SOUTH AFRICA: HOUSING WOES LEAD TO UNREST

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PRETORIA 002621 SIPDIS STATE PLEASE PASS TO DEPT OF HOUSING WASHDC SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ECON ELAB SF SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA: HOUSING WOES LEAD TO UNREST REF: A. CAPE TOWN 301 ¶B. PRETORIA 1895 (U) This cable is Sensitive But Unclassified. Not for Internet distribution. ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Over the past year, residents of poor communities have increasingly taken to the streets across South Africa to protest the lack of housing and local government service delivery. In some instances, police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets at unruly crowds who were blocking roads, hurling rocks, or burning tires. The crescendo of protests during the past few months has caught the South African Government off guard and resulted in some defensive responses. While the ANC can point to the construction of 1.8 million new homes since 1994, the protesters do not see their municipal leaders delivering for them. The Minister of Local and Provincial Government recently conceded to Parliament that 136 of 284 municipalities in South Africa were "under-performing." National government is hurriedly organizing management "swat" teams to perform municipal triage. Meanwhile, political leaders are working to diffuse local tensions. The political ramifications of almost half of all municipalities being unable to deliver on national government promises are serious, and cannot be fixed overnight. End Summary. Housing Protests Engulf Nation -------------- ¶2. (U) Over the past year, communities across the country have taken to the streets protesting corrupt local government, lack of housing, as well as inadequate water, sanitation, and power services. In scenes reminiscent of the apartheid era, protesters have blocked roads, burned tires, and hurled rocks at the police in an effort to draw attention to their plight. On a number of occasions, police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets at unruly crowds. The most shocking confrontation occurred in Harrismith (Free State) in August 2004, when police wound up shooting one demonstrator who died of his wounds. ¶3. (U) The cycle of protests ignited in July 2004 when nearly 3,000 citizens burned down municipal buildings and accused their mayor of corruption in the allocation of housing in Diepsloot (near Johannesburg). In August/September 2004, residents of Harrismith (Free State) took to their streets to protest corrupt leaders, the slow pace of housing delivery, and the lack of basic services. Similar protests sprung up in other parts of the Free State in late 2004. In 2005, the protests continued to spread, engulfing Chatsworth (Durban), Phomolong (Free State),Mmamahabane (Free State),Embalenhle (Mpumalanga),Secunda (Mpumalanga),and Cato Crest (Durban). May 2005 was the worst month yet, with protests raging in Port Elizabeth (Eastern Cape),Steynville (Northern Cape), Mamelodi (Pretoria/Tshwane) as well as Cape Town (Ref A). With national government finally mobilizing on the issue, June 2005 was calmer; no major protests have been reported. Government on the Defensive -------------- ¶4. (U) In his State of the Nation address to Parliament on February 11, President Mbeki admitted that many citizens were still waiting for housing and public services and pledged additional resources to rectify the backlog. However, he also warned that violent or illegal demonstrations would not be rewarded with additional resources, but be met with "the full force of the law." In at least one instance, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) took these words to heart by filing sedition charges against 13 Harrismith protesters, the first such charges since 1994. Moreover, the South African Government (SAG) requested the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) investigate allegations that a "third force" was behind the protests, such as a political party or the ultra-conservative Afrikaner group the Boeremag. ¶5. (U) The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has publicly objected to the SAG's reaction to the protests and to the criminalization of protesters. COSATU also called for increased investment in housing and roads. Some ANC officials have echoed COSATU's views. ANC Secretary-General Kgalema Motlanthe commented that he was "astonished" over reports that the NIA was investigating the protests, stating that the government ought to focus on the issues behind the protests instead. SAG's Record on Housing -------------- ¶6. (U) After eleven years of democracy, the Department of Housing (DOH) touts that it has provided shelter to over 6 million people by building 1.8 million homes. During the past five years, the SAG has provided 150,000 to 200,000 houses annually. Despite these efforts, a backlog of an estimated 2.5 million houses exists throughout the country. The DOH attributes most of this backlog to the over 2% annual population growth rate and the 30% increase in number of households, in part because the average size of a household has fallen from above five to less than four persons. Urban migration has only compounded the problem, as droves have moved to the cities in search of employment. ¶7. (SBU) Given South Africa's historical challenges, the DOH views its housing program as a relative success. In May, Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, daughter of late ANC leader Walter Sisulu, stated to Parliament that she was "extremely satisfied" with the progress that the department had made in the provinces. At the same time, the DOH seems to be laying responsibility for the protests on the doorsteps of local government. In a June 1 public statement, the DOH claimed that its conscience was clear because the protests were aimed at local government, and DOH had no jurisdiction over local government. Lack of Local Government Capacity -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Lack of capacity at the municipal level has been the major roadblock to housing and service delivery (Ref B). After a 2004 assessment of the country's 284 municipalities, Minister of Provincial and Local Government Sydney Mufamadi announced that 136, or nearly half, of municipalities were "under-performing." (Note: The exact definition of "under-performing" has not been made public, but is likely to include the inability to shrink the housing backlog, deliver on basic services, disburse funds, and file reports to provincial and national government on time in accordance with the Municipal Financial Management Act (MFMA). End Note.) The underlying causes of municipal failure rest with the lack of staff and the lack of trained staff. ¶9. (U) In an attempt to rectify the situation, the Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG) initiated a two-year program to rescue failing municipalities on October 29, 2004 called "Project Consolidate." Teams of development professionals will assess each under-performing municipality and make specific recommendations as to what is needed to improve performance. On April 1, 2005, the first teams were dispatched to the most critical 25 municipalities. KwaZulu-Natal is the worst offender, with 29 under-performing municipalities. Gauteng was the least offender, with only five under-performing municipalities. The other provinces have between 10 and 18 under-performing municipalities. (Note: Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape each had 18, followed by the Northern Cape at 16, North West at 15, Limpopo at 14, Free State at 11, and Western Cape at 10. End Note.) ¶10. (U) Meanwhile, local politicians are trying to diffuse tensions by encouraging more public participation through engagement with local government. Municipalities have sped up their plans to assemble ward committees comprised of community and government leaders that will prepare and review each municipality's budget, development plans, and performance goals. Currently, ward committees are up and running in 80% of municipalities in seven provinces. (Note: Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal have chosen not to establish ward committees. End Note.) The pressure is on local leaders to produce results, as President Mbeki is keeping a watchful eye and plans to visit selected municipalities to assess efforts. Housing Strategy Going Forward -------------- ¶11. (U) The DOH realizes that in order to accomplish its goals, the department cannot ignore regulatory and municipal capacity issues. The DOH wants to align the housing regulatory framework with the roles for national and local government. As a first step, the DOH contracted Price Waterhouse Coopers to audit all housing waiting lists with a view to consolidating them into a nationally audited list. The DOH also wants to improve local government accountability, technical expertise, and coordination by working with "mini-housing" units located within certain municipalities. The DOH's overall plan is to step up the quality of its housing program through the implementation of its "Comprehensive Plan on Sustainable Human Settlements." The strategy's focus is to move away the isolated townships formulated under apartheid, but continued after the 1994 transition. The DOH envisions creating communities with low-cost housing that have easy access to work, shopping, recreation, and education. Its goal is to eradicate all slums by the end of 2015, in line with the Millennium Development Goals. The budget to build housing tops R17 billion ($2.6 billion) over the next three years. Comment -------------- ¶12. (SBU) Local protests throughout the country are more than a wake up call for the ANC government. Local frustrations could have political ramifications as the government continues to experience problems in delivering on its promises in the run up to local elections in late 2005/early ¶2006. While these protests do not threaten ANC dominance of the political landscape, the government could exacerbate negative sentiment toward the ANC if it responds defensively. The use of the NIA to explore whether a third force was behind the protests and NPA's lodging of sedition charges is a worrisome display of raw power that is likely to only make matters worse. However, capacity issues at all levels of government, especially the municipal level, may be even more worrisome. Since there are no quick fixes to the problem, we expect protests to continue in the near term. While the DOH, DPLG, and others deploy shock troops to help municipalities fulfill their responsibilities, ANC politicians will have to "hit the hustings" to keep the local dissatisfaction from continuing to boil over. FRAZER