Government needs to be transparent over RDP housing, says human rights advocate
Human Rights Advocate and CEO of the Community Law Centre in Seshego, Pat Molepo, said government needs to be transparent about the RDP house allocation process.
POLOKWANE – Molepo spoke out following the story published in BONUS on 22 August about Rachel Malatjie from Titibe at Ga-Dikgale who had been waiting since 2011 for an RDP house which she only received this year but it didn’t meet the quality regulatory compliance standards.
Read more: Do you qualify for a RDP house?
He added there are many people waiting for houses who still believe in a ‘waiting line’ which does not exist. Molepo said people need to know where they stand in terms of receiving a house because they are invested in the so-called ‘waiting list’ for an RDP house as a solution for their housing needs as promised by government.
“People need to know where they stand in terms of ever receiving a housing opportunity. They are isolated from the decision making process around how this will be determined, where and when,” he said.
Molepo added he has good reason to call the queue for housing a ‘so-called waiting list’, explaining it is said more than six million houses have been built in South Africa since Apartheid to be given to low-income families. The precise number, he added, is disputed.
“It is a statistic that government likes to throw around a lot as home ownership has emotional resonance. Giving someone a house is one of the biggest things you can do to immediately improve their quality of life. More cynically, handing over houses also make for great photographs and TV footage,” Molepo said.
He explained the backlog that is often spoken of leads people to believe they are on a waiting list, which is misleading. “The dominant discourse around housing delivery is that there is a ‘waiting list system’ which constitutes a housing ‘queue’. This creates the misconception that people must patiently wait until their name comes up in terms of a ‘first come, first served process’. There is an assumption, often articulated among the public, that the system in place operates in a rational way, for example, the assumption is that if 10 houses are built, then the first 10 people who applied on the ‘waiting list’ will receive houses.”
In recent years, he added, it has become apparent there are additional complexities rather than the concept explained with the waiting list.
“Initially, if a house is built in your area and your name is on the list, you are automatically the recipient, but factors like existing social and economic links to another area as well as special needs of potential beneficiaries are also considered. Another problem was that in some areas, numerous waiting lists would be drawn up by different groups with competing political agendas. There has also been the issue of fraud to deal with. Public Servants have been known to allocate themselves state-subsidised houses. People who might not qualify for state-subsidised housing have also taken occupation of houses without them being allocated, either through bribing the relevant officials, or through simply moving in,” Molepo said.
He suggested the solution is an agreement between communities and the state to identify suitable housing beneficiaries. “Whether this is implemented or not, we recommend posters or other materials should be produced clearly detailing existing housing allocation processes so everyone can understand. I am adamant a vital first step is for housing officials to stop talking about a waiting list. The housing list is a myth. It should be treated as such and eradicated from public discourse on housing, in favour of a more nuanced way of characterising the rational, appropriate and humane responses to the broad range of housing needs in South Africa, which are not currently catered for by the market,” he said.
Spokesperson for the Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs (CoGHSTA), Paena Galane, explained a straightforward process to becoming a beneficiary. Firstly, the MEC writes to the municipality requesting a list of beneficiaries, in terms of their priorities and in line with the financial year’s budget. The criteria is to have disabled, aged, child-headed family and those living in unsafe structures (distressed families). Municipalities prepare and submit the list of beneficiaries and their areas. CoGHSTA then starts with the screening process – the beneficiary must be a South African resident, must be over 18 years old, not earning above R3 500 and must not have previously benefited from the Housing Subsidy System. Once approved, the beneficiaries are allocated to the contractors appointed by CoGHSTA to construct houses,” Galane explained.
