similar to roadworthy certificates that are given for cars.
”We are hoping to give live-worthy certificates for every house. There must be a thorough examination of every house before we hand it over.”
Builders erecting houses that are not up to standard will be taken ”by the scruff of their necks” and brought back.
Gauteng housing minister Nomvula Mokonyane, reacting to a question about the housing protests in Boksburg, said the creation of illegal informal settlements will not be tolerated.
”We have a list of the existing settlements. Those that fall outside of our records will find themselves on the receiving end of the law.”
North West housing minister Frans Vilakazi said a problem his province faces comes from mining houses, which give many of their workers an R800 house allowance.
”Some people take the allowance and invade land and set up a house.” he said.
Another problem is that people will be given a house by the government, but will then rent it out and move back to an informal settlement, Vilakazi said. — Sapa