Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu says the soon to be introduced expropriation legislation will go a long way in easing the pressures of the housing backlog by availing more land for development.
Sisulu said this when she briefed media two hours before she tabled the department’s budget vote in the National Assembly on Tuesday afternoon.
The Minister said that this comes at the back of a need for belt-tightening by the department, which is expected to deliver more houses with fewer resources.
“As our population grows and our people go out in the streets and protest for housing, our resources diminish. It is for this reason that the expropriation processes are eagerly awaited by us because it will significantly assist us to offset the pressure.”
Sisulu said the department would make sure it works better and that it embraces the possibilities offered by new technologies.
She said that this would help the department to respond to all communities in an impactful manner.
“In working smarter, we are committed to resuscitate our relations with the construction industry.”
Sisulu said she intended to have an indaba with the construction industry at the earliest opportunity to strategise how the department can work better.
The Minister will propose legislation that will give the department the necessary power to restructure the environment in order to remove the frustrations of the construction industry.
“In 2004, we reframed our approach to housing development and took on the concept of human settlements as opposed to housing.
“The pivotal difference here was that we were no longer building houses, we were building communities with all its amenities.
“We were integrating our communities, all the while removing the segregation of apartheid spatial planning.
“We were building cities and increasing our output. We were partnering with the private sector, especially the banking sector and calling these partnerships catalytic projects.”
