9 February 2004
MADAME SPEAKER/ DEPUTY SPEAKER
CDE PRESIDENT
COMRADES
HONOURABLE MEMBERS
A few weeks from now, we will celebrate our first decade of democracy and freedom.
For decades, South Africa had been developed into four separate communities. The one hardly knowing the other. One the master and the others the servants.
On 27 April 1994, millions of our people experienced freedom for the first time. They took their rightful place as true sons and daughters of our land. The shackles of apartheid were finally broken and their human dignity was restored.
On that memorable day, the reconstruction and development of our country which had experienced over 300 years of destruction and underdevelopment began.
There are some in our country including here in this chamber that constantly state that nothing has changed and that the destruction and underdevelopment of 300 years should have been completed within a short space of time.
Those who make such statements, do so because they have always had everything. They do not know what life is like without having access to water borne sanitation, electricity, tarred roads, street lights, security of tenure and ownership of ones own home.
The message they send out is that they have neither care nor compassion and would rather not see those affected by apartheid being given the best, which they themselves enjoyed for so long.
They would rather an approach using poorly planned and implemented policies delivering inferior services. They broadcast this message as though they are the masters and the poor are the servants who will simply listen and accept what they say despite the fact that what they say is devoid of all truth.
In the coming 2004 elections as in previous elections, the majority of people will continue to reject their devious and malicious attempts to reassert their past role of master over servant, with the contempt it deserves.
During the past ten years the living conditions of over six million people have been improved through the housing delivery programme.
We have also seen people gaining access to housing through rental and social housing programmes.
Specifically designed housing units and housing subsidies to meet the requirements of people with disabilities have been introduced.
The hostel redevelopment programme focuses on the upgrading of hostel facilities and infrastructure and the conversion of dormitory rooms into family units.
The housing delivery programme has helped to facilitate the delivery of basic services such as water and sanitation as well as electricity together with infrastructure such as schools, clinics and roads to communities who did not previously have access to these.
Through this programme we have witnessed the joy of millions of people who for the first time in their lives now own a property.
We have also witnessed the joy of both young and old moving from homes made of plastic, iron and cardboard into homes made of brick and mortar providing warmth from the cold, shelter from the rain and coolness from the heat.
A resident in Tsakane had the following to say,
" I have a sense of pride here, living in this house has made a big difference in my life,"
Another resident in Galeshewe said,
" This is the first time I have ever owned a house. Nobody can take it away from me." Not only is it a house but also an asset which can be improved and which can be used as a guarantee to secure financial loans. Many of these homes have provided beneficiaries with a facility to start home based businesses.
The 99-year lease programme, which effectively ensured for so long that our people were deprived of ownership and title deeds, was sent to eternal banishment.
Women, who have been the most marginalized of society, have played an important and leading role in the housing delivery programme.
Not only are they the main beneficiaries of housing subsidies, but they have actively participated in the construction of houses, particularly in the Peoples Housing Process.
Women have also taken the lead in mobilising savings groups generating much needed finance for housing.
These are women who come from urban areas, rural areas, informal settlements and are often from the poorest of the poor. Yet they have displayed unwavering commitment and determination to play their part in working with Government to rebuild this country.
The housing delivery programme has restored human dignity to millions of people. No longer do families have to sleep in one room as many beneficiaries choose to have internal walls built so that parents and children have separate rooms.
Programmes aimed at upgrading informal settlements providing piped water and water borne sanitation together with the provision of electricity is taking place throughout the country. In my constituency of Randfontein, piped water is being installed in Zenzele.
In Mogale City, I had the privilege of watching an entire informal settlement disappear as each resident moved into a new home.
The Urban Renewal and the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programmes form part of the strategy of the ANC led Government in rebuilding our country.
These programmes are aimed at reconstructing and developing specific urban and rural nodes. Improving living conditions and providing infrastructure that had not previously been provided to the affected communities.
The development of the rural nodes will play a significant role in enabling community members to continue living where they live whilst providing them with sustainable employment opportunities.
This will impact on the number of people migrating to urban areas in search of employment and could also result in some people moving back to rural areas as more employment opportunities are created.
The face of formally white suburbs has changed significantly with many providing a picture of racial integration, providing an opportunity for barriers to be broken down and for new friendships to be made. There has been no decline in property prices or the deteriation of suburbs as some prophets of doom predicted.
I am able to speak with confidence of the significant progress that has taken place in meeting the housing needs of the peoples of this land as I have personally witnessed this in all nine provinces in both rural and urban areas.
The words of the Freedom Charter that say,
" All people shall have the right to live where they choose, be decently housed, and to bring up their families in comfort and security."
Are no longer words, they have become a reality for millions of our people.
Whilst significant progress has been made in this last decade, more work must take place to ensure that all the peoples of this land have access to adequate shelter as enshrined in our constitution.
There are challenges that lie ahead, but they are not insurmountable.
Government has taken measures to ensure that the housing product being provided is of sound quality. This includes the role of the National Home Builders Registration Council, which conducts on site inspections.
Of concern are the actions of some developers who seem to think that the housing programme is a way of making money at the expense of those who are most in need. They maximise their profits by building inferior quality homes, leaving Government with the task of having to repair and in some cases rebuild poorly built homes.
A commitment is required from the construction industry to build homes that they themselves would be proud to live in.
There are many potential homeowners who fall just outside the subsidy band and are not able to access finance because they are presumed to be a financial risk. The practice of red lining has also led to many who can afford to repay home loans, being denied access.
We call on these financial institutions to work with Government in rebuilding the country. Through the provision of affordable finance, many people will be able to purchase or build a home of their choice.
The location of housing developments needs to be closer to city centres. The notion that property prices fall if there is a low cost housing development in areas close to existing suburbs often results in houses having to be built far away from places of employment. High land costs also contribute to this.
We need to ensure that the integration of society continues to take place and cannot allow communities such as those in Zevenfontein and Lanseria to continuously be denied access to housing simply because land owners object.
If we are building a country for all South Africans then surely we cannot continue along the lines of demanding that Government provide houses for those regarded as poor, but at the same time insist that they be built far away from leafy suburbs.
As we continue along the path of reconstruction and development a united effort is required from all South Africans.
In particular we need the building industry and financial institutions to join hands with Government and play an active role in helping to reduce the levels of poverty in which many of our people still live.
Through a united effort, housing delivery can be speeded up and the much needed employment opportunities can be created on the construction sites.
The time for being spectators in the grandstand is over. We all need to become players. We need to work together and win together.
An article in yesterdays City Press titled, When home turns out to be the best place after all, said the following:
"With little fanfare but lots of enthusiasm, white South Africans are returning to a country that works and a homeland they miss"
The article goes on to talk about the work of Angel Jones and Marina Smithers and their role in the creation of the Homecoming Revolution, which is calling on South Africans to return home and play their part in creating employment, reducing poverty and helping to create a winning nation.
Angel Jones and Marina Smithers are true patriots. They believe in South Africa and are proud to live here. They are examples we all need to follow.
In a few weeks from now, you will have to make a choice.
A choice that says I want to be a team player or a choice that says I want to be a spectator.
A choice that says I am tired of the negative campaign waged by certain political leaders or a choice that says I do not want to be part of the process of reconstruction and development.
A choice to work with the ANC and Government in creating work and fighting poverty or a choice to ensure that South Africa does not succeed.
I made my choice a long time ago. It was a choice to become part of the majority, to become a team player, to work and win together, to contribute in my small way to help improve the lives of those who were denied the same opportunities that I had when I was born, to be proud of and defend my country, and to be proud of my President.
The ANC is the only Party that has delivered on its promises over the last decade. When others have had the opportunity they have failed.
A vote for the ANC will ensure that tomorrow South Africa becomes a better country than the one we have today. The reconstruction and development of a country that you, your family and generations to come, will be proud of.
Thank you.