Focusing on the future

The Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s portfolio committees have been scrutinising departments

On Friday October 28 the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements faced tough questions about its performance over the 12-month period and plans for the year ahead during a public presentation of its 2015/2016 Annual Report to the Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs & Human Settlements Portfolio Committee — questions which will allow for richer insight into the successes and failures of the plans, and for improved awareness as to how to achieve these goals in the year to come.

The strategic goals for the Department have changed in recent years, as it focuses on Mega Human Settlements Projects based around increasing housing density, integrated service infrastructure and smart city technology. Gauteng sent a delegation to a conference in Surat, India on sustainable development and smart cities to help achieve these goals; the portfolio committee queried why a second fact-finding misThe sion to China was cancelled.

Housing

The committee heard that the Department built 14 969 new housing units over the course of the 2015/2016 year and provided services to a further 10 048 stands in informal settlements. However, the housing programme missed its targets by 39% over the course of the year. Overall, the Department only hit 54.75% of its delivery targets for the year, compared to more than 80% for the year before.

Achievements

That’s not to say there weren’t some achievements: 8 860 title deeds were handed over and 128 hectares acquired for new housing. In its annual report, the Department said delays in the procurement process and failed requests for top-up funding were some of the reasons why plans were not met. The portfolio committee also questioned some discrepancies in the reported statistics in the final annual report. These queries should be resolved in the upcoming committee meeting.

On the administrative side, the Department over-achieved on some of its training goals, but missed targets to fill positions within four months, and to resolve 80% of all disciplinary procedures within prescribed timelines. It also achieved most targets for its anti-fraud and corruption programme; the committee recommended setting a time frame for workshops budgeted for, but not held.

Although the Department failed to meet its target to ensure that half of its senior management services are female, it came close with 46.8% representation. It also missed its target of filling 3% senior management positions with people with disabilities.

In the supply chain, the committee noted that the Department has consistently struggled to hit targets for procurement from small businesses, and failed to train 30 young entrepreneurs to enter the supply chain. In one forthright comment, the committee said the Department needs to be realistic in setting targets in order to avoid shifting them into the following year. The committee also raised concerns that R167-million of the department’s R5.6-billion budget had not been spent.

Overall the human settlements department had missed numerous targets and goals, but the plans set in place by the committee to assess the situation more deeply will allow for greater understanding of the obstacles and improved planning going forward.