Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05PRETORIA2621
2005-07-05 13:50:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Pretoria
Cable title:  

SOUTH AFRICA: HOUSING WOES LEAD TO UNREST

Tags:  PGOV ECON ELAB SF 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
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.

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