Bisho told EC enjoys faster housing delivery

By Eric Naki

Political Correspondent

BISHO -- The Eastern Cape Housing Development Board has accelerated the province's housing delivery with the approval of 159 housing projects consisting of 81 000 houses worth R1,2 billion since 1994, chairman John Smith said in his report to the housing and local government standing committee here yesterday.

Smith said that, since the inception of the present housing policy in 1994, 81835 housing units worth R1,2bn had been approved by the end of the financial year 1998/9.

He attributed the acceleration of housing delivery to the repeal of legislation impeding delivery and the release of government land to local authorities for housing development.

However, while the present board had made great strides and committed funds to housing projects, the slow pace of delivery in the previous years had had a negative effect on the allocation of funds.

Smith cited the case of an amount of R450 million which was taken back by the national government after the province failed to use it. He said the effects of the removal of the money would be felt this financial year.

Identifying the board's achievements, Smith said the 81835 houses built included the 12123 subsidies approved in the 1998/9 financial year.

He said a total of 14584 individual housing subsidies had been approved to date. An additional 52 projects representing 30 619 subsidies worth R446m had been approved subject to the availability of funds.

Unlike the previous years, the Local Government and Housing Department had spent 99,3 percent of its housing budget for the year ending March 1999. This could be attributed to the close monitoring of developers through an effective project management system.

The board engaged consultants which established housing bureaus to fast-track housing transfers. A total of 80958 houses had been transferred to date.

Four "non-performing" projects in Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage were rescheduled and funds re-allocated to deserving projects in Mount Fletcher (303 houses), Flagstaff (500), Qumbu (504), Libode (833) and Storm River West (470).

The rescheduling helped the board to achieve projects for remote areas where no housing development had taken place.

Smith said the Eastern Cape is leading the country in the transfer of housing stock through the Discount Benefit Scheme. Of the total of 150 507 houses to be transferred, the province has transfered 80 958 units.

The Discount Benefit Scheme objective is to transfer all existing government-financed rental housing stock to registered tenants on a supplementary discount of R7 500 to benefit the disadvantaged and to promote home ownership.

Smith said R32m had been set aside for the hostel development programme which is aimed at upgrading existing hostel units into habitable family units.

The programme is progressing satisfactorily.