Department of Local Government and Housing

The Department of Local Government and Housing aims to provide ‘sustainable developmental local governance and integrated human settlements’. This means the department is a strategic centre for service delivery in Limpopo Province as it is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that houses are built and water, electricity and sanitation are provided to Limpopo’s citizens. All 30 municipalities in Limpopo are service-delivery agents of the department.

Responsibilities and programmes
The local government sector has moved through the establishment and consolidation phases and is currently focusing on sustainability and stabilising the municipalities. Since the 2006 elections, the department has been hard at work to ensure that ‘local government works better’ for the people.

All municipalities have received support in critical key performance areas. The Local Government Strategic Agenda was introduced in 2006, and there is progress in all of the five key performance areas.

Municipal transformation
Project Consolidate has shown that municipalities require more in terms of mainstreaming hands-on support. The department has been able to improve on its performance management in line with regulations and the signing of performance agreements has improved by close to 100%. The submission of annual reports has also improved to 95% (compared to 55% in 2006/07).

The department has further developed programmes that are geared at strengthening institutional transformation and improving capacity; such as leadership and project-management training offered by the University of Limpopo to municipalities. Capacity-building programmes are the key to supporting municipalities and ensuring that innovative programmes are implemented to improve efficiency.

Basic service delivery
The level of basic service delivery has significantly improved in the province. In 2005, fewer than 60% of the province’s people had access to water and electricity. Today, more than 82% have access to clean, piped water and 83% have access to electricity. However, there is still a need to channel more funding to improve the state of wastewater treatment works in the province. In 2007/08 the province had a municipal infrastructure grant (MIG) allocation of just below R1-billion and 99% has been spent on infrastructure development. The department has been able to align all MIG programmes with Expanded Public Works Programmes. This will create job opportunities for the people.

Eskom is currently implementing a R121-million integrated electrification programme in the province. Through this, the department hopes to electrify more villages as it intensifies the development of the rural areas.

Good governance and public participation
In 2003/04, all municipalities recorded late submission of Annual Financial Statements. In the 2007/08 financial year, the department only had five late submissions. The department’s target remains 100% compliance and it has assisted the municipalities to develop anti-corruption strategies.

My Councillor and I
The department’s innovative and interactive award-winning programme, ‘My Councillor and I’, has been extended to cover all the electronic and print media platforms in the province. This is done to enhance outreach programmes and interactions in the sense that people can access the leaders and have any questions answered.

The toll-free number (0800 NTSHEBELE) gives people access to the department to raise any queries they may have pertaining to matters of housing and service delivery. Currently the call centre averages 900 calls per week and the monthly reports consistently show that 99% of queries get resolved timeously.

Financial management and viability
The department has agreed with the municipalities to see a reduction in the number of negative audit opinions in line with the 2014 target. Pursuant to this, ‘operation clean audit 2014’ was launched. By 2014, all municipalities should have achieved clean audits.

Rural development
In an effort to address past and current social inequalities, the focus is on people and not places. The department ensures that future settlement and economic development opportunities are channelled into activity corridors and nodes that are adjacent to or link the main growth centres. This means infrastructure investment should primarily support integration between rural and urban areas. The focus will be on:

    • The compilation of a Provincial Housing Demand database
    • The construction of 3 000 homes under the Rural Housing programme
    • The construction of 100 units towards the creation of agri-villages or farm-worker housing
    • Construction of 100 units under ‘Community Residential Housing’
    • The planning of 250 units under the ‘People’s Housing Programme’
    • Unblocking over 3 210 blocked projects
    • Under Emergency Housing, there are 368 emergency housing units
    • Fast tracking the process of informal settlement upgrades, the department will complete over 7 000 units in this financial year
    • 100 subsidies are set aside to build homes for military veterans
    • 6 786 title deeds will be transferred to the people

As an example of one of the projects, in response to the growth in the Lephalale area, the department has acquired 500 hectares of strategically located land to be developed into an integrated and sustainable human settlement comprising close to 6 000 units.

The township has already been declared and work on upgrading the sewerage system has commenced. This presents Lephalale Municipality with an opportunity to intensify infrastructure development with a view to making its local economy sustainable. It is against this background that the provincial cabinet has established a coordination structure to monitor and support key areas such as skills development, local economic development and job creation.

CONTACT DETAILS
Key contact people:
• Clifford Motsepe, Head of Department
Tel: +27 15 294 2002
Email: PalmerO@limdlgh.gov.za
• Clayson Monyela, Chief Information Officer
Tel: +27 15 294 2261
Email: Monyelatc@limdlgh.gov.za
Tel: 0800 NTSHEBELE (0800 687 432) toll-free
Fax: 086 617 3260 (SA only)
Physical address: 28 Market Street, Polokwane 0700
Postal address: Private Bag X9485, Polokwane 0700
Website: www.limdlgh.gov.za

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