PRESENTATION TO PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL UPGRADING SUPPORT PROGRAMME (NUSP)

1. PRESENTATION TO PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL UPGRADING SUPPORT PROGRAMME (NUSP) ACTING DIRECTOR-GENERAL: MR. M TSHANGANA 04 AUGUST 2015 CONFIDENTIAL

2. Informal Settlement Upgrading Programme • Part 3 of National Housing Code provides ‘facilitate structured in situ upgrading of informal settlements, as opposed to relocation’ • Based on tenure rights, incremental provision of infrastructure & services, community empowerment • Very sound policy – but little awareness & understanding • Implementation focuses on ‘eradicate’, not ‘upgrade’ • No real information on communities, & how upgrading strengthens livelihoods strategies • Provision of new top structures is sees as the ‘solution’ CONFIDENTIAL

3. Informal Settlement Upgrading - Action • Promote in situ upgrading as a complementary housing programme • Issue clear statement on significance of informal settlements • State target to improve basic infrastructure, services and land tenure for all informal settlement households by 2019 • Ensure compliance with Part 3 in approving all future upgrading projects • Develop a focused informal settlement upgrading capacity building programme for government and professional practitioners CONFIDENTIAL

4. Informal Settlement Upgrading Programme • Projects is not a programme, and were not required to comply with Part 3 • Provinces and Municipalities have been slow to embrace in-situ upgrading, & need implementation support • Few provinces or municipalities have planned programmes for informal settlement upgrading at the scale to meet 2019 target • Lack of programmatic approach undermines performance and delivery CONFIDENTIAL

5. NUSP Process • Purpose is to assess progress and process of informal settlement upgrading • Framework: Principles of BNG and Part 3 (Ch 13) National Housing Code • Preparatory meetings held with Provinces and Municipalities • Assessment and field work conducted in prioritised municipalities • 816 projects have been assessed in 62 municipalities and 503 settlement upgrading plans completed. CONFIDENTIAL

6. NUSP - Action • Move from pilots to National Urban Support Programme (NUSP) • Municipalities: rapid appraisal of all informal settlements with guidance from NUSP, based on current experience • Municipalities: develop citywide inclusion programmes with action plans and time bound-targets to upgrade all informal settlements • Inclusion programmes follow approach of Part 3 NHC • NUSP to provide technical and capacity building support, initially to 50 municipalities with highest number of informal settlements CONFIDENTIAL

7. Community Empowerment • BNG & Part 3 goals to build social capital and address exclusion not being met • Socio-economic surveys limited to shack counts - little assessment of livelihoods, social capital or vulnerability • Communities not sufficiently engaged in survey or project design processes – reinforcing culture of dependency on state • Consultations with communities limited to ward councilors and committee members CONFIDENTIAL

8. Community Empowerment - Action • Communities should carry out socio-economic surveys - entry point for participation in project planning & design • Communities central to planning process, directly involved in decisions on trade-offs in design, density, standards & relocation • NUSP: provide guidelines to municipalities in establishing community partnerships • Get support for participatory planning from NGOs and competent private sector planners CONFIDENTIAL

9. Relocations • Informal settlements often well located – job opportunities, potential for increasing value of housing assets • Relocation extremely disruptive, breaks down social capital and livelihood strategies • Most municipalities are approaching informal settlement ‘upgrading’ with large scale relocation to distant greenfield sites • Even where in situ approaches have been adopted they often involve wholesale removal of residents to temporary relocation areas to treat the site as a greenfield development CONFIDENTIAL

10. Relocations - Action • Project compliance with Part 3 as condition of approval • Require provinces to scrutinise any proposed relocation and check alternatives • NUSP: develop criteria to ensure consistency in approval process • NUSP: produce guidelines on humane relocation procedures designed to minimise impacts • Ensure phased approach and minimal demolition of existing structures; TRAs used as a last resort - on or as close to original site, small as possible CONFIDENTIAL

11. Residential Densities • Planning layouts mostly based standard low density residential stand sizes and house types • Low-density urban development patterns push poor to the periphery and promote sprawl • Relocation to periphery impacts on disposable income, raises city infrastructure and transport network costs, negative environmental impacts • Most municipal land use classifications and development control regulations prepared in the pre-1990s and are onerous to integration CONFIDENTIAL

12. Residential Densities - Action • Promote variation in stand sizes and higher density house-type variants, discuss density trade-offs with communities • Addition to subsidy needed to cover construction costs of multi-storey housing • Introduce housing density per hectare as a significant performance indicator • Promote preparation of updated and unified urban land use plans, zoning classifications and development control regulations CONFIDENTIAL

13. Security of Tenure • Part 3: security of tenure foundation for future individual and public investment through a variety of tenure arrangements • Some municipalities treat provision of water and electricity services and accounts as an interim tenure recognition • Security of tenure is ideally served by full ownership rights, but given long time lag in process interim tenure arrangements for households in informal settlements are needed CONFIDENTIAL

14. Security of Tenure - Action • Promoting interim tenure options for dissemination to provinces and municipalities • Encourage municipalities to set up local registries of occupants who have been provided with interim tenure rights through service accounts, letters of occupation, or town planning mechanisms • Provide informal settlement residents with sufficient documentary proof of occupation rights that may be used for transactions CONFIDENTIAL

15. Promote Self-Reliance • Informal settlement residents self-reliant and entrepreneurial in livelihood strategies • ‘Free’ top structure for all qualified citizens dulls initiative, creates dependency • Many have invested time and money in constructing their ‘shacks’ and would prefer a home improvement grant over a new top structure • ‘One house up, one shack down’ is excessive, prizes formality over sustainability and undermines any motivation for incremental upgrading CONFIDENTIAL

16. Promote Self-Reliance - Action • Consider provision of home improvement grant for households that have built already • Establish Housing Support Centres to encourage self-help home improvement and housing quality • Launch the ‘Enhanced PHP’, encourage municipalities to partner with suitable NGOs/CBOs • Amending or clarify shack demolition clause in Part 3 / Chapter 13 to avoid the ‘one house up, one shack down’ misinterpretation CONFIDENTIAL

17. Preventing Growth of Slums • Management of land occupation and re-invasions - major issue due to greater urbanisation and protection of property rights • Legislation and administrative “land invasion” teams’ will not solve the problem • Few provinces or municipalities are planning for new urban migrants and expanding households by providing them with options suitable for settlement – for example, developing reception areas CONFIDENTIAL

18. Preventing Growth of Slums - Action • Municipalities should plan for new growth by providing options to new urban migrants and expanding households (eg Gauteng reception areas) • Encourage municipalities to negotiate agreements with communities who undertake to prevent newcomers in return for upgrading their settlement • Any removals and relocations should follow the guidelines set out in Part 3 particularly regarding establishing before hand an agreed process with the community CONFIDENTIAL

19. Technical Aspects • Service levels approach in Part 3 NHC not being followed – raises affordability and maintenance issues for municipalities • Top structures are completed and sometimes occupied without basic services • Inherent design weaknesses in many top structure unit models • Extensive volumes of uncontained refuse creates serious health hazards for residents CONFIDENTIAL

20. Technical Aspects - Action • Implement negotiated approach to services provision • Encourage and publicise innovative approaches to service design – water demand management through design in projects • Use MOUs between sectoral departments to ensure alignment of service delivery • Produce improved standard subsidised house plans and specs with supporting cost estimates for stand alone units, multi-story units, semi-detached, row houses and 3-4 story walk ups • Waste management should cover informal settlements; upgrading should plann for refuse collection, recycling and related employment creation opportunities CONFIDENTIAL

21. Project Management & Technical Capacity • Project management structures - Project Steering Committees generally good • Too few experienced project managers • Technocratic quantitative focus, rather than holistic upgrading • External service providers dominant, may favour tried-and-tested rather than innovative approaches • Provinces positioning themselves as sole developers disempowers municipalities CONFIDENTIAL

22. Project Management & Technical Capacity - Action • Establish NUSP Capacity Building Programme – guidance, operational manuals, communities of practice • Strengthen terms of reference and scrutiny over external service providers • Targeted supplementary capacity support, perhaps via Housing Development Agency CONFIDENTIAL

23. Beneficiaries and Administration • Tension over informal settlements vs backyarders – leads to mixed allocations in green-fields developments, displacement of households • Ward councillors / committees often control identification beneficiary – open to abuse • Few examples of direct community representation and involvement • Few clear dispute resolution procedures • Long turn round times with HSS leads to late identification of non-qualifiers CONFIDENTIAL

24. Beneficiaries and Administration - Action • Compile clear and accountable waiting lists • Promote involvement of community representatives on PSCs, with role in beneficiary identification & dispute resolution • Ensure beneficiary information at project level fed into the Housing Demand Database • Extend access to HSS to municipalities, with appropriate capacity and skills CONFIDENTIAL

25. Partnerships • Good examples of partnerships: • Business & community – Coming Together • Municipality & NGO – Ethekwini & PPT • BNG Public-Private – Luhfereng • Active community partnerships relatively rare – Colesberg • Problem of different standards for subsidised units in public-private projects, potential for resentment and raised expectations CONFIDENTIAL

26. Partnerships - Action • Reinforce importance of direct community participation and formal partnership, in line with Part 3 NHC • Survey examples of good practice in partnerships, and circulate • Ensure that rationale for different standards of subsidised units in mixed-income projects is clearly explained to communities CONFIDENTIAL

27. Finance & Affordability • Unrealistic expectations that social housing rental will accommodate large numbers of households – but unaffordable, few active Social Housing Institutions • No examples of working relationships with Micro-Finance Institutions CONFIDENTIAL

28. Finance & Affordability - Action • Require realistic projections of rental demand before approving social housing proposals • Facilitate contact and entry of Micro-Finance Institutions in upgrading projects CONFIDENTIAL

29. Indicative NUSP - Objectives • Strengthen capacity of provinces and municipalities to work with communities for 2109 upgrading target • Promote in situ upgrading and alternatives to relocation • Promote partnerships with NGOs and CBOs • Ensure effective monitoring & evaluation of programme CONFIDENTIAL

30. Policy Refinement & Promotion • Promoting use of Part 3 NHC; reappraising existing subsidy mechanisms; monitoring & evaluation Network & Information Dissemination • Upgrading Forum – community of practitioners; practical partnerships (DBSA, DPLG, 2E Project, Urban Land Mark, Fin Mark) • Housing Development Agency to serve as Secretariat Guidance & Tools • Upgrading Manual, action research, information on complementary initiatives Technical Assistance • Targeted technical assistance, capacity building & skills transfer to sub-national governments, technical teams and professionals CONFIDENTIAL

31. Extra capital finance for housing, planning or infrastructure – existing grants still apply • A blueprint imposition of new standards and products – it emphasises locally responsive solutions and processes • New – Part 3 NHC was approved & is based on earlier versions developed in 2004. This is the first concerted effort to implement at scale • Just about housing – sector departments, communities, business and relevant NGOs are essential partners CONFIDENTIAL

32. Upgrading Forum Partnerships (eg DPLG, DBSA, NDPG, ULM, 2E Project Promoting Part 3 NHC Monitoring & Evaluation National Upgrading Support Programme Unit Policy Refinement Technical Assistance Network & Forum Guidance & Tools • Implementation of good practice • Programme roll-out at scale towards objective targets • Upgrading Manual • Research • Information circulation • Targeted TA at sub-national level • Guidance to prof & technical teams CONFIDENTIAL

33. National Department of Housing: Policy, Strategy & Budget • Breaking New Ground; Part 3 NHC; 2014Targets National Upgrading Support Programme Housing Development Agency Upgrading Informal Settlements Programme Provinces & Municipalities NUSP Unit • Policy Refinement & Promotion • Network & Forum • Guidance & Tools • Technical Assistance • Project Packaging • Land Acquisition • Guided by NUSP approach • Upgrading Forum Secretariat • Northern Cape Programme – remove housing backlog • Subsidy & capital flows • Regional Professional Teams & PMUs • Sector department coordination • Community and other participation • Programme Roll-out • Up to 45 municipalities • Areas of settlement stress, highest needs & opportunities CONFIDENTIAL

34. Indicative NUSP Actions 2015/16 – 19/20 • Mobilise capacity, establish communities of practice, produce manuals and training programmes. • Support rapid appraisals of all informal settlements in all municipalities. • Develop programme and project upgrading programmes and plan for settlements. • Develop concurrent participatory plans (initially in communities where no major land issues) • Provide capacity and technical support for development and implementation of upgrading plans CONFIDENTIAL

35. Indicative NUSP Actions 2015/16 – 19/20 • Align NUSP with the PHP Programme to improve coordination of implementation. • Upscale the National Department interventions through the employment of additional capacity in the programme CONFIDENTIAL

36. Thank You CONFIDENTIAL