The ANC is proposing to rope in the central bank and the SA Revenue Service (Sars) to provide special interest rates and tax incentives to beneficiaries of state housing, a potentially radical policy overhaul aimed at shifting the focus from the provision of free mass housing to encouraging citizens to build their own homes.
The proposals are contained in a draft policy discussion document, seen by Business Day ahead of the ANC’s policy conference later in 2022, which outlines a wide range of proposals to change the country’s social housing policy.
Conference
If accepted, it would be a radical departure from the party’s housing promises over the past three decades, but the ANC has historically put forward sweeping policy reforms that are often shot down before they reach the main elective conference, where resolutions are adopted.
Back in 2010, the ANC went as far as to propose nationalisation of the country’s mines and banks, a proposal that fell away by the time it got to the party’s national conference in 2012.
A clear way forward on the issue is expected only at the national conference in December. Traditionally, policy debates in the ANC are used as proxy battles in the leadership contests.
In the 97-page social economic document, which is expected to be released later this month, the ANC proposes an end to the state’s provision of free basic housing for poor people. Instead, it proposes that the state prioritises free housing to vulnerable and special groups, including military veterans and people with disabilities.
This is a deviation from the government’s policy since the dawn of democracy to provide free mass housing through the national department of human settlements and the provinces.
The proposed shift comes as the government struggles to meet demand for free houses by largely rural communities moving to urban centres.
“There should be alignment of all government affordable housing interventions, including tax incentives and special interest rates, which offer partial subsidies to enable people to own houses. Sars, [the Reserve Bank] and the minister of finance must assist in driving the reform,” the document reads.
The document, which was presented to the ANC’s national executive committee in April, does not provide reasons behind the shift of the ANC’s long-standing policy to provide basic housing for the poor. It also does not detail the role of the central bank and Sars in pushing through the proposed policy.
Self-help
As part of the proposed rethink, the government should make available land free of charge or sell plots at input- or market-related costs so that individuals can build their homes.
“This implies government must inculcate a culture of self-help. The implementation of [a] targeted approach requires a shift in the citizens’ mindsets and acknowledgment that there is human and social capital in the communities,” the ANC document says.
The new strategy would involve amending the criteria for qualification for a government subsidy. For individuals aged 60 and above with an income of R5,500 or less, the government will provide free housing (serviced land and house), while a beneficiary earning between R5,500 and R15,000 and below the age of 60 will not be provided with free housing, but will be subsidised for rental housing.
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