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Good Morning ladies and gentlemen and thank you for coming to this meeting. The President in his State of the Nation Address identified poverty alleviation, urban renewal and rural development as some of the problematic areas facing our country. Accordingly, this cluster has come up with strategies to break the back of poverty, regenerate our decaying urban areas and unlock the latent potential in rural areas, thereby provide the people of South Africa with a choice - life in the hustle and bustle of the city or the quiet and engaging life in the country side.

POVERTY ALLEVIATION

Poverty has stripped our people of any modicum of human dignity and self respect. The country's poor have suffered from exclusion from the mainstream activity as they face the challenge of surviving on a daily basis. We all know that poverty and the lack of access to basic services is a reality to the bulk of our nation. This cluster has identified the following aspects which need critical intervention to turn the situation around. We are focusing on vulnerable groups, i.e. women, children and the disabled and we will:

* promote community projects, housing projects for the people with disability as well as social grants;
* Increased access to buildings and public transport by the disabled.
* Expanding effective treatment of TB because of its debilitating impact in the presence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
* Increased support for TB treatment, feeding close to 5 million primary school children every year, expanding the immunisation programme, and implementing a defined package of health services for which all citizens can be guaranteed.

We have had to re-organise some of the key institutions of delivery through :

* Improved data supply systems to ensure that resources can be better targeted at vulnerable groups in society, as well as providing more information to ordinary people.
* Reforming the financial systems to improve municipal services, local government, micro-lending to the poor, and small -scale farming systems.
* Legal and social programmes to tackle the problem of domestic violence, sexual offences, gender and racial inequalities, disintegration f the family structure, and landlessness.
* Developing an improved social security system, and addressing the needs of older persons.

With these building blocks in place the pace of the delivery of social services to the poor will be speeded up to ensure the improvement of quality of life as well as redirect the country's poor to remove the shackles of powerlessness and join the mainstream of our society. This cluster will also design an integrated poverty eradication strategy with other partners.

WELFARE

The Department of Welfare will focus on the following key areas:

* Re-engineer the Maintenance system in line with the provisions of the Maintenance Amendment Act and needs of women and children.
* Restore the ethics of care and human development in all welfare programmes.
* Develop a comprehensive Social Security System.
* Develop strategies to ensure equity of social welfare services.

WATER AFFAIRS AND FORESTRY

The provision of basic water supply and sanitation is a very direct and practical means that touches on the quality of life of the poor. A total of R750 million spent by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry in the past financial year created around 60 000 million jobs. But we must recognise that there is more to service provision than counting the number of taps and toilets delivered. What matters is that they continue to work so that people continue to benefit.

We do not deliver services and sneak out and hope that everything turns out for the good. My colleague the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry has conducted an audit of the work of his Department as well as of the achievements of government as a whole in this field since 1994. The real story of delivery in water and sanitation is that we have achieved both more and less than we have preciously stated. The audit also found that much has been achieved by agencies other than the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry.

On the basis of the audit already conducted, my colleague is reviewing the strategy of his Department seeking ways to further accelerate service delivery in rural areas without compromising sustainability. Linked to this, he will be developing new approaches to ensure that safe water is affordable for all South Africans.

We note that innovative approaches to water supply management in the city of Durban have enabled the municipality there to supply the basic needs of all their residents for free; only consumption above the basic minimum is charged for. We look forward to collaborating closely in this area

Since 1994, it is estimated that government has served 9.2 million people with basic water supplies. In rural areas, the proportion served by infrastructure is up from 33% - 50%. Around four million people received new supplies to RDP standard; a total of over 6 million benefited through improvements to the reliability and quality of their supplies. In urban areas, the proportion served rose from 84% - 92%.

About half of the water supply improvements were achieved through the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry's programme. The rest has been achieved in housing programmes, through local government and other organisations. In sanitation, the picture is even more dramatic. While in rural areas little has been achieved beyond the first pilot projects, substantial progress has been made in urban areas, we believe that improved household sanitation will become an important focus of investments for housing improvement.

This experience demonstrates the need for all sectors of government to work together as a team, something that will characterise our efforts over the coming year. The challenge of keeping services working is one that we will all be focusing on through intensified programmes of support to local government since it is at local level that the day-to-day work is done.

URBAN RENEWAL

HOUSING AND INNER-CITY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT.

South Africa's cities and towns are dysfunctional and this is a result of political engineering that has led to social disorder and disruption. Apartheid legislation regulating Group Areas, Community Redevelopment, and Rent Control have had a devastating effect on the viability of our inner cities. The removal of people forcibly from areas declared `white' exacerbated the problem by tearing families apart and dislocating kin and kith.

There is not doubt that the legacy left by apartheid social planning not only altered the urban landscape but led to the creation of little oasis of affluence amidst pockets of despair and want. We inherited 192 000 serviced sites where poor people were forced to use what they could to construct houses. The fact that poor people are not bankable and credit worthy compounded the problem and led to the mushrooming of informal settlements, the breeding ground of disease and other social ills.

We were faced with two choices, that of applying an intervention mechanism to alleviate homelessness and make good on the constitutional requirements of affording the right to access shelter for poor people and thereby effecting savings on the investment made as a result of the services put into place. Alternatively, abandoning the multitudes of homelessness which the government's policy is targeting and starting afresh, thereby denying the poor the opportunity of accessing affordable shelter.

A further problem is around the question of land. The price of land is prohibitive and does not make housing development in inner city areas easy. It is assumed (the Department of Land Affairs is busy with a land audit) that most of the state owned land is located in townships. Hence the bulk of our development is located in these areas. Be that as it may, we have established strategic partnerships with other stakeholders to ensure that the poor are located near areas of economic and social opportunity.

The department's approach towards revitalising inner city areas and other dysfunctional areas entails the implementation of a multi-pronged and integrated approach. The following projects have seen a marked improvement in the lives of the poor and a shift of focus from township areas to inner-city areas.

* An amount of R1,88 billion has been allocated to thirteen urban renewal projects and has up to now benefited a total of thirteen communities including Cato Manor (a success story that has been recognised internationally) in Durban;
* The Khotso House, Seven Seas where Non Governmental Organisations have partnered with government leading to the revitalisation of old inner city building thus preventing the scourge of crime and halting;
* The Jeppe Oval and Newtown in Johannesburg are recent projects where housing development is located in the inner-city areas.
* The human settlement redevelopment pilot programme whose intention is to address the causes of dysfunctionality in inner city areas is at the moment in a pilot phase and will be absorbed to form part of the national programme;

RESTRUCTURING OF STATE ASSETS

Following cabinet approval of the no growth wind-down of the South African Housing Trust led by an interdepartmental Task Team from the departments of Housing, Finance, State Expenditure and a rigorous selection process preceded by a total of 40 interested persons and institutions, the following announcements should be made:

* That NABCAT is the preferred bidder for Nu-Way housing;
* that HLANO consortium is the preferred bidder for Khayalethu Home loans.

JOB CREATION AND POVERTY

Job creation projects, another important tool for attacking poverty, can also meet objectives such as the protection of our environment. The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry's Working for Water programme has, for instance, employed 13 200 people in 212 projects over the past year. Again, partnerships are important and the programme is co-operating with the Department of Welfare to run a child care programme for its workers as well as a partnership to reintegrate 120 ex-offenders into society.

PROGRESS REPORT- JOB SUMMIT.

Project proposals were called and the closing date was November 5 where a total of 64 proposals were received. An announcement of the successful bidders who will be involved in the construction of the first lot of houses are:

* Durban Metro ( KwaZulu Natal) and the developer is First Metro Housing Company. The houses will be built in two strategically located land in Durban, namely, Roosfontein in Cato Manor and Mount Moriah which is 15km north of Durban's CBD. The project will yield semi-detached and detached houses, row houses and apartments ranging from 30 m2 to 50m2. The total number of units for both projects will be 5 000.
* Witbank (Tasbet Park and Duhva Park) and the developer is Witbank Housing Corporation. A total of 3000 subsidies have been approved and the houses will be built on 200 ha of land in Tasbet Park Ext 6 and Duhva Park Ext 1 in Witbank. The houses will be detached, duplexes, multi story town and cluster houses. The project will be completed in April 2003.
* Greater Newtown Housing Programme, promoter - Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council). This project will yield a total of 4 738 units both for rental and ownership in 9 different locations centred around Newtown area in Johannesburg. This project forms part of an effort to regenerate the inner city areas and is linked to the iGoli 2002 plan.

The projects are in line with the integrated delivery of social services. Housing's contribution to the Job Summit will see the delivery of good quality homes to the poor in areas where jobs, schools, health services are available.

The projects are in line with the integrated delivery of social services, Housing's contribution to the Job Summit will see the delivery of good quality homes to the poor in areas where jobs, schools, health services are available.

INTEGRATED RURAL DEVELOPMENT

The rural areas have become wastelands where there is no hope and despair and hopelessness reigns supreme. People have been moving from rural to urban areas in search of better opportunities not out of choice but because these areas were most affected by the effects of apartheid planning. Arguments have been advanced that there is no need to invest in these areas, but that urban areas where there is a high concentration of people, goods and services would benefit more.

This argument perpetuates the apartheid design and planning by channelling development from a top down position and denies rural or urban dwellers the right of choice. The influx of people to city areas has led to overcrowding, and other related social ills leaving a trail of ghost towns and arresting social development in rural areas. There is a need for an integrated strategy to resuscitate rural areas and release their latent potential and transform our countryside's landscape to respond to Constitutional requirement of equitable distribution of, and access to resources and basic services.

The needs of rural dwellers are unique. While the incidence of homelessness is absent, there is a need to replace unsustainable structures with sturdy and solid homes. Water is critical and access to clean running water for rural dwellers was one of the challenges confronting them. We have formed vital links between national and provincial government in the rehabilitation of irrigation schemes in Tyefu, Ncora and Qamata. From Ceres in the Western cape to Arabie in Northern Province and Shemula dn Mbazwana in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, collaboration on development projects is underway.

Aside from the widely publicised sale of larger commercial forests, there are important developments in the transfer of smaller woodlots to communities which will have equally important impact on the lives and opportunities of the rural poor.

Quiet clearly there is a need to integrate services and register huge impact. The President said that the Deputy President will make further announcements around this area.

The social cluster is part of a broader multi-pronged strategy towards implementing an integrated approach to correct social problems, target areas of desperate need, accelerate social change and transform our society. This will lead to more co-ordination and greater focus on a results oriented approach to social development. With these strategies in place we hope to break the back of poverty, alienation, powerlessness and want.

Issued by the Ministry of Housing, 10 February 2000