SPEECH BY LN SISULU MINISTER OF HOUSING AT THE OPENING OF THE NATIONAL FORUM OF THE HOMELESS PEOPLES FORUM  

29 May 2005
Durban

 Master of Ceremonies
The President: Mr Patrick Magebhula,
Delegations and representatives of other organizations and Federations (both local and international)
Invited Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen:  

I feel particularly honoured that I was asked to be part of you today. This coincided with my own wish to meet with you – and the coincidence worked in my favour.  

I had a need to meet with you so as to introduce myself and with you workout n more formal arrangement that could perhaps put an end to the situation where I meet some of you in international fora.  

We meet at a difficult time where in various areas there is a perception that we in government do not care about the plight of our people who live in abominable conditions. We hear accusations that we seem to have forgotten about our promises and the commitments we made in the run-up to the 2004 national elections. I want to use this space here to dispel some of these views. I must preface my remarks however by admitting that there are serious problems that are being experienced by our communities. We are dealing with these problems. We want to assure our communities that the promises we made are binding on us. Our leadership is molded in struggle committed to uplifting our people. This is what we should never forget.

            In any situation we will always find claims competing for attention form various other equally important aspects of our lives. But we have very limited resources to accomplish all that we need to accomplish. We are constantly trying to reach out to our people through our organizations, through government including Imbizo to explain what it is that we are doing. Quite clearly however there are times when we are not reaching them. This is the reason that I would like to use this space today to through you send a message of hope to all who have waited so patiently and so long, that we will not let you down. We are working tirelessly to ensure that we can provide you with decent shelter. All we ask of you is to understand the enormity of the challenge, and, if possible, to meet us halfway.  

But, on the other hand, it could precisely be as a result of the present protests that our meeting today would have a particular significance. Because you have shown that when the poor and the disadvantaged segments of our society come together to help themselves out of their circumstances then a great part of the battle is won.  

My mission for this year is to conclude what as government we have termed a social contract with various segments of our society. I intend to conclude agreements with developers and construction companies where I can benefit the poor from the residential property boom that presently benefits a few. I intend to reach an agreement with building material suppliers where we can find a way of dealing with the prices that of supplies that make it difficult for the poor to build their houses. Of particular importance, I want to have a social contract with all of those Non-Governmental Organizations that work among the homeless so that together we can carve out a strategy on how to fast-track our efforts as increasingly as possible. Our people’s patience is fizzling out, allowing sadly in some cases, for opportunistic people to take advantage of real grievances.   

Out of the social contract with these organizations I hope that very soon I can make my donation of R250 000 that has been made possible by the National Homebuilders Registration Council in its bid to help our people to develop by themselves skills in building.  

As government, we are committed to pushing back the frontiers of poverty. We therefore have recognized that the essential ingredient in this is to work organizations that speak and represent the poor. Our success in delivering to our people lies in this partnership where we our people can organize themselves as agents of development and we as government partner them and make it possible for them to do that by creating an enabling environment and supporting their initiatives.  

Within the short space of time I have been Minister I have learnt that contrary to perceptions that are widespread, poorer communities have good credit ratings. I have learnt that out of people living in desperate conditions have come innovation, that out of homelessness we as government have learnt how to do things better, including that houses can be bigger. We have learnt how effectively we can communicate with our communities. We have learnt that communities have answers to their problems and that ours is to support these answers. 

In this context I must indicate that I am happy to learn of the role of the Homeless People’s Federation in helping us achieve the objectives we have set for ourselves as government to end poverty. For, consistently since 1994 in fulfilling the key objective of the Reconstruction and Development Programme in respect of the mobilization of all our people as well as resources toward the final eradication of apartheid, a people-driven housing process has been one of the key pillars of housing delivery by government.  

As was understood then, this was a self-conscious decision that was taken by our people basing it in on their own experiences both in the apartheid era and in the context of the national liberation struggle. Principally, these relate to the recognition that our people made that in the process of their own development they cannot remain passive waiting on government to deliver what rightly was theirs. The decision was thus not ideological. It simply responded to the practical needs of the country and remains valid to this day. Hence, this same perspective now continues to inform strategies that are being developed internationally to achieve sustainable development for all.  

I have personally experienced how you have mobilized women who form the backbone of the Federation. The greatest investment that any community can make is in the empowerment of its women.  

I also leant with admiration how the Federation adapted the old strategy of self-enumeration to the new conditions being provided by a free and a democratic South Africa. I have been informed that this also serves a mobilizing tool and helps communities realize a collective effort to solving their housing problems. It therefore is evident to me that the Federation is seriously involved in a process of the self-empowerment of our people, a process that is critical to the achievement of our objectives, especially if it is properly integrated with government.  

I have also been informed that since its formation the Federation has through its own grassroots women built over 15 000 houses and secured land tenure for thousands others. To me this also clearly indicates the potential that a people-drive process can have on the development of our people, and confirms the correctness of the perspective that of the Reconstruction and Development Programme that has since been integrated into government policies. 

To respond to these, therefore, in terms of Plan on Human Settlements we are reviewing the People’s Housing Process aiming to ensure in this regard that at all the three spheres of government moved there is an increased use of the Process. We have realized that there is a greater choice on the use of the subsidy and the generation of positive housing outcomes, including increased beneficiary input commitment in the implementation of the process. From this, as government, we can benefit greatly only if we are able to enhance the capacity of the Process to deliver.  

In the eradication of slums that I have talked about earlier, a new method has been introduced in terms of which the funding allocation now goes to the community instead of the individual, as it used to be the practice in the past. It is then necessary to ensure that the People’s Housing Process is adapted to this new reality.   

My appeal to the members of the Federation and its leadership is that to fully take advantage of the opportunity that is now being presented by the Human Settlements Plan we need to strengthen coherence and unity. There would also have to be greater co-operation between ourselves including support. This kind of co-operation, I am sure, will not only be necessary for technical purposes but will also be essential in the overall goal of the mobilization of our communities to participate in delivering human settlements.  

Our belief is that since the Plan emanates from the experiences of the implementation of the Reconstruction and Development programme it fulfills the injunctions of the Freedom Charter for the state to deliver houses, security and comfort. The test for this however will lie in how communities respond to the opportunities it presents. As an organized forum you have the advantage of making it possible for us to enable these outcomes.  

My second appeal to the Federation is borne out of our experiences in the African National Congress, that is, strive for unity. Our history is a shining example of what is possible when at all times a compromise has yielded greater returns than being right. In addition, it is important for you who are closest to our people, you who are in daily contact with them, you who hold out an immediate promise of a roof over their heads, that you must strive to be beyond blame.
 

We, all of us who represent others, live in the constant glare of publicity. In an atmosphere where there is a general perception of corruption, we must be sensitive to this perception, and therefore go about our business in ways that do not raise doubts. Even if we have to bend over backwards, that would be necessary. That is the price we have to pay so that we can continuously renew our people’s confidence in us.

 Lastly, I would once more like to congratulate you on the achievements you have made thus far in showing commitment to communities. Please take my offer of greater co-operation as I am convinced that together we can achieve much in changing the face of our urban and rural environments.

I thank you.