Bank for poor sees light of day

HUMAN SETTLEMENTS DEVELOPMENT: A SINGLE GOVERNMENT HOME FINANCE ENTITY

Project includes 10 000 stands for needy to build their own houses.

The Human Settlements Development Bank will be launched today, creating a single government home finance entity, Minister of Human Settlements Lindiwe Sisulu said.

The new bank should give faster access to home financing for the poor, and give a boost to plans for mega government-led integrated housing projects in metropolitan areas, she said.

There are 46 of these so-called projects in the pipeline – 14 located in Gauteng.

Sisulu hoped the private sector would eventually invest about R150 billion in these projects, which are underpinned by a policy of undoing apartheid spatial divides and bringing the poor closer to economic centres.

The projects will include the allocation of about 10 000 stands, where beneficiaries will build houses and have a need to secure finance.

Sisulu said National Treasury had for years actively encouraged the establishment of the new bank.

“In fact, Treasury has been at pains to push us to get to this point over the last six years, because it did not make sense that we should have three different development finance institutions.

“They felt if we collapsed them into one entity we would have greater returns on it.

“It comes at a time when we would like the bank to play a different role, especially in supporting the catalytic projects,” Sisulu said.

Human settlements director-general Thabane Zulu said the launch of the bank will mean the start of operational integration between the three institutions. A law establishing the entity should be introduced to parliament by the end of September.

“We are busy with the first stage, which is operational innovation, so we are working on the Bill … We will get that Bill out at the latest by September – but what we are launching tomorrow [today] is the operational integration aspect of the bank.”

The National Housing Finance Corporation, the Housing Loan Fund and the National Urban Reconstruction and Housing Agency will be integrated to form the new bank.

The CEO of the Housing Finance Corporation will act as CEO of the bank, Zulu said.

Sisulu also confirmed the appointment of Themba Mthethwa, a former CEO in the office of the public protector, as the human settlements ombudsman.

The ombudsman would deal with all complaints that the public or the construction sector have against the department, she said.

The department would soon advertise the position of deputy ombudsman. – ANA