Human Settlements South Africa Yearbook 2015/16 - South Africa Yearbook 2015/16

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Human Settlements

                                      South Africa Yearbook 2015/16

                                            Human
                                       Settlements

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Human Settlements

 The Department of Human Settlements (DHS)                service to resolve disputes emanating from
 takes progressive steps towards achieving the            within community schemes. The Act is aimed
 vision of the National Development Plan (NDP) of         at addressing any problems and disputes
 transforming human settlements and the spatial           among participants involving the control
 economy to create more functionally integrated,          and administration of finances, facilities and
 balanced and vibrant urban settlements.                  behaviour.
    More specifically, the department planned         •   The Estate Agency Affairs Act, 1976 (Act 112 of
 to implement the human settlements reforms               1976), the Finance-Linked Individual Subsidy
 before 2019.                                             Programme (FLISP) and the Mortgage Default
    The reforms aim to ensure that poor                   Insurance are expected to address challenges
 households have adequate housing in better               associated with the upgrading of slums,
 living environments, to support the development          access to basic services, accreditation of key
 of a functional and equitable residential property       municipalities and land acquisition for human
 market, and to improve institutional capacity and        settlements. The programme of improving
 coordination for better spatial targeting.               property markets remains a major challenge.
    Provinces, municipalities and the department’s    •   The Housing Act, 1997 (Act 107 of 1997),
 public entities are the implementing agents of           provides for, among other things, facilitating
 national policy directives. They are responsible         a sustainable housing-development process.
 for delivering housing opportunities, funded by          For this purpose, it lays down general principles
 transfers from the department.                           applicable to housing development in all
    The DHS must, after consultation with                 spheres of government; defines the functions
 provinces and municipalities, establish and              of national, provincial and local government
 facilitate a sustainable national housing                in respect of housing development; and
 development process by:                                  provides for the financing of national housing
 • setting broad national housing delivery goals;         programmes.
 • promoting consultation with all stakeholders       •   The Rental Housing Act, 1999 (Act 50 of 1999),
    in the housing delivery chain, including civil        defines the responsibility of government in
    society and the private sector;                       respect of the rental housing market. It creates
 • determining national policy, including national        mechanisms to advance the provision of rental
    norms and standards, in respect of housing            housing property and promotes access to
    and human settlements development;                    adequate housing by working to ensure the
 • monitoring performance of provinces and                proper functioning of the rental housing market.
    municipalities against housing budgetary and          It furthermore provides for the establishment
    delivery goals; and                                   of rental housing tribunals. The Act gives
 • building the capacity of provinces and                 tribunals the power to make rulings, which are
    municipalities.                                       deemed to be rulings of a magistrates’ court
                                                          in terms of the Magistrates’ Courts Act, 1993
 Legislation and policies                                 (Act 120 of 1993), and which are enforced
 Even though the name of the department                   in terms of the Act. The Act provides for the
 changed in 2009 from Housing to Human                    facilitation of sound relations between tenants
 Settlements, the department still draws its              and landlords and for this purpose, lays down
 mandate from the Constitution of the Republic            general requirements relating to leases.
 of South Africa of 1996 and section 3 of the             Among other things, the Act prescribes that:
 Housing Act, 1997 (Act 107 of 1997).                     leases may be oral or in writing; tenants can
 • The Sectional Titles Schemes Management                demand a written lease; the landlord must give
   Act, 2011 (Act 8 of 2011), which provides              the tenant a written receipt for all payments
   for the establishment of bodies corporate to           received by the landlord from the tenant; the
   manage and regulate common property in                 landlord may require that the tenant pay a
   sectional title schemes and the establishment          deposit before moving in; the balance of the
   of an advisory council to advise the Minister.         deposit and interest must be refunded to the
 • The Community Schemes Ombud Service                    tenant by the landlord not later than 21 days
   Act, 2011 (Act 9 of 2011), which could                 after the expiry of the lease.
   fundamentally change the lives of people           •   The Rental Housing Amendment Act, 2007
   living in high-rise flats, inner-city buildings,       (Act 43 of 2007), among other things, provides
   townhouse complexes and other gated                    for rulings by rental housing tribunals, to
   communities. The Act establishes an ombud              expand the provisions pertaining to leases and

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                                                        i
   to extend the period allowed for the filling of          The Department of Human Settlements has delivered 4,3
   vacancies in rental housing tribunals.                   million houses and housing opportunities since the dawn
 • The Social Housing Act, 2008 (Act 16 of 2008),           of democracy. These opportunities include over 2,8 million
   aims to establish and promote a sustainable              fully-subsidised houses, 121 784 social/rental housing,
                                                            6329 Financial Linked Individual Subsidy Programme and
   social housing environment. It defines the
                                                            986 608 serviced sites. This historic milestone has provided
   functions of the national, provincial and local          a roof for more than 20 million people. The national launch
   spheres of government in respect of social               took place in Cosmo City, one of the integrated priority
   housing. It provides for the establishment               projects around the country which, in 2016, celebrated 10
   of the Social Housing Regulatory Authority               years of existence.
   (SHRA) to regulate all social housing
   institutions obtaining or having obtained public
   funds, and it allows for the undertaking of
                                                        What is least understood yet nevertheless a major
   approved projects by other delivery agents
                                                        contribution to asset formation by beneficiaries
   with the benefit of public money. The DHS
                                                        is that each time government facilitates the
   has taken steps to assist governance and
                                                        acquisition of a house, it comes with its own land.
   regulatory processes through the promulgation
                                                           Nationally, the houses were financially assisted
   of the Social Housing Act of 2008 and the
                                                        by the National Housing Finance Corporation
   establishment of the SHRA. The Act provides
                                                        (NHFC) through FLISP, which gives all qualifying
   for the recognition and accreditation of social
                                                        beneficiaries the certainty of being granted
   housing institutions. Provincial governments
                                                        loans, bonds or mortgages by banks and other
   are given responsibilities to approve, allocate
                                                        financial institutions.
   and administer capital grants, as well as               The DHS has also been buying up high-rise
   administer the Social Housing Programme.             buildings in inner cities, and refurbishing and
   Local governments are required to ensure             transforming them from office space to rented
   access to land, municipal infrastructure and         family units. This form of social housing has
   services for approved projects in designated         become popular with young couples, students
   restructuring zones. Local governments are           and single mothers.
   also responsible for initiating the identification      Areas close to townships, known as “no-
   of these restructuring zones. The Act’s major        man’s land” that were used as buffer zones to
   purpose is the establishment of the SHRA.            separate black townships from white areas are
                                                        being eradicated. The land is being used for
 Human Settlements Vision 2030                          housing with occupants being moved closer to
 Human Settlements Vision 2030: On the Road             cities.
 to 2050 aims to provide houses and services               New non-racial towns and cities are constantly
 in rural and urban areas. It focuses on the total      being developed to fulfil the principle of a united
 eradication of backlogs of more than 2,1 million       people in non-racial residential areas.
 housing units,       which translates to about
 12,5 million people.                                   Integrated Urban Development
   Under Vision 2030’s framework, most South            Framework (IUDF)
 Africans will have affordable access to services       South Africa’s grand plan to change the face
 and a quality environment; instead of living in        of urban development is set to create vibrant
 isolation on the periphery of cities.                  spaces that are geared towards inclusive living
   The DHS is a key player in the property market.      and growth in the country’s towns and cities.
 A study found that of the six million registered         In April 2016, South Africa adopted the IUDF
 residential properties in the Deeds Registry, 1,44     to steer urban growth towards a sustainable
 million were government-subsidised houses.             model of “compact, connected and coordinated
 This represents just less than a quarter of            towns and cities”.
 registered residential properties and could              The IUDF provides a roadmap to implement
 increase to 35% if the backlog in issuing title        the NDP vision for spatial transformation.
 deeds is overcome.                                       It addresses issues such as densification,
   The value of a title deed provides the following:    the delivery of basic services, infrastructure
 • protection of rights to a property                   development and rural-urban linkages. Through
 • asset security                                       the plan, government aims to promote urban
 • facilitation of entry of ordinary South Africans     resilience, create safe urban spaces and ensure
   as players in both the property as well as the       that the needs of the most vulnerable groups are
   financial markets.                                   addressed. The objective is to transform urban

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 spaces by:                                              This formed part of their plan to ensure that by
 • Reducing travel costs and distances                 2030 all South Africans live in adequate housing.
 • Preventing further development of housing in
   marginal places                                     Inclusionary Housing Policy
 • Increasing urban density to reduce sprawling        The New Economic Growth Path identified
 • Improving public transport and the coordination     energy, transport, roads, water, communication
   between transport modes                             and housing as key areas in its strategy to
 • Shifting jobs and investment towards dense          fast-track sustainable growth, employment and
   peripheral townships.                               equity creation.
 • Rapid urbanisation in Africa                          This was given a boost by the Presidential
 According to the United Nations (UN), 54% of          Infrastructure Coordinating Committee (PICC)
 the world’s population lives in urban areas and       and was a breakthrough in the effort to reverse
 this will increase to 66% by 2050.                    the system of apartheid infrastructure and its
   Continuing population growth and urbanisation       spatial planning. The introduction of the PICC
 will add two and a half billion people to the         means the beginning of the end for government
 world’s urban population by 2050.                     operating in silos.
   The UN states that Africa is expected to be           Sanitation, which provides the most basic
 one of the fastest urbanising regions between         protection to the private dignity of citizens, is
 2020 and 2050.                                        an internationalised programme through the
                                                       UN millennium development goals (MDGs)
 Social Contract for Rapid Housing                     as agreed to by all UN member states. In the
 Delivery                                              PICC, this programme has been made a
 The Social Contract for Rapid Housing                 national priority. This is also one of the key
 Delivery was conceptualised to support the            recommendations of the Ministerial Sanitation
 implementation of government’s Breaking New           Task Team’s preliminary findings.
 Ground (BNG) strategy, which was launched in            Private-sector developers, in collaboration
 2004 with the aim to accelerate the delivery of       with financial institutions, have undertaken
 housing as a key strategy for poverty alleviation.    several inclusionary housing initiatives.
   Through partnership between the DHS,                  These included housing projects in areas such
 banking sector, private sector, non-governmental      as Bertrams and Cosmo City, Johannesburg;
 organisations and other stakeholders, the             Olievenhoutbosch,       Pretoria;     Hlanganani,
 country witnessed the creation of more than 1.2       Springs; and Blythedale, outside Durban.
 million housing units in five years. This followed    Multiple housing projects that are designed as
 a Social Contract for Rapid Housing Delivery          mixed-income housing developments ensure
 signed in September 2005 during a Housing             cross-subsidisation and achieve inclusive
 Summit.                                               housing objectives.
   In 2014, the department together with private
 sector partners and stakeholders recommitted          Budget
 and signed a Social Contract for the Development      The DHS took progressive steps towards
 of Sustainable Human Developments and                 achieving the NDP’s vision of transforming
 Improved Quality of Household Life.                   human settlements and the spatial economy to
   Through the contract, the partners set an           create more functionally integrated, balanced
 ambitious target to deliver 1.5 million housing       and vibrant urban settlements. More specifically,
 opportunities in the next five years.                 the department will be implementing the human
   The partners, including the private sector,         settlements reforms in government’s 2014-2019
 mining sector, banking sector; as well as national,   medium term strategic framework. The budget
 provincial and local spheres of government,           was allocated as follows:
 signed the contract during the National Human         • Provinces: R59,1 billion
 Settlements Indaba held in Johannesburg.              • Metropolitan Municipalities: R33,3 billion.
   The signatories of the social contract, jointly       Transfers are expected to grow at an average
 undertook to work together to deliver 110 000           annual rate of 6,3% over the period to
 affordable housing opportunities for the gap            support the delivery of 1,495 million housing
 market, 70 000 affordable rental opportunities,         opportunities across the country by 2019.
 undertake 50 catalytic projects and install basic     • Catalytic projects: The main driver of delivery
 services and infrastructure in 2 000 informal           will be mixed use catalytic projects, led by the
 settlements.                                            department’s master spatial plan. A catalytic

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   project is a human settlements project that        to finance the construction of a house that
   intends to initiate change away from isolated      complies with the ministerial minimum norms
   and segregated communities towards more            and standards.
   spatially, socially and economically integrated      The house is then transferred to the qualifying
   communities. Thirty catalytic projects will        beneficiary.
   be initiated by 2017/18, and the department          One of the DHS areas of responsibility in the
   expects to disburse R315 million to eight          delivery of human settlements relates to the
   metropolitan municipalities as capacity funding    bottom-most end of the market, where it provides
   towards packaging catalytic projects.              housing subsidies to the poor.
                                                        This is where the bulk of the housing backlog
 Subsidies and funding                                exists, affecting mainly those who earn below
 Finance-Linked Individual Subsidy                    R3 500 a month.
 Programme                                              A total of 563 000 fully-subsidised housing
 The South African Constitution enshrines the right   units are expected to be built by 2019.
 of everyone to have access to adequate housing
 and makes it incumbent upon government to            Individual subsidies
 take reasonable measures to achieve this.            An individual subsidy provides qualifying
    Amongst the many programmes, FLISP is             beneficiaries with access to housing subsidies
 specifically intended for the market segment         to acquire ownership of improved residential
 whose income is inadequate to qualify for a          properties (a stand or house) or to finance
 home loan, but exceeds the maximum limit             the acquisition of a serviced site linked to a
 applicable to access government’s ‘free basic        house-building contract that is not part of an
 house’ subsidy scheme. This market segment,          approved housing-subsidy project.
 generally known as the ‘affordable/gap’ market,        The latter option is only available to
 earns between R3 501 and R15 000 per month.          beneficiaries with access to housing credit. The
    Households in this segment, if buying a home      subsidy amount of R84 000 comprises R6 000
 for the first time, may apply for a FLISP subsidy.   for the raw land cost, R22 162 for internal
 The subsidy attaches to the beneficiary and not      municipal engineering services and R55 706 for
 to the property. This is used to decrease the        the cost of constructing the top structure.
 mortgage bond and applies only to people who
 have never been assisted by government. It is        Consolidation subsidies
 disbursed as a once-off subsidy.                     This subsidy mechanism gives former
    The programme handed over R700 million for        beneficiaries of serviced stands, financed by
 the Marikana Housing Project, which is expected      the previous housing dispensation (including
 to yield 2 600 units upon completion.                the Independent Development Trust’s site and
    By July 2016, 544 housing units had been          service schemes), the opportunity to acquire
 completed. These included 252 units that were        houses.
 part of a community residential programme and
 another 292 houses which fall under the BNG          Institutional subsidies
 project.                                             Institutional subsidies are available to qualifying
    An estimated 70 000 finance-linked subsidies      housing institutions.
 are expected to be disbursed to qualifying             The subsidy is paid to approved institutions
 beneficiaries by 2019 through funding provided       to provide subsidised housing on deed of sale,
 in the human settlements development grant.          rental or rent-to-buy options.
    FLISP’s allocations made to provinces by the         This is done on condition that the beneficiaries
 Human Settlements Development Grant (HSDG)           may not be compelled to pay the full purchase
 was R71,6 million. The actual spending at the        price and take transfer within the first four years
 end of the financial year had been R35,5 million,    of receiving the subsidy. Institutions must also
 with four provinces reporting no expenditure at      invest capital from their own resources in the
 all.                                                 project.

 Housing subsidies                                    Subsidies for people with disabilities
 A housing subsidy is a grant by government to        People with disabilities who qualify for a housing
 qualifying beneficiaries to be used for housing      subsidy receive additional amounts to improve
 purposes. The subsidy is either paid to a seller     their houses with special additions such as
 of a house or, in new developments, it is used       paving and ramps to their doors, grab-rails in

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 bathrooms, and visible door bells for the deaf.
                                                      Municipal Human Settlements Capacity
 Enhanced Extended Discount Benefit                   Grant (MHSCG)
 Scheme                                               The purpose of the MHSCG is to provide
 The Enhanced Extended Discount Benefit               capacity to municipalities. It was a collabora-
 Scheme promotes home ownership among                 tion between the DHS, National Treasury, and
 tenants of state-financed rental stock, including    the Department of Cooperative Governance
 formal housing and serviced sites.                   and Traditional Affairs. It is aimed at providing
   The scheme is only available to beneficiaries      assistance to municipalities due to an outcry for
 who took occupation of such rented houses            capacity and technical support.
 before 15 March 1991.                                   The total budget allocation from the MHSCG to
                                                      eight metropolitan municipalities for the 2015/16
 Rural subsidies                                      financial year was R100 million and was divided
 These housing subsidies are available to             as follows:
 beneficiaries who enjoy only functional tenure       • Buffalo City: R9,253 million
 rights to the land they occupy. This land belongs    • Nelson Mandela: R9,847 million
 to the State and is governed by traditional          • Mangaung: R9,2016 million
 authorities.                                         • Ekurhuleni: R14,313 million
    These subsidies are only available on a           • Johannesburg: R16,505 million
 project basis and beneficiaries are supported by     • Tshwane: R12,831 million
 imple­menting agents. Beneficiaries also have        • eThekwini: R14.342 million
 the right to decide how to use their subsidies,      • Cape Town: R13,703 million.
 either for service provision, for the building of
 houses, or for a combination of these.               National Housing Finance Corporation
                                                      The NHFC is one of several development
 Farm resident subsidies                              finance institutions created by the government
 The housing-subsidy programme for farm               to improve the socio-economic challenges of the
 residents addresses the wide variety of housing      country.
 needs of people working and residing on farms           The corporation is mandated to broaden and
 by providing a flexible package of housing           deepen access to affordable housing finance for
 models to suit the local context.                    low to middle income households by facilitating
   In most instances, the programme is applied        private sector lending for housing purposes.
 where farm residents are required to reside             The developmental financial focus of the
 close to their employment obligations and where      NHFC is specifically about finding workable
 the farm land is distant from the nearest town,      models on affordable housing finance for the
 rendering the settlement of the farm residents in    low- and middle-income target market.
 town impracticable.                                     The NHFC was established in 1996, by the
   Farm residents play an important role in all       then National Department of Housing, to offer
 aspects of their housing solutions regarding         housing finance, project facilitation and technical
 the selection of options, the design and             assistance to private and public entities ensuring
 implementation phase, as well as the ongoing         availability of housing stock for the target market.
 management of the housing stock.                        As a means of sustaining its funding pro-
                                                      grammes, the NHFC searches for better ways
 Human Settlements Development Grant                  to mobilise finance for affordable housing from
 The allocation for the HSDG for the previous year    sources outside the state in partnership with the
 had been R17 billion. There had been a rollover      broadest range of organisations.
 of R289 million from the previous financial year,       The NHFC, in the affordable housing finance
 which had culminated in a total of R17,3 billion     market sector, adopts a role of financier, facili-
 as the available amount.                             tator and innovator; to ensure viable housing
   The allocations had been transferred to            finance solutions and growth of sustainable
 provinces, which had spent R16,9 billion. With       human settlements.
 regard to the delivery performance of provinces,        The corporation’s total budget for 2015/16 was
 there had been a target of 45 652 sites, while the   R221,7 million.
 top structure target had been 105 796, and the
 overall target had been 151 448 structures. The
 provinces had delivered 143 911 overall.

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 Rural Housing Loan Fund (RHLF)                        to build or organise the building of their homes.
 The RHLF is a wholesale lending institution.            The EPHP is a useful tool for community
 Its main business is to raise money and lend it       involvement.
 to retail credit intermediaries to provide repeat       In June 2016, government set itself a target
 access to housing credit to low income rural          to deliver six million houses and housing
 households.                                           opportunities by 2019.
    Structured loans are made to match the
 intermediary’s underlying product profile, and        Housing institutions
 are disbursed according to the following three        The department’s support institutions play an
 criteria:                                             important role in enhancing the norms and
 • draw-downs should be structured so that             standards of housing, and making housing more
    the RHLF’s exposure is limited (a higher risk      accessible to all South Africans.
    profile should be accompanied by a slower            The institutions also facilitate the specific
    draw-down pattern to allow the RHLF to             housing and housing-related needs of the
    monitor the performance of the intermediary)       market, in addition to the role that provincial
 • draw-downs should be matched with the inter-        governments and municipalities play. These
    mediary’s disbursement of qualifying loans         institutions are accountable to the Executive
    and should not allow the intermediary to build     Authority of the DHS.
    up extensive surplus funding                         The institutions are the National Home-Builders
 • the size of the facility and the draw-down          Registration     Council     (NHBRC),     NHFC,
    schedule should be in line with the historical     NURCHA, the Social Housing Foundation,
    growth pattern of the intermediary and its         RHLF, the Housing Development Agency
    capacity to manage growth, to avoid potential      (HDA), Servcon Housing Solutions, SHRA and
    destabilising effects.                             Thubelisha Homes.
 • the repayment period should match that of the
    end user.                                          Stakeholder management
 A Pilot Loan is a venture-capital investment          Increased operations through new partnerships
 instrument designed by the RHLF to support            would address the challenges of rapid
 retail lenders to explore new markets (such as        urbanisation. The DHS has been at the forefront
 informal earners or low-income households in          of addressing this challenge in South Africa.
 un-served rural areas) and/or new products              The       Chief    Directorate:   Stakeholder
 (such as alternative loan products with appropri-     Management’s primary objective is to mobilise
 ate collection methodologies).                        sector stakeholders to partner with government
    The fund was allocated R37,1 million.              to fast-track housing delivery.
                                                         The unit facilitates stakeholder engagement
 Role players                                          through various dialogue forums, which has
 Enhanced People’s Housing Process                     led to collaboration in the implementation of
 (EPHP)                                                the Social Contract for Rapid Housing Delivery
 The EPHP is a government housing-delivery             and Rural Housing Contract, Stakeholder
 mechanism that supports households who wish           Engagement, Youth Build, Women’s Build and
 to enhance their subsidies by building their          the Govan Mbeki Housing Awards.
 own homes or organising between themselves,
 the building of their homes. The process              Women in housing
 allows beneficiaries to establish a housing-          The DHS is working on a range of measures
 support organisation that will provide them with      which are geared to support women in human
 organisational, technical and administrative          settlements and emerging contractors in the
 assistance.                                           housing sector.
    The assistance includes training and guiding         These measures will look at addressing issues
 the beneficiaries in building their own homes.        such as access to bridging finance, credit, lack
 The subsidy is available to beneficiaries enjoying    of skills and lack of supportive institutional
 functional tenure rights to the land they occupy.     arrangements within human settlements value
    The land is normally in rural areas and belongs    chain.
 to the State and is allocated by the State and          The     NHBRC      Women       Empowerment
 the authorities. Unlike the project-linked subsidy,   Programme, which was formed in partnership
 where a contractor builds houses for a number of      with the Gordon Institute of Business Science,
 people, the EPHP allows people or beneficiaries       comprises a      developed and customised

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 programme for women entrepreneurs in the                 complete the houses, they go into training with
 construction industry.                                   the NHBRC for six weeks. The NYDA then
   As part of the initiative, a hundred women who         prepares volunteers to look for jobs or start
 own construction-related businesses are taken            their own businesses based on the skills they’
 through a 10-month programme that includes               would have acquired through Youth Build.
 business skills training, mentorship, coaching,       The difference in the two approaches is that on
 access to finance and new markets, as well as         the first one, the NYDA can fund the project up
 peer-learning opportunities.                          to 100% and the second one is mostly funded
   Training and modules are customised based           by the DHS.
 on the particular challenges and requirements of         The volunteers are empowered with
 the industry. They also include practical support     house-construction skills such as bricklaying,
 that facilitates application of the lessons learned   plastering and plumbing.
 throughout the programme.                                In June 2016, 40 volunteers built 200 BNG
                                                       houses in Khunwana Village, North West, as
 National Home-Builders Registration                   part of the 1976 Youth Build SA Programme
 Council                                               which was allocated R200 million.
 The mandate of the NHBRC is to protect the               More than 1 400 young South Africans
 interests of housing consumers by providing           are enrolled in 13 Youth Build programmes.
 warranty protection against defined defects in        Apart from the DHS, other key partners
 new homes, and to regulate the home-building          include municipal governments,Technical and
 industry in terms of the Housing Consumers            Vocational Education and Training centres, the
 Protection Measures Act of 1998. The council          Sector Education and Training Authority; and
 provides training and capacity building to            private sector companies.
 promote and ensure compliance with technical             After seven years of experience in managing
 standards in the home building environment.           Youth Build programmes, the NYDA is working
    The council’s strategic goals will be to improve   on opening a Youth Build school to strengthen
 stakeholder interaction and market accessibility      education outcomes, improve private sector
 for housing consumers, to enhance the entities        links, and provide professional development to
 position to:                                          Youth Build teams around the country.
 • provide quality services to housing consumers          The agency’s strategic re-orientation prioritised
    and home builders                                  the expansion of Youth Build to 50 communities
 • make better use of technological building           with the goal of engaging 5 000 to 7 000 young
    solutions                                          people each year.
 • provide training and building capacity in the
    home building sector.                              National Human Settlements Youth
                                                       Accord
 Youth Build                                           The youth accord was the outcome of the
 The Youth Build SA Programme is a community           National Human Settlements Youth Summit held
 based national youth service initiative               in Johannesburg, in December 2014, to discuss
 that    integrates      academic      achievement,    government housing programmes aimed at
 work experience, social action, leadership            empowering young people while mobilising them
 development, and personal transformation in a         to support government and the department’s pri-
 single project for volunteers.                        orities in the next five years.
 The National Youth Development Agency                    Key to the DHS priorities is the delivery of 1,5
 (NYDA) implements the following two types of          million housing opportunities by 2019 with spe-
 Youth Build projects in support of this programme:    cial focus on the elderly, child-headed house-
 • The comprehensive model where 100 youth,            holds and military veterans.
   all of them volunteers, spend between eight            The programme aims to see youth getting train-
   and 12 months in class and on site learning         ing in different construction fields and the running
   the construction trade using the Youth Build        of small businesses while gaining experience at
   model which is adopted from Youth Build             catalytic projects across the country.
   International.                                         In August 2015, about 200 National Human
 • A model is done in partnership with the DHS         Settlements Youth Accord brigades arrived in
   where volunteers are recruited within identified    Thaba ‘Nchu, Free State, from the Eastern Cape
   communities, orientated by NYDA and then            for character-building training.
   sent straight to site to build houses. When they       The training programme partly focuses on

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 principles of nation-building, voluntarism and                          The approved loans would enable the con-
 patriotism.                                                          struction and completion of 7 328 housing units
   The long-term aim is to create a crop of builders                  and serviced stands between 2015 and 2016.
 and construction workers who are well supported                      The agency’s total budget for 2015/16 was
 and sustained through coaching and mentorship.                       R112,6 million.

 National Urban Reconstruction and                                    Social Housing Regulatory Authority
 Housing Agency                                                       The SHRA is mandated to regulate the social
 NURCHA provides bridging finance to contrac-                         housing sector, and to ensure a sustainable and
 tors building low to moderate income housing,                        regulated flow of investment into the social hous-
 infrastructure and community facilities, and                         ing sector.
 provides account administration and support                            This is in order to support the restructuring of
 services.                                                            urban spaces through capital grant provision to
    The corporation works in partnership with all                     accredited social housing institutions.
 role-players in these markets to maximise the                          The authority’s total budget for 2015/16 was
 development of sustainable human settlements.                        R1 billion.
    NURCHA was established as a Presidential
 Lead Project in 1995, in partnership with the                        Housing Development Agency
 Open Society Institute.                                              The HDA is mandated to identify, acquire, hold,
    The institution’s strategic focus is to provide                   develop and release state and privately-owned
 bridging finance to contractors building low to                      land for residential and community purposes and
 moderate income housing, infrastructure and                          to create sustainable human settlements.
 community facilities, and provides account                             The agency provides project-management
 administration and support services.                                 expertise in human-settlement projects and
    Finance is provided directly to established                       facilitates the development of projects through
 contractors while a separate, specialised inter-                     accelerated and innovative project packaging.
 mediary channel is used to provide finance to                          The agency’s total budget for 2015/16 was
 emerging contractors, resulting in the normalisa-                    R278,9 million.
 tion of risks associated with this market segment
 by the traditional financial institutions.                           The Community Schemes Ombud
    In this regard, intermediaries assist the emerg-                  Service
 ing contractors with a range of construction sup-                    The Community Schemes Ombud Service
 port services.                                                       is mandated to provide a dispute resolution
    NURCHA seeks to:                                                  service for community schemes; to regulate,
 • maximise options to finance the construction                       monitor and control the quality of all sectional
    of housing facilities and infrastructure                          title schemes’ governance documentation; and
 • extend the housing market                                          to take custody of, preserve and provide public
 • promote synergy and cooperation between                            access to scheme governance documentation.
    public and private sectors                                        The ombud’s 2015/16 budget was R41 million.
 • use NURCHA loans to contribute to the emer-
    gence of a new generation of successful,                          The National Human Settlements Land
    black-owned construction companies.                               Inventory (NaHSLI)
 Between 2014 and 2015, NURCHA had                                    The NaHSLI and the Land and Property Spatial
 approved 14 bridging finance loans amounting                         Information System are fully developed and
 to R78 million to women contractors.                                 operational.
                                                                        NaHSLI is a comprehensive, multidimensional

i
    The Vulindlela Rural Enhanced People’s Housing Process            catalogue of habitable land. NaHSLI presents a
    in Taylors Halt, just outside Pietermaritzburg, started a         national tool based on the geospatial analysis
    programme to build 25 000 human settlements to the
                                                                      of the natural, regulatory, structural and social
    value of R2.1 billion. The project is based on community
    contribution, partnerships and leveraging of additional
                                                                      environment context within which a habitable
    resources. About 2 000 full-time employment opportunities         land profile for South Africa is being developed.
    were created and 13 community owned cooperatives                    It facilitates the identification of suitable,
    established through the project. The cooperatives own a           available, accessible land that can be used to
    quarry on-site, transport operations, concrete block-making       earn a livelihood, thereby demarcating non-
    facilities, door-making and other construction-related firms.     habitable land and risk-prone areas and inform-
    The block-making facility produces 6 000 blocks a day.            ing potential users where human settlements

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Human Settlements

 could be located best.                              Strategic Integrated Project 7 (SIP7)
    NaHSLI also provides insight into the devel-     The SIP7 is part of the 17 SIPs contained in the
 opment potential of habitable land and lends        Presidential Infrastructure Plan.
 itself to the functions of choice, governance and      They incorporate a range of economic and
 sustainability.                                     social infrastructure projects and cover all nine
    In total, seven implementation protocols have    provinces with the emphasis on poorer regions.
 been signed and further agreements are under           Investment in rail, water pipelines, energy
 negotiation with a number of municipalities and     generation and transmission infrastructure have
 provinces.                                          been identified for Limpopo.
                                                        SIP7 focuses on 12 of the country’s major cities
 The Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB)              in Gauteng, the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, the
 The EAAB regulates, maintains and promotes          Free State, North West and the Western Cape.
 the standard of conduct of estate agents and           The cities include major metropolitan
 issues Estate Agents Fidelity Fund certificates.    municipalities such as Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni
 It is also mandated to prescribe the standard of    and Tshwane in Gauteng, Buffalo City and
 training of estate agents, investigate complaints   Nelson Mandela Metro in the Eastern Cape,
 lodged against estate agents as well as to man-     eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Town in the
 age and control the Estate Agents Fidelity Fund.    Western Cape and Mangaung in the Free State.
    The board’s budget was R123,3 million.              The cities were chosen because of their
                                                     demographic and economic significance. They
 Resources                                           will be given implementation powers, with the
 One of the major constraints in housing delivery    PICC expected to exercise an oversight role.
 is the lack of capacity in terms of an efficient       In Gauteng, some of the projects that are in
 workforce and the installation of appropriate       operation include the implementation of the Bus
 technology, equipment and systems for               Rapid Transit (BRT) System in the province’s
 monitoring, evaluation and reporting purposes.      three metropolitan cities. Tshwane is expected to
   The DHS continues to assist provinces in          spend more than R1,6 billion on its BRT System.
 ensuring effective and efficient implementation        Johannesburg finalised plans for a major
 of the National Housing Programme.                  rehabilitation of Diepsloot and Ivory Park
   The strategy and guidelines for capacity          townships, including the construction of clinics,
 building, and guidelines for provincial housing-    schools and community libraries.
 capacity business plans, have been developed.          About R45 million has been set aside to
   The DHS undertook several initiatives to          turn Ekurhuleni into an aerotropolis – a new
 support small enterprises within housing and to     urban form where cities grow around airports,
 promote BEE and gender mainstreaming.               connecting workers, suppliers, executives and
   Based on extensive consultation with              goods to the global marketplace.
 stake-holders in the construction and housing          An amount of R2 billion has been earmarked
 industry, the department developed a framework      for a new rail link connecting Cape Town
 for emerging contractor support that resulted in    International Airport and the city centre while in
 a support programme that focuses on training        other provinces such as the Eastern Cape and
 emerging contractors.                               KwaZulu-Natal, the focus will be on expanding
                                                     ports and rail services.
 Programmes and projects
 Sustainable human settlements                       Bucket Eradication Programme
 Sustainable human settlements and improved          The objective of the Bucket Eradication
 quality of household life are defined by:           Programme is to eradicate all bucket toilets across
 • access to adequate accommodation that             the country. The budget for the programme was
   is suitable, relevant, appropriately located,     R975 million for the 2015/16 financial year.
   affordable and fiscally sustainable                  At the end of February 2016, the bucket
 • access to basic services such as water,           system was eradicated in Britstown, Springbok
   sanitation, refuse removal and electricity        and Petrusville in the Northern Cape. It was
 • security of tenure irrespective of ownership or   also eradicated in Kanana in North West and
   rental, formal or informal structures             Fauriesmith in the Free State.
 • access to social services and economic               By then, 2 261 structures had been completed
   opportunities within reasonable distance.         in the Eastern Cape, 124 in North West, 6 377 in
                                                     Northern Cape and 6 974 in Free State.

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Human Settlements

   The cost of these units was in line with the       The department developed and launched
 industry guidelines on infrastructure service        a number of instruments to guide the
 delivery unit costs of approximately R9 000 for a    implementation of the comprehensive plan in all
 single pit, R12 000 for a double pit and R15 000     three spheres of government.
 for water-borne sanitation.                             These include the monitoring, evaluation and
   Expenses related largely to reticulation,          impact-assessment policy and implementation
 material, civil works, geotechnical expenses and     guidelines, and the operating system for the
 project management fees.                             policy and guidelines.
                                                         The department also initiated a project-
 Comprehensive Housing Plan (CHP)                     monitoring process to measure the performance
 The CHP for the Development of Integrated            of provincial housing departments against targets
 Sustainable Human Settlements (Breaking              set in their business plans, to identify constraints
 New Ground) is aimed at eradicating informal         and assist with addressing them swiftly.
 settlements in South Africa in the shortest
 possible time.                                       Rental housing for the poor
    It incorporates principles such as:               The National Rental Housing Strategy, which
 • integrating subsidised, rental and bonded          was approved in 2008, provides for people in
    housing                                           the low-income bracket and living under the
 • providing municipal engineering services at        following conditions:
    a higher level, applying them consistently        • provisions made by previous departments
    throughout townships                              • public-sector hostels for housing migratory
 • providing ancillary facilities such as schools,      labour in the previous dispensation
    clinics and commercial opportunities              • municipal rental stock that has not been
 • combining different housing densities and            transferred to the households who inhabit
    types, ranging from single-stand to double-         the units, and which will continue to be used
    storey units and row houses.                        as rental accommodation because of the low
 The CHP is being implemented through informal          economic status of the households
 settlement-upgrading pilot projects in each          • new high-rise housing stock to be built for the
 province.                                              specific purpose of accommodating low-income
    These projects provide for phased, area-based       households in rental accommodation.
 development, and emphasise community                 Many job seekers in urban areas require rental
 participation and social and economic                accommodation. There has been an increased
 development as an integral part of housing           public hostels owned by provincial housing
 projects. The goal of upgrading all informal         departments and municipalities
 settlements by 2014/15 is aligned to the UN          • “grey” hostels that have both private and
 MDGs to improve the lives of 100 million slum          public ownership
 dwellers worldwide.                                  • public housing stock that cannot be
    The CHP focuses on:                                 transferred and has to be managed as rental
 • accelerating housing delivery as a key strategy      accommodation
    for poverty alleviation                           • post-1994 newly developed public residential
 • using housing provision as a major job-creation      accommodation owned by provincial housing
 strategy                                               departments and municipalities
 • ensuring that property can be accessed             • dilapidated, derelict and dysfunctional build-
    by all as an asset for wealth creation and          ings.
    empowerment                                       Units provide secure and stable rental tenure
 • leveraging growth in the economy, combating        for lower-income earners. Potential tenants are
    crime and promoting social cohesion               selected according to specific criteria such as,
 • using housing development to break down            they must be a South African citizen, not an
    barriers between the first-economy residential    owner of any property in the municipality, earn
    property boom and the second-economy              between R1 600 and R3 500 per month (gross
    slump                                             income), not owe the municipality any services
 • using housing as an instrument for the             money, pass an affordability check, and they
    development        of    sustainable     human    must be a major to be able to sign the legal
    settlements in support of spatial restructuring   documents.
 • diversifying housing products by emphasising
    rental stock.

South Africa Yearbook 2015/16                     269
Human Settlements

 Emergency housing                                     low-income market (R1 500 — R7 500).
 The main objective of this programme is to              The primary objective of urban restructuring is
 provide temporary housing relief to people in         creating sustainable human settlements. Social
 urban and rural areas who find themselves in          housing is not just about building houses; it is
 emergency situations, such as when:                   also about transforming residential areas and
 • their existing shelters have been destroyed or      building communities.
   damaged                                               An additional 27 000 households are expected
 • their prevailing situation poses an immediate       to be living in affordable social rental units by
   threat to their lives, health and safety            2019. Over the medium term, 16 204 such units
 • they have been evicted or face the threat of        were expected to be built, funded through the
   eviction.                                           restructuring capital grant of the SHRA and the
 Assistance involves prioritising funds from the       provincial institutional subsidy.
 provincial housing allocations to municipalities to
 accelerate land development, and the provision        International relations
 of basic municipal engineering services and           The South African Government is party to the
 temporary shelter.                                    UN MDGs, which provide for the significant
                                                       improvement in the lives of at least 100 million
 Government Employees Housing                          slum dwellers by 2020.
 Scheme (GEHS)                                            In addition to these conventions, South Africa
 In May 2016, an initiative to help low-earning        adheres to the following declarations under
 public servants to purchase homes was                 the UN Habitat programme: the Vancouver
 launched. The GEHS is meant to service 1,3            Declaration on Human Settlements of 1976, the
 million public servants who earn too little to        Istanbul Declaration on Cities and other Human
 qualify for a bond.                                   Settlements of 1996 and the Habitat Agenda of
    Civil servants already qualified for a R1 200      1996, the focus of which is to address the plight
 housing subsidy if they owned their property but      of persons without adequate housing.
 this did not help employees who earned too little
 to qualify for a home loan.                           Community Scheme Ombud
    In terms of a Public Service Coordinating          Service (CSOS)
 Bargaining Council resolution, the programme          The CSOS provides an alternative, impartial
 included advice to employees on home                  and transparent service for the resolution of
 ownership options and how to go about renting         unresolved disputes in community schemes.
 to buy.                                               Established in terms of the Community Scheme
    The GEHS would help employees with their           Ombud Service Act, 2011 (Act 9 of 2011) the
 finance applications, facilitate access to housing    CSOS regulates the conduct of parties within
 subsidies, and help negotiate favourable lending      community schemes and ensures their good
 terms with financial institutions.                    governance.
                                                         The CSOS is classified as a Schedule 3A
 Integrated Residential Development                    public entity in terms of the Public Finance
 Programme (IRDP)                                      Management Act and its executive authority is
 The IRDP provides for the acquisition of land,        vested in the Minister of Human Settlements.
 servicing of stands for a variety of land uses,       In terms of Section 38 of the CSOS Act, any
 including commercial and recreational purposes,       person in a community scheme may apply to
 schools and clinics, as well as residential stands    the CSOS, if such a person is a party to or is
 for low-, middle- and high-income groups. The         materially affected by a dispute, for mediation
 land use and income-group mix is based on local       and adjudication.
 planning and needs assessment.

 Social Housing Regulatory Authority
 Social housing is a rental or cooperative
 housing option, which requires institutionalised
 management. Social housing is provided
 by accredited SHIs or in accredited social
 housing projects in designated restructuring
 zones. Social housing provides good quality
 rental accommodation for the upper end of the

South Africa Yearbook 2015/16                      270
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