ncop adopts housing agency bill
27 June 2008

The Housing Development Agency Bill has been adopted by the National Council of Provinces paving the way for the delivery of houses to be accelerated.  Access to well-located suitable land was identified as one of the biggest bottlenecks in speeding up the delivery of houses in consultations with developers, the banking sectors and other stakeholders. 

Another key aim of the Housing Development Agency is to minimise red tape in the approval of housing developments in both the private and public sector.  By acting as the facilitator between the department and banks, the agency will help in the delivery of the department's target.

The Bill will not only allow the outcome of wide-ranging consultations, but also an examination of how other countries dealt with their housing needs.  Commenting on the adoption, Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said: “The size of the housing backlog in South Africa means we must explore all possible avenues of delivery.”

Namibia, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore and China have all established similar housing agencies to focus on stated government housing goals.  Since 1994, 2.6 million houses have been provided but the housing backlog still stands at 2.1 million units. It is estimated that 1.1 million of these are for earmarked for people living in informal settlements and the rest for backyard dwellers.

The department says the pace of housing provision could not keep up with the backlog and additional demand created by continuing urbanisation. The rate of urbanisation annually has been estimated conservatively at about three percent of the population, or about 1.2 million people.

A study conducted by accounting firm KPMG in 2006 concluded that if government aimed to  eliminate the housing backlog by 2012, it would have a funding shortfall of R102 billion, should housing budgets increase only at the current rate.

Bathandwa Mbola,  www.buanews.gov.za