AfriForum will fight racial transformation of community housing schemes

Mmamoloko Kubayi, Minister of Human Settlements, plans racial transformation for private service delivery at community housing schemes that include, among others, sectional title complexes, homeowners’ associations and retirement villages. AfriForum is strongly opposed to this type of transformation and will carefully monitor and fight the process, if necessary.

Kubayi plans racial transformation because community housing schemes make a huge contribution to the economy. A total of 27% of all residential properties in South Africa are part of community housing schemes, therefore these schemes offer great opportunities for private security, waste disposal and garden services companies which in turn create many job opportunities. The minister therefore wants to introduce black economic empowerment as criteria for companies that provide services to these schemes, so that historically disadvantaged individuals provide more of these services.

“People are realising more and more that they have to organize themselves into strong, independent communities because the government does not have the ability or political will to fulfil its constitutional duties in terms of running municipalities. The result is that the amount of community housing schemes has grown enormously in recent years. Most people are very dissatisfied with the way their local municipality is managed and try to be as independent as possible from the municipality,” says Petrus Coetzee, AfriForum’s advisor for Local Government Affairs.

“A big reason why municipal service delivery is poor is because the procurement process for the appointment of contractors at state institutions, where black economic empowerment is a major requirement, is not always as effective. The total municipal decay in the country testifies to incompetent and unqualified municipal contractors. It is madness to force housing schemes, where service delivery is effective, to use ineffective contractors such as municipalities. AfriForum will not hesitate to take legal action if the minister continues with the planned process to transform housing schemes,” concludes Coetzee.