Infrastructure funding a must

TO AVOID situations where dwellings were constructed without services, the Department of Human Settlements would from now on only approve housing projects if bulk infrastructure funding was confirmed.

The announcement was made by the housing member of the executive committee, Ravi Pillay, who delivered his budget speech at the provincial legislature yesterday.

He said he was mindful of the enormous political pressure mayors and councillors faced, but planning and construction had to be a carefully co-ordinated process. He said the provincial housing backlog had been reduced by 100 000 since 2011. The department had to contend with the rising tide of urbanisation, a national and global phenomenon.

Pillay also spoke out against land invasions, saying they led to chaos and anarchy. “While we are always sympathetic to the plight of the poor and respect the constitutional rights applicable in genuine cases, the truth is that shack “lordism” is a major driver of this phenomenon,” he said.

Pillay said there was concern over instances of “rank political opportunism”. The law would continue to safeguard state land, he said, and ensure service provision was not derailed.

Pillay said the department would give eThekwini R1.184 billion in the 2015/2016 financial year to meet the housing challenges it faced.

Touching on Durban’s bid to host the Commonwealth Games in 2022, Pillay said the bid included provision for an athlete’s village of about 1 000 units. It was proposed that this would be built in Cornubia and delivered in collaboration with the national department, provincial department, eThekwini and Tongaat-Hulett Developments.

He said the units would serve as temporary accommodation for the international athletes. After the games, they would be converted to social housing units and gap-market housing.

The winning city would be announced in New Zealand in September.

Commenting on the speech, DA MPL Hlanganani Gumbi said the party would not approve of land invasions.

“All parties in this house must condemn any invasions by opportunists, such as the EFF, whose agenda is to grab headlines and cause chaos and divide people.”