Durban - The government had no intention of subsiding the levies of the poor who were sold former council flats at massive discounts, KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Human Settlements, Ravi Pillay, declared on Monday.
This was because it was not sustainable and went against the principle of ownership.
He was responding to a Daily News report on Monday on the plight of thousands of residents who face losing their homes because they cannot keep up with the escalating levy payments on their flats.
The call for government to subsidise the levies was made by Sayed Iqbal Mohamed, chairman of the Organisation of Civic Rights, who warned government of a looming crisis if it did nothing.
Mohamed urged the government to step in and subsidise the levies of those who could not afford them as thousands faced losing their homes through auctions because of unpaid levies.
About 60 000 people across Durban were sold council housing stock in the early 2000s under the government’s extended benefit scheme.
The scheme allowed municipalities to offer discounts to indigent people to convert their council housing stock flats to sectional title units.
Pillay said the government’s extended benefit scheme was a “once in a lifetime opportunity”.
“Everyone wanted ownership at the time and government promoted the concept of ownership. But to now ask for continuous subsidy of the levy will not be sustainable,” he said.
Pillay said the city poor and pensioners were subsidised under the eThekwini Municipality’s indigent policy that gave rebates for electricity and water.
“Poor people and pensioners are generally exempt from rates,” he said.
“The levies should concentrate on the maintenance of buildings. Even if you had your own home as a free-standing unit you would be spending money on maintaining that home.
“The challenge would be for the body corporate to work out a model that they make the amount of the levy affordable to people.
“People would, in any circumstances if they had a free-standing house, be responsible for maintenance. I cannot see government stepping in to pay levies as sustainable,” he said.
Pillay said the government was relooking at its housing policy to come up with a better way than the current system, which perpetually subsidised recipients.
He pointed to the hundreds of other buildings in the city that were working under sectional title.
“I am very familiar with Phoenix, for example, where they have been able to work out their levies very effectively. One cannot generalise the problem. We all have rules to live by. In terms of support to the poor the city has a very strong indigent policy.
“We have given people free houses, now what they are effectively asking is for a subsidy of maintenance and that is a national problem.
“Even if we wanted to, with that kind of culture of entitlement, it is not sustainable especially in current economic climes, where the economy and government revenue is down and the debt is up,” he said.
Pillay said those who benefited from the government scheme should look at their homes as an investment.
“If people wanted to downgrade those units they could. Those units could be compared to a small house and they will be able to sell.
“These inner city properties are valuable and they should be looked at as an asset and only if they can’t manage, should they consider selling it to downgrade,” he said.
Daily News