Cape Town - Cape Town has experienced a 28% decline in the delivery of new housing opportunities, according to Human Settlements MEC Tertius Simmers.
Simmers was responding to a question by Good party secretary-general Brett Herron in the provincial legislature this week.
According to Herron, Simmers said the completion of Breaking New Ground (BNG) housing projects had increased slightly by 5% in 2018/2019 from 2017/2018. However, the delivery of new serviced sites had declined by more than 50%.
Overall, the delivery of new housing opportunities in the city had declined by 28% from 2018 to 2019.
“The dramatic declines in the delivery of housing opportunities can be attributed to the ill-informed decision that Dan Plato took within weeks of becoming mayor,” said Herron.
“He restructured the City to create more highly paid executive director posts - spending more on executive salaries but delivering less.”
In his reply to Herron, the MEC listed the provision of 3919 new BNG homes and 1908 new serviced sites in 2018/2019. This is a total of 5827 new housing opportunities. Compared to previous years, there was a 42% increase during 2017/2018. “The cancellation of so many other housing projects in the inner city by the DA means that the future delivery of housing is also in jeopardy,” Herron said.
Spokesperson for Simmers, Marcellino Martin, said the City delivered 7275 housing opportunities in 2019, against the delivery of 8061 in 2018, which is a decline of 9.7%.
“Some of the reasons that could have attributed to this delay are rising building costs and reduced funding, construction delays and vandalism. The department will assist the City in ensuring that we maximise the opportunities that can be delivered within the funding envelope,” Martin said.
He also took a dig at Herron. “It is vital to note that the author you are referencing was the accounting officer, as political head of the Transport and Development Authority in the City of Cape Town during 2018/2019. Mr Herron is highlighting his legacy.”
Mayco member for human settlements Malusi Booi said: “Increasingly, due to the financial and economic problems in South Africa and the impact on the national public purse, grant funding is decreasing, as Mr Herron would know, but building costs per unit or site are increasing one can only build houses and construct sites with the money received as housing delivery is 100% grant-funded.”