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Minister of Human Settlements, Lindiwe Sisulu
- In July last year, the Minister for Human Settlements, Lindiwe Sisulu, announced that the department planned to allocate 600 million rand for rent relief to affordable housing tenants.
- Details of the support plan have not been shared.
- Social movements and civil society organizations said in a joint statement that the consequences of the department’s failure to deliver on its promises to provide rent relief are even more dire.
Social movements and civil society organizations have started a petition, asking the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu, to allocate and release funds for the Rent Relief Plan.
The housing law advocacy group Ndifuna Ukwazi, the Housing Assembly, the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) and the Movement of the Poor House Dwellers, among others, said in a joint statement that there would be dire consequences if the department did not He kept his promises to provide relief rentals.
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“The Minister herself has repeatedly stated that the pandemic has exacerbated existing social and economic inequalities. National closures imposed by the government to save lives have had the inadvertent effect of creating social insecurity: many people have lost their income and means of their lives or have had their income decreased, they face the threat of losing their homes and are experiencing unprecedented rates of hunger, “the statement read.
In July last year, Sisulu announced in his budget voting speech that his department planned to allocate R600 million for rent relief for tenants in affordable housing facing financial difficulties due to the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The funding was intended for “formal affordable housing” tenants and was intended to help those facing the threat of homelessness meet their monthly rental obligations. Eight months after his public commitment, details of the relief plan have not been shared.
“We are on the brink of a secondary national disaster, where we are to exacerbate a health crisis into a homeless crisis. There is no doubt that the owners have had to be patient. But, if the regulations were amended in this way, it will lead to large-scale evictions, both legal and illegal, and a massive homeless crisis the likes of which we have not seen before, “they said.
READ ALSO | The government’s rent aid scheme of 600 million rand remains intact
Sisulu spokesman Steven Motale told News24 that “plans are in an advanced stage for the implementation of the residential rental relief fund. Two institutions that report to the Department of Human Settlements, the Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA) and the National Housing Finance Corporation have been charged with a responsibility for executing this program. “
He said Sisulu wanted to make sure all systems were in place, including policy, before it was implemented.
“This is intended to ensure that only qualified individuals benefit from this program. An announcement on the implementation plan is expected to be made in mid-April this year.”
