Page 591 - Provincial Treasury Estimates.pdf

Estimates of the Provincial Revenue and Expenditure (EPRE) – 2023/24 Financial Year

1.5 Demands for and expected changes in the services

The influx of people in the urban areas leaving rural areas is a major problem that is facing the department.
This problem has a negative impact in the demands for social housing units in the urban areas which leads
to more service protests by the communities. This relocation increases the number of backlogs and
informal settlements.

This requires intense planning and reprioritisation by the department. New strategies are to be explored
as to how to deal with this pressure. The department has taken a bold approach to prioritise beneficiaries
who need services. The directive is to provide services to the poorest of the poor that is destitute
beneficiaries, elderly, disabled, disaster affected beneficiaries, and child headed households and military
veterans.

The unfavourable climate changes which leads to disasters and requires more attention by the department
to provide temporary shelters and emergency housing for the affected communities.

1.6 The Acts, rules, and regulations
The mandate of Human Settlements emanates from Section 26 of the Constitution which provides that
everyone has the right to access adequate housing. The state must take reasonable legislative and other
measures within its available resources to achieve the progressive realization of this right and no one may
be evicted from their home, or have their home demolished without an order of court.

The Mandate of the National Department of Human Settlements is also embedded in Section 3 of the
Housing Act of 1997, as amended, which provides that the National government, acting through the
Minister, should determine national policy. Such policy should, include norms and standards in respect of
Housing Development. The National government should, amongst other functions, set broad national
housing delivery goals and facilitate the setting of provincial and where appropriate, local government
housing delivery goals.

There are several Acts that have been promulgated to further support the department’s constitutional
mandate and these include, among others:

x Prevention of Illegal Eviction from Unlawful Occupation of Land Act, 1998
x The Housing Consumer Protection Measures Act, 1998
x The Rental Housing Act, 1999 as Amended
x Social Housing Act, No.16 of 2008
x Home Loan and Mortgage Disclosure Act, 2000
x Housing Development Agency Act No. 23 of 2008
x Community Scheme Ombud Service Act No. 9 of 2011
x Sectional Titles Management Act No. 8 of 2011
x Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act No. 16 of 2013 (SPLUMA)

1.7 Budget decisions

The budget on Compensation of Employees (CoE) is based on the current warm bodies and 2022/23
vacant funded posts. Additional funding has been received on compensation of employees for the carry
through costs of the 2022/23 cost of living adjustments. Change in the Provincial Equitable Share (PES)
formula has resulted in the department receiving additional allocation which has since been allocated to
contractual obligations to minimize cost pressures. The department’s baseline over the MTEF has been
reduced by the Microsoft Licenses function shift to the Office of the Premier. Budget decisions were based
on the available budget.
The department will continue to adhere to the prescripts around cost containment measures and allocative
efficiency while ensuring that key strategic priorities are met in line with the budget challenges over the
2023 MTEF. Decisions taken on allocations are based on the departmental Annual Performance Plan and

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