Sisulu politicizing housing delivery

Of all the challenges that this city faces, the demands placed on public housing rank among the greatest. This is due to a heady mix of our toxic past and the ever-mounting pressures of an urbanising population moving to Cape Town in search of a better future. Of course, these two factors are inter-related in the sociology of inequality and poverty.

Apartheid left many of our people in poverty and systematically tried to exclude them from urban centres on the basis of their race. Many of our residents were denied the opportunities to create a better economic future for themselves and their families. These are among the underlying reasons of for the informal settlements that dot our landscape- they are sites of anticipation for the better future that their residents hope cities can provide.

I have made the realities of public housing provision known many times: We have two few resources to match the ever-accelerating pace of demand and we are often constricted by the limiting policy restrictions of national government. Despite these obstacles, we do what we can with what we have.

That makes the recent behaviour of the national department of human settlements, led by its Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, all the more appalling.

The national department of human settlements is supposed to release the Municipal Human Settlements Capacity Grant (MHSCG) to municipalities at the beginning of their financial year so that this grant funding can be used to roll-out projects. Indeed, of all the things that can bring any project to a screeching halt, whether in the public or private sector, an interruption of cash flow is the most serious. It means no money to pay for contractors or materials and therefore means no delivery.

Last month, the department decided not to release our funds as prescribed by legislation in the form of the Division of Revenue Act (DORA). Against all protocol and procedure, and completely against the spirit of intergovernmental relations, the department did not seek to consult us nor did it consult the National Treasury. It took unilateral action and in so doing, not only affected our ability to deliver but flouted our country's laws and system of government. The City complained to the National Treasury which then took action.

Based on this, a response letter sent to the Director-General of Human Settlements by the National Treasury is telling in this regard. The letter, dated 22 July 2014, says:

"The National Treasury is therefore deeply concerned about the frequent violation of the DORA legal requirements (by the department of human settlements) and the total disregard by your department for our legislation framework as enacted by Parliament. [...] If this reoccurs one more time, the National Treasury will have no option/choice but to report your department formally to Parliament as well as to the Office of the Auditor-General. In addition, we will institute our own measures in terms of Section 81 of the PFMA [Public Finance Management Act]."

These are strong words indeed. But they are necessary for a department that has so wilfully flouted the needs of ordinary people in this country.

There are two possible scenarios. Either the department knew its legal obligations and chose to ignore them; or the department did not understand it duties and responsibilities under the law adequately. Both situations require urgent intervention from national government.

Unfortunately, in the case of Cape Town, this state of affairs may suit Minister Sisulu's agenda against our city. Indeed, since being re-installed in this ministry after the 2014 elections, she has made two other decisions of political consequence for us.

The first was the convening of a political hit squad to investigate the SANRAL evictions in Lwandle. After first trying to exceed her authority by calling a Commission of Inquiry, Minister Sisulu settled for a ministerial enquiry staffed mainly by spent forces of the ANC looking to get back into Luthuli House's favour. Each of these cronies has received a daily fee, with their ringleader, Adv. Potgieter, pocketing a cool R20 000 per day for his efforts in stitching-up the City.

And second, the Minister decided to delay the allocation of housing accreditation to metros after the same had been agreed and announced by her predecessors and the National Ministry of Finance. Housing allocation is important for delivery because it is the devolution of powers to municipalities by directly giving them the national grants needed for housing project financing without going through the conduit of provincial government.

Cape Town has been ready for allocation and indeed we have looked forward to becoming the owners of our projects' fates by having direct control over their resources. But once again, the dead hand of a questionable political agenda has gotten in the way of service delivery because the national minister stopped a legislative process.

We will be engaging with stakeholders in the provincial government and the National Treasury about this decision and yes, also with the national department of human settlements. But given their recent behaviour, and our questions regarding their commitment to service delivery, we will approach those negotiations cautiously but armed with the knowledge that we not only have the power of the law on our side but the mandate of the people of Cape Town.

This article by Patricia de Lille first appeared in Cape Town This Week, the online newsletter of the Mayor of Cape Town.

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