At a media briefing in Cape Town on 18th May ahead of the Human Settlements Budget Vote the Minister of Human Settlements made announcements of relevance to workers and employers in the agricultural sector.
A new housing bank
The Minister announced the formation of a Human Settlements Development Bank which will integrate the National Housing Finance Corporation, the Housing Loan Fund and the National Urban Reconstruction and Housing Agency. Given that many farm worker households now earn above the subsidy threshold of R3500/month they fall into the so called 'gap housing' segement. To date this has had very little to offer those earning between R3 501 and R15 000/month.
This has been acknowledged by Human Settlements in discussion document prepared for the drafting of a new white paper
It remains to be seen how the new bank will set out to address this pressing issue in a context where "the actual cost of delivering the product is far higher than the subsidy amount allocated for the unit, which is increasingly concerning for the sustainability of the programme". (DHS, 2015: 13)
This has been acknowledged by Human Settlements in discussion document prepared for the drafting of a new white paper
Many households with an income above the threshold for fully subsidised housing have neither access to a housing loan nor adequate government support resulting in a growing gap housing submarket. The current programme has been unable to respond to individuals who did not qualify for the subsidy and who are also unable to access the limited range of housing products available in the market.While the Financed Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (FLISP) is available on a sliding scale of between R54 000 and R83 000 to households earning between R3 501 and R15 000 per month, for the purchase of a property with a maximum value of R300 000, this has not been able to adequately address the housing needs of these households.
(DHS, 2015: 8)
It remains to be seen how the new bank will set out to address this pressing issue in a context where "the actual cost of delivering the product is far higher than the subsidy amount allocated for the unit, which is increasingly concerning for the sustainability of the programme". (DHS, 2015: 13)
Agri-villages back on the agenda
At the media brieing the Minister highlighted as a priority:...the allocation of stands where we have land and we want to encourage our people to move towards this option, wherever it is available. Here, in all the land that we hold, we will ensure that services are supplied, stands cut out and encourage our people with technical support to build for themselves.4dialogue will track these developments and looks forward to planning a round table event where farm worker housing policy and practice can be discussed.
We want to encourage the use of policy options that were created to fast-track delivery and diversify options. These include:
- The use of innovative materials
- Agri-villages
- Employer assisted housing
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