Page 594 - Provincial Treasury Estimates.pdf

Department: +XPDQ 6HWWOHPHQWV

2.2 Key challenges

The department is in the process of reviewing its Service Delivery Model (SDM) which will assist and
support management in determining the most suitable operating model to meet the mandated and overall
service delivery expectations. The purpose of the SDM is to provide the department with a systematic
approach to deliver its strategy and goals. It also includes the approach with which the department intends
to package its services and engage with its stakeholders. The intended outcome of this exercise is to
determine departmental functions that be performed at the district offices instead of from the Head Office
that would see a reduction in the high operating cost and the districts will be better capacitated to deliver.
This would result in the resettlement of identified officials from Head Office to the Districts Office and the
automation of the current business processes.
The department is maintaining an organisational structure that was created to execute a housing mandate,
which is not in line with the expectations of leading an agenda for creation of integrated and sustainable
Human Settlements. The continuous decline in the equitable share allocation will impact negatively on
service delivery.
With the delineation of Housing from the Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs in 2008
and the introduction of revised mandate of the Department of Human Settlements, several significant
challenges had to be addressed on the inherited projects from the previous developers. This led to the
department revoking the developer status from the non-performing municipalities.
Since then, there has been a continuous effort by the department to identify and de-commit funding from
projects that were blocked due to the above-mentioned challenges. This was done with the aim of
optimising departmental and State resources that could then be redirected to performing projects and to
rural areas of the Province. All projects that have not moved for more than three years have been closed.
Should we not say anything about the changing needs for housing resulting from disasters – has to
respond immediately with temporary housing.
The provincial department did not have allocated budget for the Provincial Emergency Housing Grant and
the province had experienced disasters in April 2022. The department had to respond immediately with
temporary housing structures. The budget was allocated in the fourth quarter of the 2022/23 financial year
for the provision of temporary shelter assistance to households affected by disaster or to repair the damage
to housing for low income households.

3. Outlook for the coming financial year (2023/24)

In 2023/24 financial year, we will continue to implement the broad Policy Priorities of the sector as set in
the sixth term of administration:
x Provision of housing opportunities with special focus and prioritization of Destitute and Vulnerable
Groups especially disabled, the elderly, child-headed families, and military veterans remain one of
the government’s priorities. The targets for the 2023/24 financial year include the delivery of 7 638
low-cost housing units, 320 Finance Linked Individual Subsidies and 38 Individual Subsidies.
Service sites to be delivered will be 5 350.
x 60 blocked projects will be unblocked throughout the Province. The department is engaging
municipalities and implementing agents to augment capacity on Human Settlements Development
and implementation of these projects will be done in multi-years;
x The department will register 8 000 title deeds under the following categories: Pre-1994 – 750, Post-
1994 – 3 500, Post-2014 – 2 500 and New – 1 250 title deeds. The department will continue working
with municipalities to ensure that the pre-conveyancing activities are resolved to enhance the
speedy delivery of the tittle deeds;
x 160 Informal Settlements will be upgraded in various municipalities utilising the Informal Settlement
Upgrading Partnership Grant (ISUPG) and 8 000 household will benefit. The department has

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