Housing: A reply to Tokyo Sexwale

The news has been full of stories of the demolition of poorly built houses, the deployment of corruption busters to clean up dirty housing deals - and now, allegations of over-expenditure on communicating housing-related matters to the people.

Many of us, who spent years developing and fine-tuning the nation's human settlements policy under former Minister of Housing Lindiwe Sisulu, have been dismayed at the persistent manner in which the new human settlements administration has sought to position itself by publicly eroding our achievements.

While it is heartening that the new human settlements administration has ensured continuity of some of the most important programmes we initiated, the manner in which Minister of Human Settlements Tokyo Sexwale has ridden roughshod over the achievements of all who preceded him has been disheartening and disempowering.

Without any razzmatazz, Minister Sisulu launched a national Rectification Programme in 2007 to address shoddily built homes. "Rectification" has been re-branded "demolition", a most unfortunate turn of phrase in a country with a two million home backlog.

Minister Sisulu also quietly introduced the Special Investigation Unit to the housing corruption-busting fray, in 2006, and the unit recorded many notable successes. She never bothered about photo opportunities for the front pages.

The A re Ageng Mzansi project - now, for purposes of propaganda being likened by the DA and liberal media to Sarafina 2 - was another notable success. This project - combing industrial theatre with a holistic communication campaign, housing registration desks, exhibitions and question-and-answer sessions - spoke directly to the communities we wanted to speak to, in language they understood.

The DA participated in signing the project off when it was presented to parliament, and the project was introduced to, and applauded by, the Housing Portfolio Committee at the budget vote in 2008. Minister of Human Settlements Tokyo Sexwale saw it twice, and he, too, applauded.

It was a massively effective communication platform, a worthy response to the instructions of both parliament and the High Court to communicate the new human settlements plan - known as Breaking New Ground - more effectively to the people.

In this context, Minister Sexwale's remarks on a national radio station that he had cancelled the project, and, "there is no time to play games and finance plays that have got nothing to do with the construction of housing", miss the point.

We are proud of our record in the Department of Housing under Minister Sisulu. We are proud of the human settlements policy we authored, the 1.5 million homes we constructed, the prototype human settlements we developed, the new two-bedroom homes - our contribution to understanding and building the developmental state.

We are proud of the efforts we took to engage the people, including the imbizos, and A re Ageng Mzansi - and the life skills courses we provided for first time homeowners, our customers.

But mostly, we are proud of the homes we built, because it is on what we produced that we can be judged. It is regrettable that the critical delivery of housing is being subverted into a demolition derby for the sake of playing to the public gallery.

Dr Clarence Tshitereke is a senior researcher at the Ministry of Defence and Military Veterans. He was previously Chief Director the Ministry of Human Settlements.

Issued by Oryx Multimedia on behalf of Dr Clarence Tshitereke.

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Housing I must then take it that the writer of this article is also part of those who made money out of the poor backing the builder who built the house that will need to be demolished. It sounds like you do not care that someone will have to live in a house that . .more could collapse and kill them. Shame on you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sexwale should lay charges against all those who were part and pracel in building poor housing . .less by MARK on November 27 2009, 12:09 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

the housing joke Facts are what we should be focussing on. Our Government, from one Minister to another, is guilty of ineptitude. They have stumbled from one fiasco to another, because incompetence characterises our elected representatives. Our nation suffers this . .more humiliation and shame at the hands of individuals who have laid claim to being competent to 'lead', yet their record tells a different story-a story of graft, nepotism, corruption and gravey-train journeys to becoming the get-rich-quick new elite...and we docile fools continue to tolerate this dishonour...Rianbow Democracy People must rise to challenge this nonsense. The electorate must act fast...else our children will continue to go begging. . .less by julian vincent peters on November 27 2009, 12:40 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Hang on! What's the point of the over-staffed GCIS if the Ministry of Defence utilises an outside PR company, Oryx Media, to put out its press releases? by Jean Racine on November 27 2009, 16:29 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

defending the indefensible Oh please Clarence. I have tried to work in the low cost housing field, offering my professional time for free to a poor people's foundation who wanted to build their own houses. They were obstructed at every turn by the "Dept of Housing" (nmore like the . .more Dept of no housing) because they were athreat to the gravy train of political appointments and tender awards who built poorly designed and built houses which were signed off without a care, The poor people who got them suffered. No doubt Clarence was part of this gravy train and sees the end of his ride approaching. I hope so. . .less by Amos on November 28 2009, 07:34 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Bravo to Tokyo All he is saying is that inhabitable homes, built poorly must come down and be re-built. Secondly, those who were responsible for the shoddy 'workmanship', including their bribes taken, fruitless expenditure, etc, must be brought to book. Thirdly, all . .more low cost homes built from now on must be benchmarked according to acceptable building strandards...what's wrong about his approach? Nothing as far as I am concerned . . . . .less by Ironman on November 30 2009, 05:25 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

WHERE do you live ? " we are proud of the homes we built, because it is on what we produced that we can be judged. It is regrettable that the critical delivery of housing is being subverted into a demolition derby for the sake of playing to the public gallery." JA! . .more Residents dying - is to be proud of. Malema's "capable" people. . .less by old, female on November 30 2009, 07:04 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Another self-inflated sycophant... Clarence, I hate to break it to you, but this is not about you. It is about the people who are homeless as a result of the homes they were promised not being habitable while all along the line others got rich off their suffering. You are . .more obviously immensely loyal to Ms Sisulu, given that you have moved departments with her, but maybe you should take a trip to one of these 'fabulous' housing developments you built under her tenure and see whether or not you would live in one of them with your family. Imagine what you all could have achieved if you had done it properly the first time round. . .less by Samjank on November 30 2009, 12:40 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

The sycophant with no shame! I am shocked to hear a faceless,unregrettable administrator singing success of failure.That we should not talk about the disaster and the embezzlement that accompanied the housing plan make me wonder where we are going.Now with Defence,please do not . .more disgrace the country again! . .less by Joe on December 01 2009, 06:27 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

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