According to the ANC, he (sic Big Daddy Zuma) "will on Monday do a walkabout greeting people in Guguletu township"...
- Times live
Sorry to hear of your fate...
Sorry I was caught...
Sorry came too late...
Comrades I want to love you...
together we can make unity...
nevermind your shack...
Big Daddy is back
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Every 5 homes to get enclosed toilet to share
Families in informal settlements will have to share a toilet with four other families - unless they are able to prove that they have the means to build walls around those toilets that are being offered to individual families.
The decision comes in the wake of a furore over reports that Khayelitsha residents were having to use unscreened toilets in public areas.
The revelation generated a national outcry.
Mayoral committee member for housing Shehaam Sims said the latest measure was an unfortunate but necessary move.
City officials were accused of human rights violations for failing to provide walls for temporary toilets in Makhaza, Khayelitsha.
There were subsequent calls by the ANC Youth League for the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to take action against the council.
Sims said the accusation had been based on misinformation about the nature of the agreement between the council and community.
According to Sims, one toilet had been erected for every five families in Makhaza by November 2007. Sims said this was the national standard for informal settlement upgrades.
The council had opted to stretch its budget after the community requested a toilet for each family.
This was permitted because the community had agreed to build the outer structures themselves, said Sims.
She said the current ANC councillor in Makhaza's Ward 95 had taken part in the meeting at which this agreement was made.
According to Sims, 1 265 of the 1 316 beneficiaries had received unenclosed toilets by July 2009 and had built their own structures to cover them.
The remaining 51 families, who received their toilets in December, had failed to do so, she said.
"Then along comes the ANC Youth League, which decides to make a huge spill out of it without establishing the facts," Sims said.
She said the council had now decided to revert to the 5:1 ratio that would provide one toilet for five families.
This was presented to ANC chief whip Peter Gabriel, who offered this option to residents.
Sims said 356 beneficiaries out of 540 who attended the meeting with Gabriel had signed a petition against the proposal.
Sims said it was a pity that only residents who could prove they could afford to build the structures would be able to get toilets on a one-per-family basis.
She said the council would provide the details of the petition to the SAHRC.
The decision comes in the wake of a furore over reports that Khayelitsha residents were having to use unscreened toilets in public areas.
The revelation generated a national outcry.
Mayoral committee member for housing Shehaam Sims said the latest measure was an unfortunate but necessary move.
City officials were accused of human rights violations for failing to provide walls for temporary toilets in Makhaza, Khayelitsha.
There were subsequent calls by the ANC Youth League for the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to take action against the council.
Sims said the accusation had been based on misinformation about the nature of the agreement between the council and community.
According to Sims, one toilet had been erected for every five families in Makhaza by November 2007. Sims said this was the national standard for informal settlement upgrades.
The council had opted to stretch its budget after the community requested a toilet for each family.
This was permitted because the community had agreed to build the outer structures themselves, said Sims.
She said the current ANC councillor in Makhaza's Ward 95 had taken part in the meeting at which this agreement was made.
According to Sims, 1 265 of the 1 316 beneficiaries had received unenclosed toilets by July 2009 and had built their own structures to cover them.
The remaining 51 families, who received their toilets in December, had failed to do so, she said.
"Then along comes the ANC Youth League, which decides to make a huge spill out of it without establishing the facts," Sims said.
She said the council had now decided to revert to the 5:1 ratio that would provide one toilet for five families.
This was presented to ANC chief whip Peter Gabriel, who offered this option to residents.
Sims said 356 beneficiaries out of 540 who attended the meeting with Gabriel had signed a petition against the proposal.
Sims said it was a pity that only residents who could prove they could afford to build the structures would be able to get toilets on a one-per-family basis.
She said the council would provide the details of the petition to the SAHRC.
- Cape Argus
Zille thwarts ANC's illegal land grab
Western Cape premier Helen Zille has thwarted attempts by the former ANC provincial administration to illegally transfer 1400ha of provincial land to the national government.
Worth R500-million, the prime land was quietly transferred to the new Housing Development Agency the day before elections last year. Zille accused the ANC of asset-stripping and took legal advice to recover the land.
Zille told the Mail & Guardian this week that she had found a clause in an original land availability agreement allowing her to cancel the transfer with a month's notice.
"We have all 1400ha back after the illegal and unconstitutional attempt by the previous administration to transfer the land to the national government in the days before the 2009 election," she said.
Included in the transfer was land promised to land claimants in Constantia, who have waited more than 15 years to return to the area from which they were evicted under apartheid. It was also feared that housing delivery would be slowed by a legal row.
It is understood that the Democratic Alliance-run provincial and Cape Town governments did not want to provoke Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale by crowing about the recovery of the land.
Some land recovered by the province is earmarked for an expansion of the N2 Gateway housing project, launched amid fanfare by former housing minister Lindiwe Sisulu. The Western Cape government, the Cape Town council and the national government are discussing working together to rescue the project.
Residents have complained of structural defects and independent forensic auditors found that the national housing department robbed the project of agreed funding.
The DA-led city administration claimed that Sisulu, who is now defence minister, locked it out of the Gateway project.
Sisulu and Sexwale crossed swords last November after he told Parliament that the housing department under Sisulu spent R22-million on theatre productions.
As housing minister, Sisulu and Western Cape MEC for public works Marius Fransman signed an agreement transferring the Western Cape land to the Housing Development Agency. The land was then signed over by former public works minister Kholeka Mqulwana to Taffy Adler, the agency's chief executive.
The development agency was set up to replace the now technically insolvent government housing agent, Thubelisha Homes.
Zille had given Sexwale the province's legal opinion that the transfer was illegal and he pledged to take the matter to Cabinet. "I never heard from him again, so I presume it got stuck in the national Cabinet."
Zille then found the loophole and acted on it. "The properties had not been transferred in terms of the transfer agreement and the land reverted to us," she said.
Cape Town mayor Dan Plato confirmed that Sexwale had called him to ask the city to work with the province and the national government on the Gateway project.
Spokesperson Chris Vick said Sexwale would not comment.
Worth R500-million, the prime land was quietly transferred to the new Housing Development Agency the day before elections last year. Zille accused the ANC of asset-stripping and took legal advice to recover the land.
Zille told the Mail & Guardian this week that she had found a clause in an original land availability agreement allowing her to cancel the transfer with a month's notice.
"We have all 1400ha back after the illegal and unconstitutional attempt by the previous administration to transfer the land to the national government in the days before the 2009 election," she said.
Included in the transfer was land promised to land claimants in Constantia, who have waited more than 15 years to return to the area from which they were evicted under apartheid. It was also feared that housing delivery would be slowed by a legal row.
It is understood that the Democratic Alliance-run provincial and Cape Town governments did not want to provoke Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale by crowing about the recovery of the land.
Some land recovered by the province is earmarked for an expansion of the N2 Gateway housing project, launched amid fanfare by former housing minister Lindiwe Sisulu. The Western Cape government, the Cape Town council and the national government are discussing working together to rescue the project.
Residents have complained of structural defects and independent forensic auditors found that the national housing department robbed the project of agreed funding.
The DA-led city administration claimed that Sisulu, who is now defence minister, locked it out of the Gateway project.
Sisulu and Sexwale crossed swords last November after he told Parliament that the housing department under Sisulu spent R22-million on theatre productions.
As housing minister, Sisulu and Western Cape MEC for public works Marius Fransman signed an agreement transferring the Western Cape land to the Housing Development Agency. The land was then signed over by former public works minister Kholeka Mqulwana to Taffy Adler, the agency's chief executive.
The development agency was set up to replace the now technically insolvent government housing agent, Thubelisha Homes.
Zille had given Sexwale the province's legal opinion that the transfer was illegal and he pledged to take the matter to Cabinet. "I never heard from him again, so I presume it got stuck in the national Cabinet."
Zille then found the loophole and acted on it. "The properties had not been transferred in terms of the transfer agreement and the land reverted to us," she said.
Cape Town mayor Dan Plato confirmed that Sexwale had called him to ask the city to work with the province and the national government on the Gateway project.
Spokesperson Chris Vick said Sexwale would not comment.
- M&G
D6 makes progress
After several delays brought about by stringent and complex processes that had to be followed in procuring suitably qualified service providers, the Regional Land Claims Commission on Thursday reported that it was at an advanced stage of the business and spatial planning work needed for the redevelopment of District Six and the restitution of land claimants. According to Beverely Jansen, Regional Land Claims Commissioner for the Western Cape, they were preparing a development framework to form the basis of a comprehensive business plan.
This business plan was initiated in the first quarter of 2009 but could not continue without a completed development framework being in place. "We aim to complete the development framework and business plan by July 2010 after engaging in a public participation process commencing in April 2010, which will seek to achieve stakeholder approval," Jansen said in a joint statement signed by the City of Cape Town, Provincial Government and the District Six Beneficiary and Redevelopment Trust.
According to Jansen, the Claims Commission has spent the last two years appointing service providers who are skilled in planning developments of the kind that needed in District Six. They include professionals such as urban planners, architects and engineers, who will do the planning and urban design of the site, and also property economists and sociologists, who will ensure the financial viability of the project, while at the same time catering for the needs of the returning community.
Return
Some 1,200 former District Six land claimants will return to District Six, together with Land Reform Beneficiaries from valid land claims in other parts of the Metro region, and, in line with the site's status as an N2 Gateway Project, persons drawn according to transparent criteria from the housing waiting list.
Approximately 5,000 dwelling units will be built in the District, supported by significant medium rise commercial developments, which will be used to cross-subsidize the costs of the construction of claimant homes and social housing not covered by grant funding and beneficiary contributions. Public facilities and public spaces for recreational purposes to support a fairly large returning community form an integral part of the development proposals for District Six.
"A key informant of the business plan is a profile of the community. This requires that we engage with the community and ask them questions with regard to family size, income and their particular needs. However, there is a very limited amount of time and a relatively large returning community. We have also borne in mind that the claimants are tired of filling in forms and submitting documents. That is why we will only ask some 500 beneficiaries to participate."
She said in accordance with good practice, "We have decided that we should take a snap-shot of the community and profile only them as a representative sample of the entire returning community. We will use this information and then draw inferences about the remaining claimants. Names will be selected at random with the sample weighted according to the geographic location where most of the community is presently concentrated."
Community input
Jansen said once they have a fairly complete draft of the business plan and development framework, the community will be called on to give further input. This will involve presentations in a similar vein to that conducted in 2006. Once that process is complete, the final draft of the business plan and development framework will be prepared and an implementation plan will be devised for the roll out of the redevelopment.
"This will be a complex process given that the redevelopment of District Six is a multi-billion rand project. The RLCC, City of Cape Town and the Provincial Government and the District Six Trust have undertaken to ensure that the redevelopment is driven by a viable and efficient process. The two spheres of government have also undertaken to work in partnership with the RLCC to fast track all planning, subsidy and property transfer processes that they are responsible for," the statement said.
"As with any large housing project, these processes are complicated and take time, but we will work together to ensure they move as quickly as possible. This is a critical phase in the redevelopment of District Six and its finalization will trigger what we all have been waiting for so patiently, the building of houses for the returning community. We therefore appeal to the community to co-operate fully and enthusiastically," Jansen concluded.
This business plan was initiated in the first quarter of 2009 but could not continue without a completed development framework being in place. "We aim to complete the development framework and business plan by July 2010 after engaging in a public participation process commencing in April 2010, which will seek to achieve stakeholder approval," Jansen said in a joint statement signed by the City of Cape Town, Provincial Government and the District Six Beneficiary and Redevelopment Trust.
According to Jansen, the Claims Commission has spent the last two years appointing service providers who are skilled in planning developments of the kind that needed in District Six. They include professionals such as urban planners, architects and engineers, who will do the planning and urban design of the site, and also property economists and sociologists, who will ensure the financial viability of the project, while at the same time catering for the needs of the returning community.
Return
Some 1,200 former District Six land claimants will return to District Six, together with Land Reform Beneficiaries from valid land claims in other parts of the Metro region, and, in line with the site's status as an N2 Gateway Project, persons drawn according to transparent criteria from the housing waiting list.
Approximately 5,000 dwelling units will be built in the District, supported by significant medium rise commercial developments, which will be used to cross-subsidize the costs of the construction of claimant homes and social housing not covered by grant funding and beneficiary contributions. Public facilities and public spaces for recreational purposes to support a fairly large returning community form an integral part of the development proposals for District Six.
"A key informant of the business plan is a profile of the community. This requires that we engage with the community and ask them questions with regard to family size, income and their particular needs. However, there is a very limited amount of time and a relatively large returning community. We have also borne in mind that the claimants are tired of filling in forms and submitting documents. That is why we will only ask some 500 beneficiaries to participate."
She said in accordance with good practice, "We have decided that we should take a snap-shot of the community and profile only them as a representative sample of the entire returning community. We will use this information and then draw inferences about the remaining claimants. Names will be selected at random with the sample weighted according to the geographic location where most of the community is presently concentrated."
Community input
Jansen said once they have a fairly complete draft of the business plan and development framework, the community will be called on to give further input. This will involve presentations in a similar vein to that conducted in 2006. Once that process is complete, the final draft of the business plan and development framework will be prepared and an implementation plan will be devised for the roll out of the redevelopment.
"This will be a complex process given that the redevelopment of District Six is a multi-billion rand project. The RLCC, City of Cape Town and the Provincial Government and the District Six Trust have undertaken to ensure that the redevelopment is driven by a viable and efficient process. The two spheres of government have also undertaken to work in partnership with the RLCC to fast track all planning, subsidy and property transfer processes that they are responsible for," the statement said.
"As with any large housing project, these processes are complicated and take time, but we will work together to ensure they move as quickly as possible. This is a critical phase in the redevelopment of District Six and its finalization will trigger what we all have been waiting for so patiently, the building of houses for the returning community. We therefore appeal to the community to co-operate fully and enthusiastically," Jansen concluded.
- The Voice of the Cape
Friday, February 5, 2010
Room for a new view
The N2 project shows that government has still not cracked housing policy
Government's flagship housing project - the N2 Gateway in Cape Town, which piloted government-owned rental housing - has been a disaster. "Social housing", as it is known, was supposed to be a "ground-breaking" approach, introducing government-owned rental housing, but payment arrears are mounting into millions of rand and the flats are not repaired or maintained.
In addition to the 705 rental flats, the project provides for the construction of 22,000 units (mostly stand-alone houses) at seven different sites in the city. The project is behind schedule by more than three years and is still a long way from being completed. Financing for the project has not been fully secured, and big questions remain over which part of government will foot the bill or make the "top-ups" that are likely to be needed.
But human settlements minister Tokyo Sexwale says although the project was ambitiously conceived - it was supposed to be completed by June 2006 - his predecessor Lindiwe Sisulu was "brave" and "right to have a vision". He told parliament's portfolio committee on housing last week that the N2 Gateway cannot be allowed to fail.
Sexwale is going to need more money (to finish the project) and a lot of guts (to get tough with tenants who for years have got away with not paying rent).
The Gateway project was born in a politically charged environment in 2005, when both the City of Cape Town and the province were, like national government, run by the ANC. But when the ANC lost control of the city in February 2006, it ensured that the DA-run city was kicked off the project. It did not want the DA to be able to take credit for what was expected to be the biggest delivery of housing in SA.
Since housing is the city's hottest political issue - there are 300,000 families living in backyards and another 100 000 in stand-alone shacks - the delivery of housing is intricately tied to politics.
The flagship rental units, at Joe Slovo 1 (named after the original informal settlement) and situated along the N2 near Langa, were intended by Sisulu to introduce a new kind of housing. Instead of sprawling settlements of Reconstruction & Development Programme (RDP) houses, the idea was to build more attractive and densely clustered two-storey flats. Because these are more expensive, the plan was to recover part of the cost through rents. It was estimated the units would cost twice a subsided RDP house (around R80,000).
But the policy didn't fit the reality. Construction costs came out far higher - at around R140,000/unit. Although tenants were screened to ensure they could afford the rent, some never paid and the rest stopped paying early on. At present, Sexwale told parliament, only 5% of rent is being collected. Many of the original tenants have sublet their flats or moved out, and it seems government has little idea of who is actually living there. Maintenance and repairs were supposed to be done out of funds collected from rent, so little has been done.
All this was made worse by the agency that Sisulu appointed to run the project, Thubelisha Homes, which went bankrupt and is now in the final stages of being wound up.
What are the lessons from Gateway?
The first is that a "proper" housing company was not appointed to administer the flats at Joe Slovo 1. Human settlements chief director Julie Bayat told parliament that the Housing Development Agency (HDA), run by highly experienced social housing pioneer Taffy Adler, is on the brink of taking charge of the development. A "normalisation plan" is being discussed, including setting appropriate rental levels.
The second lesson is that the rental option, which Sisulu was convinced was what people wanted, might not be as attractive as government officials and politicians believed. Tenants for Joe Slovo 1 were selected according to their ability to pay. They had to be able to afford between R500 and R1,050 per month. Research also showed that many had been paying rent anyway, in backyards.
But it was soon clear the new tenants could not or would not pay rentals for government housing. Government had also promised that rentals would be kept low - an ANC MEC at the time, Richard Dyantyi, is on record as saying the charge would be R165 - and so, once in, tenants objected to rents to which they had initially agreed. In addition, poor workmanship meant that the flats soon began to leak and fall into disrepair.
Sexwale and his agent, the HDA, will have to turn this around. Sexwale seems to believe that the rentals are unrealistically high, but they are set on the basis of cost recovery. "Some tenants are people who saw the gap. Others couldn't pay. The problem is the state of the economy."
There are other problems. While there has been some construction of stand-alone houses at Delft and New Rest, the rest of the Gateway project is "being re-planned, taking into consideration the lessons learned from previous phases", says Anthony Hazell from the provincial ministry of housing.
The biggest re-planning is taking place at what remains of the Joe Slovo settlement, now called Joe Slovo 3. To upgrade Joe Slovo 3, which is densely packed with shacks, some households would have had to move away and settle in Delft, some distance from Cape Town. The Joe Slovo residents took their objection to removal to court. Though they lost, the constitutional court ordered that government would need to negotiate with them on resettlement.
WHAT IT MEANS: Flats are logical but expensive; DA is wary of a drain on the city's budget
That process has resulted in an agreement to abandon the stand-alone model originally planned for the area, in favour of two-storey flats. Given the pressure on land in Cape Town, densification is the logical solution. Cape Town has only 600,000 formal houses. Ian Neilson, deputy mayor, points out that if all 300,000 homeless families had stand-alone houses, the area covered by Cape Town would need to grow by 50%.
Sexwale has invited the city back into the N2 project, and says he looks forward to working with the DA administration and premier Helen Zille. The political rapprochement has a pragmatic function: when it comes to funding the "top-ups" the first place national government will look will be the City of Cape Town.
Neilson says while the city wants to re-enter the project, it is "treading cautiously" and is wary of its budget being sucked into the N2 project.
But building flats at Joe Slovo 3, even smaller ones, will take the city and the provincial and national departments back to the problem at Joe Slovo 1: flats are more expensive and the individual housing subsidy will not be enough.
The Gateway experience shows that government is a long way from cracking the housing problem. Sisulu's "Breaking New Ground" policy, which Sexwale has embraced and rebranded as being not about housing but about "human settlements", has not delivered answers.
Government's flagship housing project - the N2 Gateway in Cape Town, which piloted government-owned rental housing - has been a disaster. "Social housing", as it is known, was supposed to be a "ground-breaking" approach, introducing government-owned rental housing, but payment arrears are mounting into millions of rand and the flats are not repaired or maintained.
In addition to the 705 rental flats, the project provides for the construction of 22,000 units (mostly stand-alone houses) at seven different sites in the city. The project is behind schedule by more than three years and is still a long way from being completed. Financing for the project has not been fully secured, and big questions remain over which part of government will foot the bill or make the "top-ups" that are likely to be needed.
But human settlements minister Tokyo Sexwale says although the project was ambitiously conceived - it was supposed to be completed by June 2006 - his predecessor Lindiwe Sisulu was "brave" and "right to have a vision". He told parliament's portfolio committee on housing last week that the N2 Gateway cannot be allowed to fail.
Sexwale is going to need more money (to finish the project) and a lot of guts (to get tough with tenants who for years have got away with not paying rent).
The Gateway project was born in a politically charged environment in 2005, when both the City of Cape Town and the province were, like national government, run by the ANC. But when the ANC lost control of the city in February 2006, it ensured that the DA-run city was kicked off the project. It did not want the DA to be able to take credit for what was expected to be the biggest delivery of housing in SA.
Since housing is the city's hottest political issue - there are 300,000 families living in backyards and another 100 000 in stand-alone shacks - the delivery of housing is intricately tied to politics.
The flagship rental units, at Joe Slovo 1 (named after the original informal settlement) and situated along the N2 near Langa, were intended by Sisulu to introduce a new kind of housing. Instead of sprawling settlements of Reconstruction & Development Programme (RDP) houses, the idea was to build more attractive and densely clustered two-storey flats. Because these are more expensive, the plan was to recover part of the cost through rents. It was estimated the units would cost twice a subsided RDP house (around R80,000).
But the policy didn't fit the reality. Construction costs came out far higher - at around R140,000/unit. Although tenants were screened to ensure they could afford the rent, some never paid and the rest stopped paying early on. At present, Sexwale told parliament, only 5% of rent is being collected. Many of the original tenants have sublet their flats or moved out, and it seems government has little idea of who is actually living there. Maintenance and repairs were supposed to be done out of funds collected from rent, so little has been done.
All this was made worse by the agency that Sisulu appointed to run the project, Thubelisha Homes, which went bankrupt and is now in the final stages of being wound up.
What are the lessons from Gateway?
The first is that a "proper" housing company was not appointed to administer the flats at Joe Slovo 1. Human settlements chief director Julie Bayat told parliament that the Housing Development Agency (HDA), run by highly experienced social housing pioneer Taffy Adler, is on the brink of taking charge of the development. A "normalisation plan" is being discussed, including setting appropriate rental levels.
The second lesson is that the rental option, which Sisulu was convinced was what people wanted, might not be as attractive as government officials and politicians believed. Tenants for Joe Slovo 1 were selected according to their ability to pay. They had to be able to afford between R500 and R1,050 per month. Research also showed that many had been paying rent anyway, in backyards.
But it was soon clear the new tenants could not or would not pay rentals for government housing. Government had also promised that rentals would be kept low - an ANC MEC at the time, Richard Dyantyi, is on record as saying the charge would be R165 - and so, once in, tenants objected to rents to which they had initially agreed. In addition, poor workmanship meant that the flats soon began to leak and fall into disrepair.
Sexwale and his agent, the HDA, will have to turn this around. Sexwale seems to believe that the rentals are unrealistically high, but they are set on the basis of cost recovery. "Some tenants are people who saw the gap. Others couldn't pay. The problem is the state of the economy."
There are other problems. While there has been some construction of stand-alone houses at Delft and New Rest, the rest of the Gateway project is "being re-planned, taking into consideration the lessons learned from previous phases", says Anthony Hazell from the provincial ministry of housing.
The biggest re-planning is taking place at what remains of the Joe Slovo settlement, now called Joe Slovo 3. To upgrade Joe Slovo 3, which is densely packed with shacks, some households would have had to move away and settle in Delft, some distance from Cape Town. The Joe Slovo residents took their objection to removal to court. Though they lost, the constitutional court ordered that government would need to negotiate with them on resettlement.
WHAT IT MEANS: Flats are logical but expensive; DA is wary of a drain on the city's budget
That process has resulted in an agreement to abandon the stand-alone model originally planned for the area, in favour of two-storey flats. Given the pressure on land in Cape Town, densification is the logical solution. Cape Town has only 600,000 formal houses. Ian Neilson, deputy mayor, points out that if all 300,000 homeless families had stand-alone houses, the area covered by Cape Town would need to grow by 50%.
Sexwale has invited the city back into the N2 project, and says he looks forward to working with the DA administration and premier Helen Zille. The political rapprochement has a pragmatic function: when it comes to funding the "top-ups" the first place national government will look will be the City of Cape Town.
Neilson says while the city wants to re-enter the project, it is "treading cautiously" and is wary of its budget being sucked into the N2 project.
But building flats at Joe Slovo 3, even smaller ones, will take the city and the provincial and national departments back to the problem at Joe Slovo 1: flats are more expensive and the individual housing subsidy will not be enough.
The Gateway experience shows that government is a long way from cracking the housing problem. Sisulu's "Breaking New Ground" policy, which Sexwale has embraced and rebranded as being not about housing but about "human settlements", has not delivered answers.
- Financial Mail
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Warning against N2 project
The City of Cape Town should "walk away" from the N2 Gateway project if national government does not commit funds to finish the development.
This is the warning from the city's chief financial officer, Mike Richardson, who has urged the council to be "extremely circumspect" about committing to any further involvement in the controversial housing project.
The N2 Gateway was initially managed by all three levels of government, but when the DA took over the City of Cape Town in 2006, cracks in the three-tier partnership emerged.
The city council was removed from the controversial pilot project that year and Thubelisha Homes was appointed as developer.
The national government wanted to build 22 000 housing units. By April 2009, only 11 ,37 of the first phase's 15,000 units were complete.
Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale has said it would cost in excess of R1,5-billion to finish the project.
There was no business plan when the city was removed four years ago. But the province, eager to wrap up the first phase, has drafted a new business plan that could require city resources and funds.
Housing MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela said yesterday the province wanted the city to "take centre stage" as the developer for the second phase.
But the city is firm that it will not allocate funds or resources to the province's business plan for the first phase and will only consider future phases of the project at a later date.
The mayoral committee yesterday rejected the business plan. Richardson said the city's housing subsidy allocation for the next five years was fully committed and there should be "absolutely no presumption" of available funds.
But Madikizela said the national government had already committed R480-million that could be used for any housing projects, including bulk services and the N2 Gateway.
Although referred to as "N2 Gateway", many of the housing projects in phase one were in areas that fell under the city's jurisdiction.
The city was obliged to provide services.
City executive director of housing Hans Smit said the plan assumed the city would provide funding, and accept responsibility for project outcomes such as managing clinics, rental stock and other community facilities.
Director of roads and stormwater Henry du Plessis said houses were built in Delft Symphony without city approval and the design of engineering services on the project did not comply with city specifications.
Smit said all non-compliant work done on the project to date had to be rectified before the business plan could be approved.
The city would only get involved if additional funding was allocated from external sources for the next five years.
This is the warning from the city's chief financial officer, Mike Richardson, who has urged the council to be "extremely circumspect" about committing to any further involvement in the controversial housing project.
The N2 Gateway was initially managed by all three levels of government, but when the DA took over the City of Cape Town in 2006, cracks in the three-tier partnership emerged.
The city council was removed from the controversial pilot project that year and Thubelisha Homes was appointed as developer.
The national government wanted to build 22 000 housing units. By April 2009, only 11 ,37 of the first phase's 15,000 units were complete.
Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale has said it would cost in excess of R1,5-billion to finish the project.
There was no business plan when the city was removed four years ago. But the province, eager to wrap up the first phase, has drafted a new business plan that could require city resources and funds.
Housing MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela said yesterday the province wanted the city to "take centre stage" as the developer for the second phase.
But the city is firm that it will not allocate funds or resources to the province's business plan for the first phase and will only consider future phases of the project at a later date.
The mayoral committee yesterday rejected the business plan. Richardson said the city's housing subsidy allocation for the next five years was fully committed and there should be "absolutely no presumption" of available funds.
But Madikizela said the national government had already committed R480-million that could be used for any housing projects, including bulk services and the N2 Gateway.
Although referred to as "N2 Gateway", many of the housing projects in phase one were in areas that fell under the city's jurisdiction.
The city was obliged to provide services.
City executive director of housing Hans Smit said the plan assumed the city would provide funding, and accept responsibility for project outcomes such as managing clinics, rental stock and other community facilities.
Director of roads and stormwater Henry du Plessis said houses were built in Delft Symphony without city approval and the design of engineering services on the project did not comply with city specifications.
Smit said all non-compliant work done on the project to date had to be rectified before the business plan could be approved.
The city would only get involved if additional funding was allocated from external sources for the next five years.
- Cape Times
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Cooperative governance Service delivery protests hearing
The Cooperative Governance Department briefed members of Parliament at public hearings on the issue on Tuesday.
The hearings were aimed at giving MPs insight into the problems on the ground and what had being done to address them.
Cooperative Governance Deputy Director-General Yusuf Patel informed parliamentarians analysis showed the bulk of service delivery protests were taking place in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape.
Patel said the reasons for the protests vary from a growing demand for infrastructure and housing to rising electricity costs.
The department’s turn-around strategy, which aims to speed up and improve service delivery, was also outlined.
Patel said there were five priority areas which needed to be addressed to ensure adequate municipal services were delivered, including clean governance and strengthening accountability.
The hearings were aimed at giving MPs insight into the problems on the ground and what had being done to address them.
Cooperative Governance Deputy Director-General Yusuf Patel informed parliamentarians analysis showed the bulk of service delivery protests were taking place in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape.
Patel said the reasons for the protests vary from a growing demand for infrastructure and housing to rising electricity costs.
The department’s turn-around strategy, which aims to speed up and improve service delivery, was also outlined.
Patel said there were five priority areas which needed to be addressed to ensure adequate municipal services were delivered, including clean governance and strengthening accountability.
- Eyewitness News
Human Settlements - Where dignity is a luxury
A deluge of public outrage has since been directed at the governing DA following a complaint by the ANC Youth League.
It is certainly not egregious or opportunistic to claim - as they and many others have - that such treatment is reminiscent of apartheid, and inherently contrary to the rights to dignity, health and safety enshrined in our Constitution.
What has been overlooked, however, is that these rights are denied to millions in South Africa on a daily basis.
This incident has provided a stark example of the daily plight of people living in poor, working-class informal settlements, but an example that has come as a shock only to those who do not live there.
The protracted absence of the basic services that many of us take for granted and the failure to acknowledge this deficit has resulted in the normalisation of suffering, and the routine violation of basic human rights.
It is worth pointing out that this particular section of Makhaza is not one of the worst informal areas in Khayelitsha - a sprawling and densely populated remnant of segregation where at least 57% of people live in shacks, 80% without access to water in their homes, 35% with no immediate access to flush/chemical toilets, and 24% without access to electricity.
Despite being unquestionably impoverished, Makhaza has roads and is not as densely populated as other areas.
These material conditions might seem relatively insignificant when confronted with the inhumanity of open toilets, but they form part of a broad range of infrastructural barriers that have direct bearing on the quality of life of residents.
You will not find the informal settlement of RR Section on a map, despite it being directly alongside the N2 highway wedged between Cape Town International Airport and Somerset West.
On some maps it is marked as marshland, which is fairly accurate - apart from the fact that it is home to thousands. It is covered in shacks, no more than a metre apart in some areas, possesses no roads and very few lights. The absence of roads prevents fire response teams from extinguishing the frequent fires commonly caused by the use of gas and fuelled by an abundance of flammable material.
Ambulances, too, are often unable to provide medical care to residents, and police unable to protect, as homes are inaccessible and poorly marked. This labyrinth of indignity and sorrow is the day-to-day reality of life for innumerable people not just in RR, but in poor informal settlements around the country.
One of the greatest community concerns - as illustrated by the Makhaza saga - is that of clean and safe sanitation. There are too few clean and functioning toilets and safe water sources, drainage is inadequate, and refuse collection irregular.
As a result, waterborne diseases and parasites - including gastroenteritis, worms and diarrhoea - are rampant. Getting to and using toilets - one of the most unspoken of human rights - can be life threatening.
Residents are often forced to walk long distances down unlit "pathways" that wind between shacks, through back yards and sometimes across busy roads; and are frequently robbed, hit by cars, beaten and raped. In many cases residents choose the alternative of relieving themselves on the outskirts of the community, increasing their vulnerability to crime and exposure to disease for both themselves and their communities.
There are two interlinked lessons we must learn from Makhaza. Firstly, we have a duty to hold the incumbent city and provincial government accountable in ensuring that norms and standards are maintained.
The Water Services Act (108 of 2007) notes how everyone has the right to "basic sanitation - the prescribed minimum standard of services necessary for the safe, hygienic, and adequate collection, removal, disposal or purification of human excreta, domestic waste-water and sewage, from households including informal households".
Moreover, it states that the municipality or local council is responsible for ensuring access to water services: that local government has failed to take responsibility for this incident must be strongly condemned.
We must, however, also acknowledge that this is not an isolated case and certainly not limited to the DA's term of government. It should not be used as ammunition for mudslinging, but rather as an opportunity to initiate dialogue and action on an issue that has been neglected for too long.
We must call on the City of Cape Town to publicise and educate around its Water Services Development Plan as compelled by law, as well as other plans relating to the provision of other essential services. There is too much confusion surrounding the development of informal settlements.
The second lesson is that of the need for adequate communication and consultation around service delivery. Many people in Makhaza were not aware of the arrangement to build more toilets at the expense of walls and roofs. In fact one elderly woman had no idea she was even receiving a toilet, let alone that she would need to build her own walls around it.
It is not enough to communicate solely with community leaders, especially when it involves the provision of services as essential as toilets. Wide forums need to be established which include government, civil society, and the community. At the same time, the community and civil society have a duty to encourage participation.
We should never learn to accept the everyday indignities and inequalities faced by children, men and women in informal settlements.
- Times LIVE
It is certainly not egregious or opportunistic to claim - as they and many others have - that such treatment is reminiscent of apartheid, and inherently contrary to the rights to dignity, health and safety enshrined in our Constitution.
What has been overlooked, however, is that these rights are denied to millions in South Africa on a daily basis.
This incident has provided a stark example of the daily plight of people living in poor, working-class informal settlements, but an example that has come as a shock only to those who do not live there.
The protracted absence of the basic services that many of us take for granted and the failure to acknowledge this deficit has resulted in the normalisation of suffering, and the routine violation of basic human rights.
It is worth pointing out that this particular section of Makhaza is not one of the worst informal areas in Khayelitsha - a sprawling and densely populated remnant of segregation where at least 57% of people live in shacks, 80% without access to water in their homes, 35% with no immediate access to flush/chemical toilets, and 24% without access to electricity.
Despite being unquestionably impoverished, Makhaza has roads and is not as densely populated as other areas.
These material conditions might seem relatively insignificant when confronted with the inhumanity of open toilets, but they form part of a broad range of infrastructural barriers that have direct bearing on the quality of life of residents.
You will not find the informal settlement of RR Section on a map, despite it being directly alongside the N2 highway wedged between Cape Town International Airport and Somerset West.
On some maps it is marked as marshland, which is fairly accurate - apart from the fact that it is home to thousands. It is covered in shacks, no more than a metre apart in some areas, possesses no roads and very few lights. The absence of roads prevents fire response teams from extinguishing the frequent fires commonly caused by the use of gas and fuelled by an abundance of flammable material.
Ambulances, too, are often unable to provide medical care to residents, and police unable to protect, as homes are inaccessible and poorly marked. This labyrinth of indignity and sorrow is the day-to-day reality of life for innumerable people not just in RR, but in poor informal settlements around the country.
One of the greatest community concerns - as illustrated by the Makhaza saga - is that of clean and safe sanitation. There are too few clean and functioning toilets and safe water sources, drainage is inadequate, and refuse collection irregular.
As a result, waterborne diseases and parasites - including gastroenteritis, worms and diarrhoea - are rampant. Getting to and using toilets - one of the most unspoken of human rights - can be life threatening.
Residents are often forced to walk long distances down unlit "pathways" that wind between shacks, through back yards and sometimes across busy roads; and are frequently robbed, hit by cars, beaten and raped. In many cases residents choose the alternative of relieving themselves on the outskirts of the community, increasing their vulnerability to crime and exposure to disease for both themselves and their communities.
There are two interlinked lessons we must learn from Makhaza. Firstly, we have a duty to hold the incumbent city and provincial government accountable in ensuring that norms and standards are maintained.
The Water Services Act (108 of 2007) notes how everyone has the right to "basic sanitation - the prescribed minimum standard of services necessary for the safe, hygienic, and adequate collection, removal, disposal or purification of human excreta, domestic waste-water and sewage, from households including informal households".
Moreover, it states that the municipality or local council is responsible for ensuring access to water services: that local government has failed to take responsibility for this incident must be strongly condemned.
We must, however, also acknowledge that this is not an isolated case and certainly not limited to the DA's term of government. It should not be used as ammunition for mudslinging, but rather as an opportunity to initiate dialogue and action on an issue that has been neglected for too long.
We must call on the City of Cape Town to publicise and educate around its Water Services Development Plan as compelled by law, as well as other plans relating to the provision of other essential services. There is too much confusion surrounding the development of informal settlements.
The second lesson is that of the need for adequate communication and consultation around service delivery. Many people in Makhaza were not aware of the arrangement to build more toilets at the expense of walls and roofs. In fact one elderly woman had no idea she was even receiving a toilet, let alone that she would need to build her own walls around it.
It is not enough to communicate solely with community leaders, especially when it involves the provision of services as essential as toilets. Wide forums need to be established which include government, civil society, and the community. At the same time, the community and civil society have a duty to encourage participation.
We should never learn to accept the everyday indignities and inequalities faced by children, men and women in informal settlements.
- Times LIVE
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Housing MEC audits state-subsidised properties
The Western Cape government said on Monday it had no legal recourse against housing recipients who sold their state-subsidised properties.
Housing MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela has been conducting an audit in an attempt to determine how many government houses in the area have been occupied illegally.
Around 90 percent of all properties inspected were either leased or sold by the initial recipients.
Madikizela said although their hands were tied, all was not lost.
“In some instances where a house has been sold before eight years, that house still belongs to us. We will then profile the person who is inside that house. If that person does not qualify to be in that house; they must pay us the money we’ve used to build that house or get out,” said Madikizela.
He added many homes were sold by cash-strapped recipients.
“When people come to Cape Town or George; they do not necessarily come for housing. They are mainly here looking for economic opportunities; they then use the houses we give them to leverage for an income,” said Madikizela.
- Eyewitness News
Housing MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela has been conducting an audit in an attempt to determine how many government houses in the area have been occupied illegally.
Around 90 percent of all properties inspected were either leased or sold by the initial recipients.
Madikizela said although their hands were tied, all was not lost.
“In some instances where a house has been sold before eight years, that house still belongs to us. We will then profile the person who is inside that house. If that person does not qualify to be in that house; they must pay us the money we’ve used to build that house or get out,” said Madikizela.
He added many homes were sold by cash-strapped recipients.
“When people come to Cape Town or George; they do not necessarily come for housing. They are mainly here looking for economic opportunities; they then use the houses we give them to leverage for an income,” said Madikizela.
- Eyewitness News
Sexwale to monitor builders 'via Google Earth'
Thieving or incompetent building contractors who are squandering billions in tax rands will soon have no place to hide - thanks to new mega-sleuth software that will give Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale a desktop view of all national housing projects.
Sexwale on Thursday said the program, to be launched in April, would, at the click of a mouse, provide him with real-time access to the 7 994 projects happening across South Africa.
Explaining to the Parliamentary Oversight Committee how the program worked, Sexwale said he would be able to click on a location on a map, and would then be able to see all the details of the project's progress.
Details would include information such as the approval processes followed, who adjudicated tender processes and the payments made.
Sexwale said that should he suspect any funny business, he would stop payments.
Taking the hi-tech stakes even further, Google Earth - a program that allows users to zoom in on images of the earth - would be embedded in the program, allowing Sexwale to check up on progress of the various sites.
"With Google you can see the place; it lets me see the houses being built there. We have got to use technology to follow them," Sexwale said of developers and developments.
View the informal human settlements of Cape Town. Click the pic no cost involved
View in Google Earth * View in Google Maps
This was particularly necessary as across the country about 40 000 dwellings needed to be demolished because of contractors having taken the government "for a ride".
"If I know there is a problem, I will send in (head of the Special Investigating Unit) Willie Hofmeyr," said Sexwale.
He promised that this was no idle threat, and that the integrity of the process could be trusted, because Hofmeyr had "taken a number of people to the cleaners" and had even been willing to investigate now-president Jacob Zuma.
Sexwale said those who failed to properly monitor projects, who incorrectly approved developments or who were guilty of nepotism would also be held to account.
"How refreshing is that, Mr Steyn?" he asked the DA's Butch Steyn, who had expressed scepticism.
Sexwale said corruption had resulted in R1.3 billion, or 10 percent of the ministry's budget this year, being lost on fixing uninhabitable structures.
"We could have done other things with that money," Sexwale said.
"There are a few good BEE companies but the majority of companies just took government to the cleaners."
He had high praise for Western Cape Premier Helen Zille, using terms of endearment in describing how they were working together to fast-track housing delivery.
The City of Cape Town, which was kicked off the N2 Gateway project when the DA took over the city from the ANC in 2006, had also been invited back on to the project-management team, Sexwale said.
He said the conditions of "squatters" were "an apocalyptic situation a la Haiti", but that the situation was not the fault of the government.
"Please don't hold us accountable for this... Government did not put them there," Sexwale said.
However, he promised that the government had a plan to get rid of service-delivery bottlenecks, and said when the backlog of 2.1 million homes had been cleared, his department would cease to exist.
"The ministry will end when it is done. We don't need a ministry that gives away free houses," he said.
- Cape Argus
Sexwale on Thursday said the program, to be launched in April, would, at the click of a mouse, provide him with real-time access to the 7 994 projects happening across South Africa.
Explaining to the Parliamentary Oversight Committee how the program worked, Sexwale said he would be able to click on a location on a map, and would then be able to see all the details of the project's progress.
Details would include information such as the approval processes followed, who adjudicated tender processes and the payments made.
Sexwale said that should he suspect any funny business, he would stop payments.
Taking the hi-tech stakes even further, Google Earth - a program that allows users to zoom in on images of the earth - would be embedded in the program, allowing Sexwale to check up on progress of the various sites.
"With Google you can see the place; it lets me see the houses being built there. We have got to use technology to follow them," Sexwale said of developers and developments.
View the informal human settlements of Cape Town. Click the pic no cost involved
View in Google Earth * View in Google Maps This was particularly necessary as across the country about 40 000 dwellings needed to be demolished because of contractors having taken the government "for a ride"."If I know there is a problem, I will send in (head of the Special Investigating Unit) Willie Hofmeyr," said Sexwale.
He promised that this was no idle threat, and that the integrity of the process could be trusted, because Hofmeyr had "taken a number of people to the cleaners" and had even been willing to investigate now-president Jacob Zuma.
Sexwale said those who failed to properly monitor projects, who incorrectly approved developments or who were guilty of nepotism would also be held to account.
"How refreshing is that, Mr Steyn?" he asked the DA's Butch Steyn, who had expressed scepticism.
Sexwale said corruption had resulted in R1.3 billion, or 10 percent of the ministry's budget this year, being lost on fixing uninhabitable structures.
"We could have done other things with that money," Sexwale said.
"There are a few good BEE companies but the majority of companies just took government to the cleaners."
He had high praise for Western Cape Premier Helen Zille, using terms of endearment in describing how they were working together to fast-track housing delivery.
The City of Cape Town, which was kicked off the N2 Gateway project when the DA took over the city from the ANC in 2006, had also been invited back on to the project-management team, Sexwale said.
He said the conditions of "squatters" were "an apocalyptic situation a la Haiti", but that the situation was not the fault of the government.
"Please don't hold us accountable for this... Government did not put them there," Sexwale said.
However, he promised that the government had a plan to get rid of service-delivery bottlenecks, and said when the backlog of 2.1 million homes had been cleared, his department would cease to exist.
"The ministry will end when it is done. We don't need a ministry that gives away free houses," he said.
- Cape Argus
Monday, February 1, 2010
Housing about-turn - move the goal posts please
THE government will not be able to eradicate informal settlements by 2014, and now says everyone living in a shack will have a house by 2020 instead.
Under Lindiwe Sisulu, the Housing Ministry set 2014 as a target to meet the UN Millenium Development Goals.
In an about-turn, Sowetan has been told this will not happen.
“Eradication of informal settlements is itself not a Millennium Development Goal, but the intention captured in that announcement by the then Minister of Housing is related to ensure environmental sustainability,” spokesperson for the Minister of Human Settlements Chris Vick said.
The Department of Human Settlements says there are about 2700 informal settlements in 70 of the biggest municipalities and metros.
“The intention was to eradicate informal settlements by 2014, but at the time information on the magnitude of the challenge presented by informal settlements was not known.
“The previous information was that there were 1066 informal settlements based on the 2001 census. Also the impact of the global meltdown was not taken into account.
“Stats SA has estimated that there were about 1,085,000 households living in informal settlements,” he said.
But he says this figure will not translate into how many RDP houses will have to be built as not all residents in informal settlements qualify for the subsidy.
“It is believed that a substantial number have already benefited elsewhere ,” Vick said.
On average, government programmes deliver 200,000 to 240,000 housing units each year.
“We are also addressing issues of quality to ensure that each housing unit meets the set requirements,” he said.
Between April 1 and December 31 last year, 370 housing projects were registered. “About 1600 projects are currently in progress. These are at various stages of commencement, implementation and completion,” Vick said.
Under Lindiwe Sisulu, the Housing Ministry set 2014 as a target to meet the UN Millenium Development Goals.
In an about-turn, Sowetan has been told this will not happen.
“Eradication of informal settlements is itself not a Millennium Development Goal, but the intention captured in that announcement by the then Minister of Housing is related to ensure environmental sustainability,” spokesperson for the Minister of Human Settlements Chris Vick said.
The Department of Human Settlements says there are about 2700 informal settlements in 70 of the biggest municipalities and metros.
“The intention was to eradicate informal settlements by 2014, but at the time information on the magnitude of the challenge presented by informal settlements was not known.
“The previous information was that there were 1066 informal settlements based on the 2001 census. Also the impact of the global meltdown was not taken into account.
“Stats SA has estimated that there were about 1,085,000 households living in informal settlements,” he said.
But he says this figure will not translate into how many RDP houses will have to be built as not all residents in informal settlements qualify for the subsidy.
“It is believed that a substantial number have already benefited elsewhere ,” Vick said.
On average, government programmes deliver 200,000 to 240,000 housing units each year.
“We are also addressing issues of quality to ensure that each housing unit meets the set requirements,” he said.
Between April 1 and December 31 last year, 370 housing projects were registered. “About 1600 projects are currently in progress. These are at various stages of commencement, implementation and completion,” Vick said.
- Sowetan
Shock at misuse of George RDP homes
WESTERN Cape Housing MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela expressed shock at the weekend over the high number of RDP homes sold or rented out by their original owners in the George area.In many cases the original owners of the homes built with taxpayers’ money have gone back to living in shacks.
Madikizela, who visited Thembalethu in George on Saturday, said records showed that close to 90% of Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) houses built in the George area were not occupied by the original owners in spite of there being a moratorium of eight years on selling the houses.
The MEC was accompanied on his tour of the township by newly appointed acting mayor Mercia Draghoender, municipal manager Cecil Africa, local councillor Charlie Williams and members of the municipal housing department.
Williams cited some of the examples where houses built with government subsidies since the late 1990s had been sold or rented immediately after occupation.
“When successful applicants qualified for these houses, which were then provided free of charge, part of the agreement they signed was that they could not be sold for at least eight years.
“In many cases this clause was ignored and the building sold or rented to others while the intended occupiers then went back to shack-living in the garden,” he said.
According to Williams, many of the houses had also been converted into spaza shops.
Madikizela said that, to his knowledge, only the governments of South Africa and Brazil had attempted to alleviate a chronic housing shortage by building free accommodation for the needy.
“We already have a problem in the Western Cape with an average of 60% of RDP houses illegally sold, occupied or misused but when I learned in November last year that this figure is closer to 90% in the case of George, I decided to review the situation personally,” he said.
The RDP housing programme was started in 1996 and contractors have been paid up to R100000 per unit for their construction.
In some cases the newly built homes have been sold for as little as R1500.
Madikizela carried out a whirlwind tour of four locations in Thembalethu where suspected illegal sale or occupation had taken place. In one home, the windows were blocked up and it had been converted into a general store.
Visibly shocked, Madikizela said he was determined to get to the bottom of the problem.
“These houses were built with taxpayers’ money to provide homes for the needy, not for exploitation and resale. If we find that it is the fault of the former residents, we will ensure that they are removed from any future housing lists.
“If we find that municipal or Department of Housing officials have been guilty of ignoring or condoning the situation, then they will pay the price.”
Problems had also been identified with the location of accurate title deeds and, according to ANC councillor Williams, little had been done to clarify the situation in the last 10 years.
Williams said R400,000 allocated by the George Municipality to resolve the problem at an extra-ordinary council meeting last Thursday was a knee-jerk reaction to the impending ministerial visit at the weekend.
- The Weekend Post
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Focus on EC’s growing informal housing
HE provincial Human Settlement Department is crafting a law aimed at preventing the mushrooming of informal settlements and backyard shacks in the province.
Yesterday the department and stakeholders gathered in East London to consider arguments for a White Paper that could lead eventually to the promulgation of an Act.
MEC Nombulelo Mabandla said they wanted to ensure there was shared appreciation of the magnitude and challenges posed by informal settlements.
“We desire to have a collective identification of other measures to prevent the re-emergence and mushrooming of informal settlements in both rural and urban areas,” she said.
Mabandla also said their initiative was prompted by a resolution taken by a forum including the department and other MECs in 2008 that provinces should formulate legislation preventing the proliferation of shacks.
The provincial department already has a Green Paper on the issue, which sets out issues to be tackled in relation to the eradication of shacks.
The document said the housing backlog and the shortage of housing subsidies left many people with no alternative but to live in informal settlements.
It said informal settlements posed a major challenge for managers and planners.
“Failure to intervene in a manner that improves residents’ quality of life may lead to social and political turbulence,” it said.
The Green Paper proposes the need for policy to be developed to stop people from illegally occupying land or buildings, among other things, as well as proper planning to upgrade informal settlements.
The department has already commissioned the Human Sciences Research Council to do a study, preliminary results of which were presented yesterday.
The findings show that 70 percent of the province’s informal households were in Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela Bay.
Researcher Stephen Rule said about half of the 2878 people who participated in the study wanted to remain permanently where their shacks were.
“It is quite significant that three- quarters say they want to stay there permanently, which suggests that the province must look into in-situ upgrades rather than relocation.”
Jan Tladi, the national department’s chief director of legal services, said government faced a real problem with informal settlements because people wanted to be nearer to economic opportunities.
“We need to come up with legislation and other appropriate measures to try and prevent mushrooming of informal settlements by housing our people in decent shelters,” he said.
Jay Kruuse of the Public Service Accountability Monitor said millions lived in inadequate houses.
“The solution will require an input from a range of stakeholders. Part of the solution may be legislation,” Kruuse said.
He said, however, the department should upscale housing provision.
Mabandla said her department would visit municipalities and district settlement forums as part of the consultation process.
Yesterday the department and stakeholders gathered in East London to consider arguments for a White Paper that could lead eventually to the promulgation of an Act.
MEC Nombulelo Mabandla said they wanted to ensure there was shared appreciation of the magnitude and challenges posed by informal settlements.
“We desire to have a collective identification of other measures to prevent the re-emergence and mushrooming of informal settlements in both rural and urban areas,” she said.
Mabandla also said their initiative was prompted by a resolution taken by a forum including the department and other MECs in 2008 that provinces should formulate legislation preventing the proliferation of shacks.
The provincial department already has a Green Paper on the issue, which sets out issues to be tackled in relation to the eradication of shacks.
The document said the housing backlog and the shortage of housing subsidies left many people with no alternative but to live in informal settlements.
It said informal settlements posed a major challenge for managers and planners.
“Failure to intervene in a manner that improves residents’ quality of life may lead to social and political turbulence,” it said.
The Green Paper proposes the need for policy to be developed to stop people from illegally occupying land or buildings, among other things, as well as proper planning to upgrade informal settlements.
The department has already commissioned the Human Sciences Research Council to do a study, preliminary results of which were presented yesterday.
The findings show that 70 percent of the province’s informal households were in Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela Bay.
Researcher Stephen Rule said about half of the 2878 people who participated in the study wanted to remain permanently where their shacks were.
“It is quite significant that three- quarters say they want to stay there permanently, which suggests that the province must look into in-situ upgrades rather than relocation.”
Jan Tladi, the national department’s chief director of legal services, said government faced a real problem with informal settlements because people wanted to be nearer to economic opportunities.
“We need to come up with legislation and other appropriate measures to try and prevent mushrooming of informal settlements by housing our people in decent shelters,” he said.
Jay Kruuse of the Public Service Accountability Monitor said millions lived in inadequate houses.
“The solution will require an input from a range of stakeholders. Part of the solution may be legislation,” Kruuse said.
He said, however, the department should upscale housing provision.
Mabandla said her department would visit municipalities and district settlement forums as part of the consultation process.
- Daily Dispatch
A crisis of dignity - 5 humiliating years later
The humiliating ritual has become a way of life for the 19-year-old, who lives in a shack with her parents in a section of the sprawling township of Khayelitsha in Cape Town.
There are no toilets for the hundreds of families crammed into the shantytown known as QQ section.
Those who need to relieve themselves can beg to use a neighbour's toilet in exchange for some form of payment, use a plastic bucket in their own shack, go to the toilet in the bush or join long queues to use one of four communal toilets in another section.
The Sunday Times discovered the plight of Mdibaniso and her neighbours five years ago - she was then aged 13 - during turbulent protests over poor service delivery in the then ANC-run city and province. The young teen was reduced to tears by the filthy task.
Today the people of QQ section still face a crisis of dignity - under a city and province now run by the DA.
Minister of human settlements Tokyo Sexwale shed light on what was fuelling the crisis when he told MPs in parliament this week that the number of informal settlements in the country had soared from about 300 in 1994 to more than 2600 .
"Millions of our people are squatting ... It's a disaster in our country, it's Haiti every day," he told the portfolio committee on human settlements.
Another toilet crisis in Khayelitsha made headlines this week after the ANC Youth League accused the DA of violating people's rights in nearby Makhaza. There, the city built more than 1000 toilets for residents on condition they erected their own walls around them. The furore has led to a probe by the Human Rights Commission.
Odd that the ANC youth League had to file a report. Tokyo Sexwale walked Cape Town's squatter camps [sic Human Settlements] with his own shiny shoes and flashy camera; yet the minister of Human Settlements [sic squatter camps] produced no report, plan of action of his own...But Mdibaniso said this week that having a toilet without walls would be better than nothing at all. "Things are much better in the rural areas where one will have a tap and a (pit latrine) toilet in the yard," she said.
Mzonke Poni, a housing activist with Abahlali Basemjondolo - a community group fighting for better housing - described the situation in QQ section as a gross violation of human rights.
"I've heard of incidents where women have been raped when either crossing the N2 to relieve themselves or walking to beg for the use of a toilet in another section," Poni said.
Said Mdibaniso: "When (neighbours) tell you that their toilets are blocked, you have no option but to use a bucket. If your house is in a dense area where there is no gap between the houses, the bucket will have to be used inside the house.
"One then has to walk with a full bucket to dump it in a drain along Lansdowne Road. It becomes a disaster when the drains are blocked," she said.
She said it was difficult to take the 15-minute walk across a bridge over the N2 freeway to conduct one's ablutions in what was once an open field, because of rapidly expanding shacks.
There are four communal toilets in a nearby section of the township, but Mdibaniso said there were long queues from dawn of people too afraid to relieve themselves outside at night.
City of Cape Town spokesman Kylie Hatton said authorities had wanted to provide portable toilets in QQ Section but residents rejected them because they wanted to be moved away to "formal erven and receive houses". She said 4000 rented chemical toilets had been placed in areas around the city to ease the ablutions crisis.
"The housing backlog is estimated at 400000 households," said Hatton.
Mdibaniso said: "What I want is for us to be moved from this place to a place where there is space so that we can get access to water, a working toilet and electricity."
Vuyelwa Cogwana, a squatter in Makhaza, where the city erected the controversial open-air toilets, said: "I have been moved three times in three years. I cannot build walls around that toilet or use it because this piece of land is not mine. The owner may move in tomorrow and what would happen to the material I've used?"
The toilets at Makhaza, most of which have been shielded from public view by residents, are part of the city's informal-settlement upgrading project.
There are nearly 4000 bucket toilets still in use in and around the city of Cape Town.
(Something the ANC promised to deliver on while in control of national, provincial and municipal goverment; The government budgeted about R1,8-billion for bucket eradication over the medium term expenditure from 2005/6 to 2007/8. Then the ANC government admitted it could not resolve the bucket situation and gave up...)
- TimesLive
Cape land transfer dispute resolved
A bitter dispute over a controversial land transfer by the former ANC-led government in the Western Cape has been resolved.
Over 1000 hectares were transferred to the national government by the then ANC-controlled provincial administration just days before last year’s election.
Premier Helen Zille threatened to take legal action, calling the deal illegal.
Helen Zille and the Human Settlements Ministry were posed and ready to go to court to battle it out over the controversial land transfer. Zille said the transfer was illegal and unprocedural. However she said the matter has since been resolved out of court.
“Minister Sexwhale has helped us get the 1400 hectares returned, and he helped us get that returned without a court case. That was very helpful,” she said.
Former premier Lynne Brown denied there was anything untoward about the deal.
It seems Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwhale and Zille have forged a close relationship over Cape housing issues in recent months.
This may have contributed to legal action being averted. - Eyewitness News
Over 1000 hectares were transferred to the national government by the then ANC-controlled provincial administration just days before last year’s election.
Premier Helen Zille threatened to take legal action, calling the deal illegal.
Helen Zille and the Human Settlements Ministry were posed and ready to go to court to battle it out over the controversial land transfer. Zille said the transfer was illegal and unprocedural. However she said the matter has since been resolved out of court.
“Minister Sexwhale has helped us get the 1400 hectares returned, and he helped us get that returned without a court case. That was very helpful,” she said.
Former premier Lynne Brown denied there was anything untoward about the deal.
It seems Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwhale and Zille have forged a close relationship over Cape housing issues in recent months.
This may have contributed to legal action being averted. - Eyewitness News
Friday, January 29, 2010
SA in 'Haiti-like' situation
Cape Town - South Africa is dealing with a "Haiti like situation" every day with squatters around the country enduring floods, fires and disease, Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale said on Thursday.
"We are dealing every day with a manmade disaster," Sexwale said during a briefing to Parliament's human settlements committee.
"It is Haiti every day. The earth broke there. Here the earth is not broken, but consequences are the same. It is a disaster."
Sexwale said that in 1994 there were around 300 informal settlements in South Africa, while today there were more than 2 600.
'Not government's fault'
The growth of informal settlements was not the fault of the government, he said.
"People have run away from many push factors."
"These are refugees in our own country. It is a disaster. This is disaster management, but with a view of creating assets, with a view of giving those people a better quality of life."
People were also being pulled towards built-up areas to find work, to reconnect with families broken up by single cell hostel systems created by mining houses and to be closer to amenities.
"They are like all of us. They want schools, cinemas. They want shopping malls. So when they park next to a highway don't blame them. They go [to] the highway because it brings them closer to getting bread."
Sexwale said in one informal settlement he come across children blowing up used condoms as though they were balloons.
"They pick up anything that shines," he said.
- SAPA - NEWS24
"We are dealing every day with a manmade disaster," Sexwale said during a briefing to Parliament's human settlements committee.
"It is Haiti every day. The earth broke there. Here the earth is not broken, but consequences are the same. It is a disaster."
Sexwale said that in 1994 there were around 300 informal settlements in South Africa, while today there were more than 2 600.
'Not government's fault'The growth of informal settlements was not the fault of the government, he said.
"People have run away from many push factors."
"These are refugees in our own country. It is a disaster. This is disaster management, but with a view of creating assets, with a view of giving those people a better quality of life."
People were also being pulled towards built-up areas to find work, to reconnect with families broken up by single cell hostel systems created by mining houses and to be closer to amenities.
"They are like all of us. They want schools, cinemas. They want shopping malls. So when they park next to a highway don't blame them. They go [to] the highway because it brings them closer to getting bread."
Sexwale said in one informal settlement he come across children blowing up used condoms as though they were balloons.
"They pick up anything that shines," he said.
- SAPA - NEWS24
Tokyo Sexwale’s specifies Skimplaster for refurbishment projects
One of Technical Finishes’ most successful products, Skimplaster, which was developed shortly after the chief executive, Mike Grose, founded the company 20 years ago, is enjoying almost unprecedented popularity at the moment as a result of Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale’s ongoing programme to improve some 40 000 houses countrywide.
Grose says that Skimplaster, which is a conventional cement based plaster supplied in a ready to mix form, to which are added certain carefully selected ingredients, has two characteristics that make it ideal for any refurbishment or new plaster projects.
These are that it can be applied only 3 to 6 mm thick (by contrast, most plasters are 12 to 15mm thick). It is also easy to apply and people can be taught to apply it in less than a day. These two factors, says Grose, make it far less expensive than other plasters.
While still being able to “breathe” Skimplaster is significantly resistant to moisture penetration which makes it particularly well suited to the slanting rain conditions of the Western Cape and the heavy summer thunderstorm downpours of the Highveld.
Unlike many plasters, it can be applied easily onto old PVA painted surfaces.
Grose says recently the orders for Skimplaster have been so big that the Cape factory had to remain in operation throughout the builders’ break. Much of the Western Cape low cost housing refurbishment orders have been completed but the Eastern Cape work is likely to be ongoing for many months to come.
Grose says most competitive products are imported and prohibitively expensive.
Technical Finishes was founded by Grose, a physics and chemistry graduate from UCT, in 1989. He has now had over 30 years’ experience in finding solutions for common problems in the building industry and, he says, been involved with the development of over 150 construction related products, the best known being Solidkote 2000, Hyseal 210, Smooth ‘n Patch and Floorskim.
“We are always interested to hear from people in the construction industry who have technical finishing problems,” says Grose. “Most of our best products have come about as a result of being confronted by a serious ongoing difficulty which affects many property owners or contractors.”
Sexwale: New strategy to fix housing problems
Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale assured MPs on Thursday that the problems of faulty construction that have been found in low-cost housing projects "are a drop in the ocean".
He told the human settlements portfolio committee that 2,3-million houses have been built and only 40 000 now need to be reconstructed or rectified, though he added that one house coming down is an entire failure.
Butch Steyn, for the Democratic Alliance, took issue with the total of 2,3-million houses built, saying that the figure really only refers to subsidies paid out, and not to houses actually built. Sexwale agreed with him and promised that his department would "dig deep" into the statistics available from provincial departments to get to the right figure.
Explaining a new vision for his ministry, which was demonstrated to and approved by the Cabinet lekgotla (meeting) last week, and which will figure in both the president's State of the Nation address, and his own budget speech, Sexwale said that "Silos will be brought down".
He said that he can't go from one ministry to another knocking on doors
"This Cabinet lekgotla has got a strategy, details of which I can't give you, so that I don't have to go from one door to another negotiating with ministers. Silos have been brought down."
He said this was a lesson learned from the private sector. "It doesn't allow for silos, otherwise you lose the company, let alone profits.
"The strategy of Cabinet is to make sure we have an over-arching approach. You can't integrate when you have got Chinese walls between departments. Or silos."
He said he will be working with Sicelo Shiceka, the Cooperative Governance Minister, making sure that land is made available for housing.
The minister also defended his predecessor at the department, Lindiwe Sisulu, over the N2 Gateway housing project in Cape Town. Saying she was brave to have taken it on, he explained that it was a pilot project for the rest of the country, and that mistakes were made. "We have learned a lot from those mistakes," he said.
One of the mistakes now being rectified was to have excluded the city of Cape Town from the project. The city is now being brought back into it. A letter has been sent to Dan Plato – the mayor of Cape Town -- letting him know.
"Helen [Zille – the Western Cape premier] and I are working very closely on this," he said. "That is why we agreed that Plato must come back."
Describing the problems that his department faces as "as bad as Haiti", he told MPs that there was a backlog of 2,1-million houses that needed to be built. But the rapid growth of urbanisation is making problems worse. He said that there are 2 629 informal settlements around the country at present. "In 1994 there were 300," he said. These are people who live in bad conditions but ran away from worse ones. "They are refugees," he said.
- M&G -- I-Net Bridge
He told the human settlements portfolio committee that 2,3-million houses have been built and only 40 000 now need to be reconstructed or rectified, though he added that one house coming down is an entire failure.
Butch Steyn, for the Democratic Alliance, took issue with the total of 2,3-million houses built, saying that the figure really only refers to subsidies paid out, and not to houses actually built. Sexwale agreed with him and promised that his department would "dig deep" into the statistics available from provincial departments to get to the right figure.
Explaining a new vision for his ministry, which was demonstrated to and approved by the Cabinet lekgotla (meeting) last week, and which will figure in both the president's State of the Nation address, and his own budget speech, Sexwale said that "Silos will be brought down".
He said that he can't go from one ministry to another knocking on doors
"This Cabinet lekgotla has got a strategy, details of which I can't give you, so that I don't have to go from one door to another negotiating with ministers. Silos have been brought down."
He said this was a lesson learned from the private sector. "It doesn't allow for silos, otherwise you lose the company, let alone profits.
"The strategy of Cabinet is to make sure we have an over-arching approach. You can't integrate when you have got Chinese walls between departments. Or silos."
He said he will be working with Sicelo Shiceka, the Cooperative Governance Minister, making sure that land is made available for housing.
The minister also defended his predecessor at the department, Lindiwe Sisulu, over the N2 Gateway housing project in Cape Town. Saying she was brave to have taken it on, he explained that it was a pilot project for the rest of the country, and that mistakes were made. "We have learned a lot from those mistakes," he said.
One of the mistakes now being rectified was to have excluded the city of Cape Town from the project. The city is now being brought back into it. A letter has been sent to Dan Plato – the mayor of Cape Town -- letting him know.
"Helen [Zille – the Western Cape premier] and I are working very closely on this," he said. "That is why we agreed that Plato must come back."
Describing the problems that his department faces as "as bad as Haiti", he told MPs that there was a backlog of 2,1-million houses that needed to be built. But the rapid growth of urbanisation is making problems worse. He said that there are 2 629 informal settlements around the country at present. "In 1994 there were 300," he said. These are people who live in bad conditions but ran away from worse ones. "They are refugees," he said.
- M&G -- I-Net Bridge
Fly-by-night BEE companies taking us to the cleaners - Sexwale
Housing minister says 40,000 RDP houses will have to come down because of poor workmanshipCAPE TOWN (Sapa) - Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale is working closely with Western Cape Premier Helen Zille to rectify mistakes made in the N2 Gateway Housing (N2GP) Project.
"Helen and I are working very close on this one," Sexwale told Parliament's portfolio committee on human settlements on Thursday.
"We said with the N2 let's bring everyone together. Let's check how the money is spent. Let's make sure no money is sent back.
Let's bring the city close to [the] project."
He and Zille, who he referred to as "my lady Zille" would work together to "sort out" any red-tape issues that arose.
"We believe in being inclusive," he said. "We don't play politics with the poor."
The aim of the N2GP was to provide housing adjacent to the N2 Highway, between Bhunga Avenue near Langa and Boys Town in Crossroads, but the project was plagued by irregularities and court challenges over evictions from the informal settlements it was supposed to replace.
Sexwale said the N2GP was a pilot programme and that he wanted to use the mistakes made in phase one as lessons for future housing projects.
"It is a pilot project. By definition every pilot project has mistakes.
"We are using the mistakes, shortcomings of what happened in phase one to improve other phases."
He said his predecessor in the department Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu was "brave" and should not be judged for the project's mistakes.
"It was a pilot project. Don't judge her on what happened. There were mistakes.""You had to be a visionary to put that thing on the ground when there wasn't sufficient budget in the ministry."
Sexwale said the government had been taken to the cleaners by "fly-by-night" RDP housing contractors in housing projects around the country.
Sexwale said that around 40,000 RDP houses would have to come down because of poor workmanship, and that he would lose roughly ten percent of his budget to rebuilding the houses.
"Imagine what we could have done with it," he said.
"We don't have proper oversight. Contracts are just given. There are very good BEE companies, but there are few. The majority of these companies have taken this government and all of us here to the cleaners."
A pregnant woman was killed by one the poorly-built houses, he said
"She was caught while was having a moment of privacy in the toilet. She died with the baby.
"In KwaZulu-Natal, one boy died and two were seriously when a house collapsed on them."
Sexwale said he was working with Special Investigations Unit chief Willie Hofmeyr to bring corrupt housing officials "to book".
"We have already brought to book several thousands of people at national government level, where beneficiaries of government officials became fraudulent beneficiaries to houses," he said.
- PoliticsWeb
'No budget' for N2 project
The N2 Gateway housing project could take a heavy toll on city resources, since it has not been provided for in the budget, Cape Town mayor Dan Plato has warned.
Human settlements minister Tokyo Sexwale was to brief Parliament's portfolio committee on human settlements today on the way forward for the controversial housing project.
Sexwale was expected to announce decisions made regarding the handling of problems identified with the project, but Plato said yesterday the potential impact of the project on city resources was "wide and far-reaching".
If implemented, he warned, it would constrain projects to which the city had already committed itself for the next five years.
While all three spheres of government originally managed the project, the city was booted out when the DA took over the City of Cape Town from the ANC in March 2006, and subsequently voiced concern about the way it was being handled.
Currently, the national and provincial departments of housing manage the project jointly with the Housing Development Agency, and the city has observer status only on the project steering committee.
The city also chairs the allocations committee, which monitors adherence to the land-availability agreement regarding the allocation of dwellings, and is represented on the technical team dealing with operational matters.
The city is, however, not a signatory to the Phase 1 business plan, and Plato said a comprehensive report on the impact of the finalisation of Phase 1 on city resources was being prepared.
"Rather than a dramatic impact on the city's resources, the city believes the completion of Phase 1 should be financed from a dedicated and ring-fenced budget provided by provincial or national government, rather than depleting an already committed city budget," he said.
If this did not happen, "critical focus areas" of projects already approved - for human resources, capital and operational budgets, municipal infrastructure, grand funding allocation and housing subsidy allocations - would have to be reconsidered.
It would also require reprioritising other projects and giving preference to the N2 Gateway project.
Plato said he would meet Sexwale and provincial housing MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela to discuss the city's participation, roles and responsibilities in the next phase of the project.
"At this meeting I will seek to conclude issues around the finalisation of Phase 1. The city is, however, very cautious because the project is planned and is proceeding in parallel with its formal and legally required Integrated Development Plan and budgeting process."
- Cape Argus
Human settlements minister Tokyo Sexwale was to brief Parliament's portfolio committee on human settlements today on the way forward for the controversial housing project.
Sexwale was expected to announce decisions made regarding the handling of problems identified with the project, but Plato said yesterday the potential impact of the project on city resources was "wide and far-reaching".
If implemented, he warned, it would constrain projects to which the city had already committed itself for the next five years.
While all three spheres of government originally managed the project, the city was booted out when the DA took over the City of Cape Town from the ANC in March 2006, and subsequently voiced concern about the way it was being handled.
Currently, the national and provincial departments of housing manage the project jointly with the Housing Development Agency, and the city has observer status only on the project steering committee.
The city also chairs the allocations committee, which monitors adherence to the land-availability agreement regarding the allocation of dwellings, and is represented on the technical team dealing with operational matters.
The city is, however, not a signatory to the Phase 1 business plan, and Plato said a comprehensive report on the impact of the finalisation of Phase 1 on city resources was being prepared.
"Rather than a dramatic impact on the city's resources, the city believes the completion of Phase 1 should be financed from a dedicated and ring-fenced budget provided by provincial or national government, rather than depleting an already committed city budget," he said.
If this did not happen, "critical focus areas" of projects already approved - for human resources, capital and operational budgets, municipal infrastructure, grand funding allocation and housing subsidy allocations - would have to be reconsidered.
It would also require reprioritising other projects and giving preference to the N2 Gateway project.
Plato said he would meet Sexwale and provincial housing MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela to discuss the city's participation, roles and responsibilities in the next phase of the project.
"At this meeting I will seek to conclude issues around the finalisation of Phase 1. The city is, however, very cautious because the project is planned and is proceeding in parallel with its formal and legally required Integrated Development Plan and budgeting process."
- Cape Argus
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Cape prepares for winter flooding
Cape Town mayor Dan Plato has lashed out at people who insist on living in flood-prone areas.
At the first council meeting of the year yesterday, Plato announced that the city would ensure that it was "prepared and ready" for the coming winter.
The winter planning committee would begin its work on February 1 to ensure the city could assist people affected by flooding,
Thousands of people were displaced every year during the wet winter months, but he argued that 50 percent of the effect of flooding could be solved if people listened to the city's advice to not erect shacks in vleis and wetlands.
Plato said three parcels of land had been identified to which people could be relocated, and it was hoped that all legal processes to make the land available would be finalised by winter.
"But I need to add that people must understand the other side of the coin.
"I warned people five years ago to move their structures to dry land. They refused to listen, and they'd rather burn tyres."
He said he could not understand why people did not erect their structures on dry land, adding that during recent visits to the informal settlements of Malawi and Burundi he had observed structures "knee-deep" in water, when there was dry land "metres away".
"Mark my words. (Mayco member for housing Shehaam) Sims and I will this winter be called out again to same areas because people refuse to move," he said.
Plato said ward councillors should encourage and assist people to move and to not erect structures in flood-prone areas.
In a similar vein, deputy mayor and Mayco member for finance Ian Neilson pleaded for people to take responsibility for their physical environment, saying the city's budget would go "much further" in providing services if less was spent on repairing vandalised infrastructure.
"If we get greater co-operation from people assisting in creating space for services and ensuring (infrastructure) is not vandalised, we will be able to go much further," he said.
"It also means funds will become available, instead of going towards maintenance. Across the board a large amount of money is being spent," Neilson added.
Plato said people set up homes wherever they chose, but if you "touched" them, the "whole world" took issue.
"But in winter, when it floods, the city gets blamed."
He also lambasted community leaders who blocked the city from providing essential services while they "moaned" about inadequate delivery.
"Councillors do nothing. They love controversy, but the people suffer," he said.
Plato also railed against "urbanisation, the influx into the city", saying the budget could not take the additional strain being put on it.
"We don't have the budget to say, 'Come to Cape Town, Cape Town will immediately provide you with services'," he said.
He warned too against turning "each and every issue" into a political game of point-scoring ahead of next year's local government elections.
- Cape Argus
At the first council meeting of the year yesterday, Plato announced that the city would ensure that it was "prepared and ready" for the coming winter.
The winter planning committee would begin its work on February 1 to ensure the city could assist people affected by flooding,
Thousands of people were displaced every year during the wet winter months, but he argued that 50 percent of the effect of flooding could be solved if people listened to the city's advice to not erect shacks in vleis and wetlands.
Plato said three parcels of land had been identified to which people could be relocated, and it was hoped that all legal processes to make the land available would be finalised by winter.
"But I need to add that people must understand the other side of the coin.
"I warned people five years ago to move their structures to dry land. They refused to listen, and they'd rather burn tyres."
He said he could not understand why people did not erect their structures on dry land, adding that during recent visits to the informal settlements of Malawi and Burundi he had observed structures "knee-deep" in water, when there was dry land "metres away".
"Mark my words. (Mayco member for housing Shehaam) Sims and I will this winter be called out again to same areas because people refuse to move," he said.
Plato said ward councillors should encourage and assist people to move and to not erect structures in flood-prone areas.
In a similar vein, deputy mayor and Mayco member for finance Ian Neilson pleaded for people to take responsibility for their physical environment, saying the city's budget would go "much further" in providing services if less was spent on repairing vandalised infrastructure.
"If we get greater co-operation from people assisting in creating space for services and ensuring (infrastructure) is not vandalised, we will be able to go much further," he said.
"It also means funds will become available, instead of going towards maintenance. Across the board a large amount of money is being spent," Neilson added.
Plato said people set up homes wherever they chose, but if you "touched" them, the "whole world" took issue.
"But in winter, when it floods, the city gets blamed."
He also lambasted community leaders who blocked the city from providing essential services while they "moaned" about inadequate delivery.
"Councillors do nothing. They love controversy, but the people suffer," he said.
Plato also railed against "urbanisation, the influx into the city", saying the budget could not take the additional strain being put on it.
"We don't have the budget to say, 'Come to Cape Town, Cape Town will immediately provide you with services'," he said.
He warned too against turning "each and every issue" into a political game of point-scoring ahead of next year's local government elections.
- Cape Argus
Monday, January 25, 2010
Hemp utilized as alternative construction material in UK
The UK’s Building Research Establishment Centre for Innovative Construction Materials at the University of Bath had just inaugurated a £740,000 venture, financed by construction businesses and the UK government, to develop and study the use of hemp as alternative building construction material. The new study was based from the findings of a French archaeologist who discovered a sixth-century-old stone bridge that had used hemp as mortar.Cultivated for thousands of years, the durable fibre is mostly used to make ropes and textiles. Currently, hemp is processed for use in constructions.
Hemp is classified as the world’s second fastest growing agricultural produce after bamboo. Hemp requires no pesticide to grow and it matures in just four months. Farmers can then plant other crops on the remaining two-thirds of the year and can take advantage of the nutrients left behind in the soil earlier used for hemps. Mixed with a lime binder, industrial hemp can also be used to make house bricks.
It is believed that hemp can help with the carbon emission problems faced by countries today. Pete Walker, a hemp grower, estimates that a 300mm thick hemp wall stores about 33kgs of carbon dioxide, while in contrast, other manufacturing materials produce 100kgs of emissions.
Few decades ago, France started constructing houses by using hemp bricks. Meanwhile in the UK, several properties were being built using the fibre. Andnams brewery in Suffolk had constructed a 4,400sqm warehouse out of hemp. The brewery had used about 90,000 blocks during the construction, making it the biggest hemp structure in the world.
- Electric
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Housing project hits dead end
Launched amid much fanfare in 2007, the housing project to build middle-income houses in Joe Slovo in Langa has failed to deliver.
Only 43 of the promised hundreds of houses have been completed, and even these stand empty months after their completion, with the criteria for acquiring a house having changed dramatically.
The project, called the Joe Slovo Vision Village, saw a partnership between the government and First National Bank to build hundreds of homes as part of the government's N2 Gateway housing project.
FNB invested more than R900-million in the N2 Gateway for the building of the bonded houses, some of which were to be built in Delft.
The Cape Argus has been unable to establish how much of the R900m has been spent as the national Department of Human Settlements has failed to respond to telephone calls and e-mailed questions.
Unveiling the project in June 2007, then Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said the project would build 3 000 bonded houses as part of phase two of the N2 Gateway project, to benefit households with a joint income of between R3 500 and R7 500.
Unit prices would range from R150 000 to R250 000.
FNB's Jan van der Walt explained that the bank had agreed in 2007 to develop and build approximately 550 housing units in the affordable range in support of the government's "Breaking New Ground" policy.
But by today, only 30 prospective buyers have been approved by the bank. And the criteria that applicants have to meet to be considered as prospective buyers require a household income of no less than R6 500 (depending on the type of the unit), permanent employment, and an acceptable credit record.
The prices of the housing units have also gone up, starting at R' 000, increasing in value and size up to R594 000.
Van der Walt said the initiative was to be integrated into and form part of the larger development known as Joe Slovo, the latter being one of the land development areas comprising the N2 Gateway project.
But the community of Joe Slovo protested against the idea of such integration and staged mass action, which saw the vandalisation of construction and equipment in the first phase, at a cost of R2,2m.
This was followed by a high court action, in which Sisulu was granted an interdict restraining the community from further destruction, or interfering with the development.
Van der Walt said notwithstanding the court ruling, a decision was made to limit the development, and FNB would only proceed with the first phase, comprising 43 units.
"This necessitated a redesign of the development and, together with further delays that were experienced, led to a further indirect cost implication.
"In total, an amount of approximately R22m has been expended on this development to date.
"One of the reasons for continuing the downscaled project was to allow FNB the opportunity to recover at least some of its wasted costs and expenditure, by developing units at prices which were inevitably more than the original affordability levels," he said.
The 43 housing units had been completed with two types of tenure offered - sectional title and full ownership.
Van der Walt said prospective buyers had been identified and provisionally approved to purchase and take transfer of the units, but transfer could not take place at this stage.
This could happen only after all the relevant statutory approvals had been obtained.
The land on which the development was built was also still owned by the City of Cape Town, and needed to be transferred to FNB or to the bank's nominees.
This process was also under way. - Cape Argus
Only 43 of the promised hundreds of houses have been completed, and even these stand empty months after their completion, with the criteria for acquiring a house having changed dramatically.
The project, called the Joe Slovo Vision Village, saw a partnership between the government and First National Bank to build hundreds of homes as part of the government's N2 Gateway housing project.
FNB invested more than R900-million in the N2 Gateway for the building of the bonded houses, some of which were to be built in Delft.
The Cape Argus has been unable to establish how much of the R900m has been spent as the national Department of Human Settlements has failed to respond to telephone calls and e-mailed questions.
Unveiling the project in June 2007, then Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said the project would build 3 000 bonded houses as part of phase two of the N2 Gateway project, to benefit households with a joint income of between R3 500 and R7 500.
Unit prices would range from R150 000 to R250 000.
FNB's Jan van der Walt explained that the bank had agreed in 2007 to develop and build approximately 550 housing units in the affordable range in support of the government's "Breaking New Ground" policy.
But by today, only 30 prospective buyers have been approved by the bank. And the criteria that applicants have to meet to be considered as prospective buyers require a household income of no less than R6 500 (depending on the type of the unit), permanent employment, and an acceptable credit record.
The prices of the housing units have also gone up, starting at R' 000, increasing in value and size up to R594 000.
Van der Walt said the initiative was to be integrated into and form part of the larger development known as Joe Slovo, the latter being one of the land development areas comprising the N2 Gateway project.
But the community of Joe Slovo protested against the idea of such integration and staged mass action, which saw the vandalisation of construction and equipment in the first phase, at a cost of R2,2m.
This was followed by a high court action, in which Sisulu was granted an interdict restraining the community from further destruction, or interfering with the development.
Van der Walt said notwithstanding the court ruling, a decision was made to limit the development, and FNB would only proceed with the first phase, comprising 43 units.
"This necessitated a redesign of the development and, together with further delays that were experienced, led to a further indirect cost implication.
"In total, an amount of approximately R22m has been expended on this development to date.
"One of the reasons for continuing the downscaled project was to allow FNB the opportunity to recover at least some of its wasted costs and expenditure, by developing units at prices which were inevitably more than the original affordability levels," he said.
The 43 housing units had been completed with two types of tenure offered - sectional title and full ownership.
Van der Walt said prospective buyers had been identified and provisionally approved to purchase and take transfer of the units, but transfer could not take place at this stage.
This could happen only after all the relevant statutory approvals had been obtained.
The land on which the development was built was also still owned by the City of Cape Town, and needed to be transferred to FNB or to the bank's nominees.
This process was also under way. - Cape Argus
How to build a Cannabrick Home
Demonstrated outside the Department of Housing- Plant a cannabis seed. Water and allow the plant to grow and produce seed. Plant and water these seeds. Your goal is to grow enough to build a house, you will need about 1 acre to build a 5 roomed home.
Tyala imbewu ntsangu (ye-cannabis). Nkcenkceshela imbewu uze uyinike ithuba lokuba ikhule ide ikhuphe eyayo imbewu. Uyothi ke uyityale nalembewu uyinkcenkceshele njalo. Injongo yakho kukukhulisa izityalo ezothi zonele ekwakheni indlu, uyakudinga i-acre (malunga nentsimi) enye ukuze wakhe indlu enamagumbi amahlanu.
Plant 'n hemp saad. Water en laat die plante om te groei en saad te produseer. Plant en water hierdie sade. Jou doel is om te groei genoeg is om 'n huis bou, sal jy ongeveer 1 hektaar is nodig om' n 5-kamer huis te bou. - Consider the many relevant points presented in the guidelines of Build your house step-by-step.
Qwalasela yonke imigaqo oyibekelweyo kwincwadana i-Build Your House Step By Step.
Oorweeg die baie relevante punte in die riglyne van die bou van jou huis stap aangebied-vir-stap.
The Eastern Cape Government has developed a document titled:
“A Basic Guide to Quality Housing Development”
It is available here. - Start planning where your house will stand. Consider everything about the environment you’ll be building in, like winter and summer sunshine, wind and rain – you don’t want to build on a floodplain, or your house will wash away. Be sure to plan all your water and waste requirements.
Ceba indawo ozokwakha kuyo indlu yakho. Qwalasela yonke into ngomhlaba lo uzokwakha kuwo indlu yakho, izinto ezinje ngemimoya, ilanga, neemvula zehlobo nobusika, akekho umntu ofuna ukwakha indlu yakhe emgxobhozweni okanye apho iyothi ibe lilifa lezikhukhula khona. Uqiniseke ukuba unamanzi akulungeleyo ukwenza oku.
Begin met die beplanning, waar jou huis sal staan. Oorweeg dit alles oor die omgewing en jy sal gebou in, soos winter en somer son, wind en reën - jy nie wil bou op 'n vloedvlakte, of jou huis sal wegspoelen nie. Maak seker om te beplan al jou water en afval vereistes voldoen. - Cut the grown cannabis plants down and leave in the field to rhett for a week. The morning dew and natural rotting process will loosen the fibers from the plant.
a. Process the plant matter by cutting leaves and branches off, then hit small bundles the length of the plant over and upturned rake.
b. The long fiber parts that remain in your hand are good for weaving rugs and making various other items your skills can accomplish.
c. The seed can be gathered for more housing.
d. Gather the small woody bits (the hurd) that have fallen, this waste is what will be used in the construction material.
Sika / sarha izityalo uzibeke egadini ixesha elingangeveki ukuze zibole. Umbethe wasekuseni nezinye izinto zendalo ezibolisayo ziya kuyikhulula I-fibre ezityalweni.
a. Yikhawulezise ngohlukanisa intonga zezityalo namagqabi, uhlale uyiharika rhoqo.
b. Intonga ezi zinothi zincede kwezinye izinto ezifana nokwenza ingubo nezinye izinto onothi uzibonele zona ngokolwazi lwakho.
c. Imbewu inokuqokelelwe ukwakha ezinye izindlu.
d. Qokelela imithana ethe yaziwela njengokuba uzoyisebenzisa xa usakha indlu yakho.
Sny die gegroei hemp/cannabis plante af en in die veld verlaat om rhett vir 'n week. Die oggend-dou en die natuurlike verrotting proses sal die vesel van die plant los te maak.
a. Proses van die plantmateriaal deur te sny blare en takke af, dan is getref klein bundels die lengte van die plant oor en omgekeerde hark.
b. Die lang vesel dele wat in jou hand bly is goed vir die matte weef en die maak van verskeie ander items jou vaardighede kan bereik.
c. Die saad kan vir meer behuising ingesamel word.
d. Versamel die klein houtagtige bits (die hurd) wat gedaal het, die afval is wat sal in die konstruksie materiaal gebruik kan word. - Wash the hurd, dry it, then wash it again. Be careful not to allow the matter to rot or decay during this process, by turning, airing and allowing the African sun to dry the hurd properly. Now combine in proportions 10:2:3:3 combine the cannabis/ntsangu/dagga Hurd(10), washed river sand 0.5mm(2), hydraulic lime(3) and water(3) to make the mulch (This process may need tweaking depending on your geographic location, humidity, rainfall etc)
Hlamba ingqokelela yakho, uyomise, uphinde uyihlambe.Ulumkele ukuba lengqokelela ibole kwelithuba, yiguquguqule, uyivumele ibethwe ngumoya uvumele nelanga lase Afrika liyomise lengqokelela. Dibanisa ngokwalo mgaqo 10:2:3:3, dibanisa ke lemvuno yakho yomgquba wentsangu (10) kunye nesanti yasemlanjeni 0.5mm(2), ikalika (3) kunye namanzi (3) ukwenza udaka (Nale into ke iyokuthi ixhomekeke kwindawo leyo ukuyo nemvula zakhona njalo-njalo).
Was die kudde, droog dit af, dan was dit weer. Wees versigtig om nie toe te laat die aangeleentheid te verrot of verval gedurende hierdie proses, deur die draai, voorlê en laat die Afrika-son om droog die kudde goed. Nou kombineer in verhoudings 10:2:3:3 kombineer die cannabis / ntsangu / dagga Hurd (10), gewaste riviersand 0.5 mm (2), hidrouliese kalk (3) en water (3) aan die deklaag te maak (Hierdie proses kan tweaking nodig, afhangende van jou geografiese ligging, humiditeit, reën, ens) - Now build your house! Ngoku ke yakha indlu yakho! Nou bou jou huis!
- Teach others. Fundisa abanye. Onderrig ander.
You can use this “dagga-cement” for making bricks, shutter casting or the proven “pole-and-dagga” method. This last method allows for a sturdy, warm, fireproof and water proof home – built with pride and intuitive engineering, not a ‘uniform box’.
Be sure to consider all aspects of your house design and structural requirements. Although the cannabis-cement will become stronger than steel in time, it is not advised to build over 2 floors high without considering structural implications. With planning this cement can be used to build up to 4 floors high.
The cannabis-cement will dry over a period of a month (depending on the weather). At this point you will be able to add the roof. Seal your home’s walls with lime; lime external walls annually.
Decorate your house with masonry to make it unique, and paint with coloured lime as per custom.
Always PLANT A TREE in a place that will provide shade, to commemorate this accomplishment.
Council will plant trees if citizens care for them. Call (021) 689-8938 http://www.trees.org.za/
Assist your family, friends or neighbors with your experience and expertise. Share information and technique; you can uplift yourself and your community.
Sexwale ‘booing’ tiff spirals
AFRICAN National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Gwede Mantashe yesterday slapped down Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale over a report criticising Mantashe and his counterpart in the South African Communist Party (SACP) for not doing enough to contain tension in the alliance.
Yesterday Mantashe issued a statement, the second since the weekend, insisting that a report on the booing last month of Julius Malema at the SACP special conference “had no status”.
He said Sexwale was “grandstanding” when he contradicted the official line from the ANC’s weekend lekgotla and had picked a fight on a “non-issue”.
“It is very regrettable that some faceless people leaked this unprocessed document to the media for purposes and intentions only known to them,” Mantashe said of the report.
Sexwale hit back last night, saying that Mantashe, “who is at the centre of this controversy, chooses to trivialise” the matter. “I can only appeal to him, under the circumstances, to try to maintain his dignity as secretary-general of our organisation,” he said.
The conflict between senior ANC leaders over the status of the report points to deep divisions in the ruling party, in part linked to the presidential succession race which culminates at the ANC’s 2012 elective conference.
On Monday Justice Minister Jeff Radebe , the ANC’s policy head, said Sexwale’s report was “not an ANC report but a report of one member ”.
He and Mantashe said Sexwale’s report had not been discussed at the lekgotla. It had been distributed but was later retrieved.
Yesterday Sexwale was quoted in The Times contradicting Radebe, saying any suggestion his report had no status was “false and dubious ”.
Mantashe repeated yesterday that a “composite” document based on input from all ANC members who attended the SACP gathering would be compiled and discussed at the ANC’s national working committee. It would also be discussed at a bilateral meeting between the ANC and the SACP.
Political analyst at the Centre for Policy Studies Aubrey Matshiqi said the latest spat could be interpreted as Sexwale wanting to impose his findings on the ANC. “If it is a dispute over content, it could well be an attempt by Sexwale to impose his conclusion and findings on the ANC. The question is, to what end?”
Matshiqi said it was possible Sexwale wanted to “bolster the political fortunes” of a particular faction in the ANC ahead of the elective conference.
“(The) 2012 (conference) looms large and there are forces that seek to dislodge Mantashe. They know that they cannot go for Zuma so the next best thing is to take out Mantashe as a way to dislodge the ANC’s top six.”
The ANC Youth League, which has accused Mantashe of being “conflicted” given that he is also the SACP national chairman, has denied reports that it is leading an anti-Mantashe campaign.
- BusinessDay - News Worth Knowing
Yesterday Mantashe issued a statement, the second since the weekend, insisting that a report on the booing last month of Julius Malema at the SACP special conference “had no status”.
He said Sexwale was “grandstanding” when he contradicted the official line from the ANC’s weekend lekgotla and had picked a fight on a “non-issue”.
“It is very regrettable that some faceless people leaked this unprocessed document to the media for purposes and intentions only known to them,” Mantashe said of the report.
Sexwale hit back last night, saying that Mantashe, “who is at the centre of this controversy, chooses to trivialise” the matter. “I can only appeal to him, under the circumstances, to try to maintain his dignity as secretary-general of our organisation,” he said.
The conflict between senior ANC leaders over the status of the report points to deep divisions in the ruling party, in part linked to the presidential succession race which culminates at the ANC’s 2012 elective conference.
On Monday Justice Minister Jeff Radebe , the ANC’s policy head, said Sexwale’s report was “not an ANC report but a report of one member ”.
He and Mantashe said Sexwale’s report had not been discussed at the lekgotla. It had been distributed but was later retrieved.
Yesterday Sexwale was quoted in The Times contradicting Radebe, saying any suggestion his report had no status was “false and dubious ”.Mantashe repeated yesterday that a “composite” document based on input from all ANC members who attended the SACP gathering would be compiled and discussed at the ANC’s national working committee. It would also be discussed at a bilateral meeting between the ANC and the SACP.
Political analyst at the Centre for Policy Studies Aubrey Matshiqi said the latest spat could be interpreted as Sexwale wanting to impose his findings on the ANC. “If it is a dispute over content, it could well be an attempt by Sexwale to impose his conclusion and findings on the ANC. The question is, to what end?”
Matshiqi said it was possible Sexwale wanted to “bolster the political fortunes” of a particular faction in the ANC ahead of the elective conference.
“(The) 2012 (conference) looms large and there are forces that seek to dislodge Mantashe. They know that they cannot go for Zuma so the next best thing is to take out Mantashe as a way to dislodge the ANC’s top six.”
The ANC Youth League, which has accused Mantashe of being “conflicted” given that he is also the SACP national chairman, has denied reports that it is leading an anti-Mantashe campaign.
- BusinessDay - News Worth Knowing
Sexwale butting heads over booing report
African National Congress (ANC) heavyweights Tokyo Sexwale and Gwede Mantashe were openly at odds on Wednesday over Sexwale's report on the booing of ANC members at a South African Communist Party (SACP) conference last year.
Mantashe, the ANC's secretary general, said in a statement it was "unfortunate" that Sexwale -- a national executive committee (NEC) member of the party -- had opted to "take on a fight on a non-issue".
This was after Sexwale denied that his report on the booing incident held "no status" with the party.
Meanwhile, Sexwale said that Mantashe was "trivialis[ing] an "important" matter by criticising him.
The spat over the status of the report began after a media briefing was held on Monday to report back on a weekend ANC NEC lekgotla (meeting).
On the weekend, the Sunday Independent reported that at the lekgotla, Sexwale had blamed Mantashe and SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande for failing to contain the tensions in the alliance.
The newspaper reported that Sexwale called on President Jacob Zuma to unite the alliance before the ANC imploded.
However, at Monday's briefing, Mantashe and ANC policy chief Jeff Radebe said that the report compiled by Sexwale into the booing of ANC Youth League president Julius Malema and NEC member Billy Masetlha at the SACP's special conference in Polokwane last month was not discussed at the lekgotla.
On Tuesday, the party issued a statement saying that the report was not discussed at the weekend lekgotla but that it was "retrieved" and "referred for processing" by the party's national working committee. Input by other delegates present at the SACP conference would also be obtained, it said in a statement. A "composite report" of all delegates at the conference would then be presented to the NEC ahead of bilateral talks with the SACP.
On Wednesday, the Times then quoted Sexwale as saying the report did hold weight in the party. "Any suggestion that the report has no status in the ANC is false and dubious," the newspaper reported Sexwale as saying.
"In fact, it is mischievous to attempt to disown this report," Sexwale's office said in a statement to the paper.
"Its drafting [the report] was approved on the clear understanding that it would be circulated to members of the ANC NEC, by the secretary general, for discussion. This was confirmed in a discussion between Sexwale and Mantashe this morning."
The squabbling over the report, the newspaper reported, was the latest sign of struggle between the ANC's leftist and nationalist factions.
On Wednesday, Mantashe issued a statement reiterating that the report was "referred for processing" by the party's national working committee and would be submitted as a "composite report" presented to the NEC ahead of bilateral talks with the SACP.
"Any statements and comments that deviate from the factual account as put above should be construed as nothing else either than grandstanding," said Mantashe.
"It is unfortunate that Comrade Tokyo Sexwale chose to take on a fight on a non-issue," he added.
Meanwhile, Sexwale said Mantashe's comments were "unfortunate" in themselves.
"It is unfortunate that Comrade Gwede Mantashe, who is at the centre of this controversy, chooses to trivialise a matter as important as the discussion which is coming before the national working committee and eventually the national executive committee.
"I can only appeal to him, under the circumstances, to try to maintain his dignity as secretary general of our organisation," said Sexwale in a statement. -- Sapa
Mantashe, the ANC's secretary general, said in a statement it was "unfortunate" that Sexwale -- a national executive committee (NEC) member of the party -- had opted to "take on a fight on a non-issue".
This was after Sexwale denied that his report on the booing incident held "no status" with the party.
Meanwhile, Sexwale said that Mantashe was "trivialis[ing] an "important" matter by criticising him.
The spat over the status of the report began after a media briefing was held on Monday to report back on a weekend ANC NEC lekgotla (meeting).
On the weekend, the Sunday Independent reported that at the lekgotla, Sexwale had blamed Mantashe and SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande for failing to contain the tensions in the alliance.
The newspaper reported that Sexwale called on President Jacob Zuma to unite the alliance before the ANC imploded.
However, at Monday's briefing, Mantashe and ANC policy chief Jeff Radebe said that the report compiled by Sexwale into the booing of ANC Youth League president Julius Malema and NEC member Billy Masetlha at the SACP's special conference in Polokwane last month was not discussed at the lekgotla.
On Tuesday, the party issued a statement saying that the report was not discussed at the weekend lekgotla but that it was "retrieved" and "referred for processing" by the party's national working committee. Input by other delegates present at the SACP conference would also be obtained, it said in a statement. A "composite report" of all delegates at the conference would then be presented to the NEC ahead of bilateral talks with the SACP.
On Wednesday, the Times then quoted Sexwale as saying the report did hold weight in the party. "Any suggestion that the report has no status in the ANC is false and dubious," the newspaper reported Sexwale as saying.
"In fact, it is mischievous to attempt to disown this report," Sexwale's office said in a statement to the paper.
"Its drafting [the report] was approved on the clear understanding that it would be circulated to members of the ANC NEC, by the secretary general, for discussion. This was confirmed in a discussion between Sexwale and Mantashe this morning."
The squabbling over the report, the newspaper reported, was the latest sign of struggle between the ANC's leftist and nationalist factions.
On Wednesday, Mantashe issued a statement reiterating that the report was "referred for processing" by the party's national working committee and would be submitted as a "composite report" presented to the NEC ahead of bilateral talks with the SACP.
"Any statements and comments that deviate from the factual account as put above should be construed as nothing else either than grandstanding," said Mantashe.
"It is unfortunate that Comrade Tokyo Sexwale chose to take on a fight on a non-issue," he added.Meanwhile, Sexwale said Mantashe's comments were "unfortunate" in themselves.
"It is unfortunate that Comrade Gwede Mantashe, who is at the centre of this controversy, chooses to trivialise a matter as important as the discussion which is coming before the national working committee and eventually the national executive committee.
"I can only appeal to him, under the circumstances, to try to maintain his dignity as secretary general of our organisation," said Sexwale in a statement. -- Sapa
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Calm returns after service delivery protest
Calm has returned to the Malawi informal settlement near Bishop Lavis after service delivery protests rocked the community on Wednesday morning.
Nearly 200 residents threw stones at passing vehicles, demonstrating against a lack of electricity and housing.
The road leading to the informal settlement was still barricaded with tyres and rubbish bins.
The residents were slowly returning to the settlement and only a few remained singing along the Stellenbosch Arterial road.
They claim Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato failed to deliver on the promises he made to them last year.
A few police officials kept a watchful eye on protestors. - Eyewitness News
Nearly 200 residents threw stones at passing vehicles, demonstrating against a lack of electricity and housing.
The road leading to the informal settlement was still barricaded with tyres and rubbish bins.
The residents were slowly returning to the settlement and only a few remained singing along the Stellenbosch Arterial road.
They claim Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato failed to deliver on the promises he made to them last year.
A few police officials kept a watchful eye on protestors. - Eyewitness News
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
State approves funding of rental properties
National government has approved funding worth billions to refurbish rental properties belonging to the State in Cape Town.
The project will be done in phases, starting with upgrades of rental units in Kewtown near Athlone. Mayor Dan Plato says they will also provide fencing, plant trees and build more parking areas in the city. His spokesperson, Rulleska Singh, says the project will begin next month. Singh says the first phase of the project is set to incorporate over 7 500 rental stock units in 11 areas in Cape Town.
Singh says the project is to upgrade the current rental units of the council, to move the people who are in the rental stocks into temporary housing while the refurbishment is being done and then to move them back block by block. - SABC
The project will be done in phases, starting with upgrades of rental units in Kewtown near Athlone. Mayor Dan Plato says they will also provide fencing, plant trees and build more parking areas in the city. His spokesperson, Rulleska Singh, says the project will begin next month. Singh says the first phase of the project is set to incorporate over 7 500 rental stock units in 11 areas in Cape Town.
Singh says the project is to upgrade the current rental units of the council, to move the people who are in the rental stocks into temporary housing while the refurbishment is being done and then to move them back block by block. - SABC
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