Human Settlements eschews market value
CAPE TOWN — Faced with a massive housing backlog, the Department of Human Settlements is seeking additional powers to acquire more land for housing projects.
Briefing the portfolio committee on human settlements on Tuesday, the department said that it would adopt a new land-identification and acquisition framework giving it the right of first refusal when a state entity disposes of land.
This would allow the department to acquire land for “fair value” instead of market value. The department and its Housing Development Agency identify and buy land for housing projects, but private owners, government departments and stateowned enterprises often insist on market value, which the department said it could not afford.
The department’s head of policy, Nonhlanhla Buthelezi, said that under the new framework, owners of land identified for large-scale housing should consult the department “and offer the portion of land suitable for human settlements before it is disposed to an open market”.
“All offers should … contain valuation certificates and/or … clear details of the property. The department and the Housing Development Agency shall prepare a register of such land.”
The department said the soon-to-be-appointed valuergeneral would play an important role in ensuring that the department could acquire land at fair value. The Expropriation Bill, which is the subject of public hearings, was welcomed for its provisions for expropriation on the grounds of “public use” as well as “public interest”.
Acting CEO of the Housing Development Agency Thabane Zulu said the agency was acquiring 6,100ha of land to build about 86,597 housing units. However, he said, the department faced stiff competition from other government departments to acquire land.
“Most land that is being targeted strategically by the (agency) and Human Settlements is privately held land. The framework is to make these processes easier,” he said.