Cape Town - Housing provision in the province has been on the decline over the past decade, with less housing opportunities made available annually to beneficiaries who have been on waiting lists for nearly three decades.
A recent response to a parliamentary question posed to the provincial infrastructure department showed that housing opportunities have declined by about 4 000 since 2013 - where during the 2021/2022 financial year, a total of 11 451 housing opportunities were made available and in 2013/2014, 15 209 housing opportunities were made available in the province.
MEC for Infrastructure, Tertuis Simmers, confirmed that 5 204 serviced sites were built and 6 247 houses were built in the 2021/2022 financial year.
During 2013/2014 financial year, 2 528 serviced sites and 12 681 houses were built.
Simmers said the data for the current financial year was not yet available as it was still subject to an audit process at the end of March.
Earlier this year, the Cape Times reported that 18 700 housing project beneficiaries have been affected by delayed hand-overs due to violence, intimidation and extortion, organisations across the province.
Simmers had said at the time the beneficiaries of 25 housing projects have been affected by delays in the handover “due to violence, extortion and intimidation by gangs over the past five years”.
Social Liberals for Backyard Dwellers (SLBD) founder, Shariefa Nolan, said the housing crisis would continue if corruption was not rooted out.
Nolan has been on the housing waiting list for 30 years.
“There are many burning issues around the housing crisis currently being experienced in the province.
Before Malusi Booi was fired from his office at the City of Cape Town, we held meetings raising these issues such as our people, who have been on housing waiting lists for more than 30 years.
“They are now on the verge of being homeless, not being able to afford the rent they are paying to RDP beneficiaries who currently live in (other provinces).
These are not details being sucked from our thumbs, we have given the data to all relevant authorities. RDP beneficiaries are capitalising on the houses they have in the province and illegally getting an income from homes they received while not living in the province,” said Nolan.
According to Nolan, engagements with authorities “have been fruitless”.
“We are trying to help the departments to solve the crisis but the rot of corruption goes too deep and they refuse to look at these issues first or root it out.
We have demanded serviced plots on pockets of land that are available but they just refuse to use the land for housing. We are following the rules by the book as people on the waiting lists but the frustration and concern comes in when elderly and pensioners who have been on waiting lists for decades, die before receiving homes but youngsters are on the list for five years, get houses before us.
We are sidelined, marginalised and there is little to no help to solve the crisis. At this point we are demanding they fix it, not requesting anymore,” said Nolan.
Communicare tenant, Berenice Whyte, who has been on the housing waiting list for 15 years, said: “Nothing is being done by the DA. Thousands of hectares of barren land are vacant, with barbed wire around to prevent invasion.
“It seems to be a problem. People are invading open spaces to live, with even small children cooking food on the side of pavements. The situation is dire and is no longer a legal battle but has become a game of politics among authorities. Nobody wants to be held accountable, while vast spaces of open land stand vacant. Why can’t they make land available?” Whyte asked.
The City said: “Not enough time has been provided for the City to get accurate consolidated figures over two financial years. In the absence of this, it is thus important to acknowledge that the City’s Human Settlements Directorate has in the past financial year spent more than 97% of its budget.
“The housing delivery includes a range of housing opportunities, including Breaking New Ground, site and service, upgrade of informal settlements and the accommodation of some 200 000 residents in our affordable rental units.
“The City’s position in terms of the provision of greater access to affordable housing opportunities remains clear: a municipality on its own cannot cater for the need and we need to work with other governments, private sector stakeholders and partners such as social housing institutions and micro developers.
“In recognition of the need for the City to move away from a provider and to become an enabler of more affordable housing opportunities, the City launched its Human Settlements Strategy and this is about building Cape Town together, in partnerships and how to unlock greater opportunities. It includes the Mayoral Priority of the Accelerated Land Release for Affordable Housing programme.
In terms of this programme approximately 50 land parcels across the City is being prioritised.”
The City added that over the last decade, housing grants from national government have reduced substantially due to the challenges at national level and the shortage of funds.
“This has a very real impact on the delivery on provincial and metro governments.”
Cape Times