Cape Town - With the Western Cape facing an ever-increasing housing crisis, the national Department of Housing said the city has for years not used all of the money meant for the upgrade of informal settlements, or building formal housing in a separate allocation.
The city is reeling under housing delivery protests. It has allocated 70% of the Western Cape's housing budget, but money allocated under the Urban Settlement Development Grant (USDG) has since its inception not been fully utilised. Last year, R150 million was rolled over and this year the city received R1.6 billion.
Spokesperson for Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, Vusi Tshose, said: “A concern is the inability of the City of Cape Town, which takes about 70% of the provincial budget, to spend its allocated Urban Settlement Development Grant (USDG) since the introduction of the grant. The city has continuously failed to spend 100% of the USDG and is forever requesting roll-overs, including in the last financial year.”
The grant was started to build houses and upgrade informal settlements in metros. Brett Herron, mayoral committee member for transport and urban development, said the national government's conditional grants set restrictive conditions, which limit the pace and method of delivering housing opportunities.
“For example, the total Urban Settlement Development Grant (USDG)/Human Settlement Development Grant funding allocation limits the number of housing opportunities that could be provided, while the distribution of the USDG funding between housing and bulk, connector and social infrastructure, limits the number of sites that can be serviced.”
The housing backlog in the Western Cape is currently 575 000. It will take the Western Cape Housing Department about 27 years to address the housing backlog. The provincial Human Settlements Department said it would only be able to deliver 18 000 houses this year.
CRAMPED: Diego Smith, far right, and a friend watch TV from his mother's bed during the school holidays. Picture Henk Kruger/ANA Pictures
Spokesperson for Human Settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela, Ntomboxolo Makoba-Somdaka said: “Our current budget of R2.5bn is only enough to assist 18 000 families.
“We need about R80bn to assist the current backlog. There’s only one housing demand database for people waiting for houses. Backyarders are included in this list.” Washiela Smith, who has been staying in Tafelsig for 21 years, said that her three daughters are staying in her backyard. “They are staying in Wendy houses with their children. I would like them to get their own homes one day, but it is hard to get a house.”
Secretary of the Khayelitsha Human Settlements Forum, an organisation that deals with land-related and human settlement issues, Mava Nowala said: “There is a lot of corruption and a lot of people don’t benefit and get houses in housing projects because of it.”
Meanwhile, 51 people have occupied the Helen Bowden Nursing Home, which has been standing vacant since 2014.
Reclaim the City’s Sheila Madikana, said: “We are not going to leave this place. This place has got 198 rooms to accommodate a lot of people. All of the people who are staying here work in Cape Town and Sea Point. We will continue to occupy this building until we get affordable housing.”