Parliament, Wednesday, 5 August 2026 – The Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements has expressed serious disappointment at the failure of the Western Cape Department of Infrastructure to honour an invitation to appear before the committee to discuss the implications of, and plans arising from, the Constitutional Court judgment in Adonisi v Minister for Transport and Public Works (the Tafelberg case).
The committee is of the view that the reasons advanced by the provincial department for its absence were disingenuous and risk undermining the oversight role of the committee and Parliament. The committee was formally informed that the department could not attend because the matter was sub judice.
"The committee is of the considered view that, as the Constitutional Court is the apex court and has already handed down its judgment, there is no pending legal process that would render the matter sub judice. The department's justification for its non-appearance before the committee is therefore without merit," said the Chairperson of the committee, Mr Nocks Seabi.
The committee is concerned that the department has adopted an antagonistic posture that does little to advance a coherent, cooperative government response to addressing the spatial inequalities inherited from apartheid. The committee further believes that the stance adopted by the provincial government perpetuates the very circumstances that gave rise to the litigation.
"We welcome the commitment by the National Department of Human Settlements to engage through mechanisms provided for in the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act. An adversarial approach undermines the national effort to dismantle apartheid spatial planning, to the detriment of communities that continue to live far from centres of economic opportunity," Mr Seabi said.
Similarly, the committee has expressed grave concern over the Social Housing Regulatory Authority's (SHRA) inability to attend a meeting at which it was scheduled to present its plans to address blocked social housing projects, provide a list of affected projects, outline recovery plans to unblock them, and indicate the financial and human resources required to implement those interventions.
The SHRA Council and senior management were expected to brief the committee on this critical matter. "This marks the second occasion on which SHRA has failed to appear before the committee. It is unacceptable that an entity entrusted with facilitating access to social housing has shown such disregard for the committee and Parliament," Mr Seabi said.
The committee has resolved to allow the Minister of Human Settlements and the department the necessary time and space to address the challenges at SHRA. However, the committee emphasised that parliamentary oversight is not a courtesy, but a constitutional obligation aimed at ensuring accountability, openness and transparency in the exercise of public power.
Regarding the governance, ICT and data management at the Community Schemes Ombud Service, the committee has welcomed the stabilisation of the Ombud and seeming improvement with cashflow management but has raised concerns around the dispute resolution backlog which will have a direct impact on public confidence on the Ombud.
While the committee noted that the backlog was created by lack of adequate human resources, it highlighted that corrective measures are urgent to ensure speedy turnaround time on disputes lodged with the CSOS.
The committee has also called on CSOS to improve engagement with its critical stakeholders to ensure an increase in collection of CSOS Levy which is a critical revenue pillar to enable the entity to effectively cover its operating costs and service increasing demands for the Ombud’s services.
It has also called for the senior management to urgently implement its revenue enhancement strategy to ensure that the entity is able meet its obligations. Furthermore, the committee has urged the Board to urgently conclude the recruitment process for the CEO and CFO to ensure the implementation of tabled corrective actions.
On the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA), the committee welcomed the stabilisation of the entity and its renewed focus on transforming the property practitioners' sector. In this regard, the committee noted the significant growth in the registration of previously disadvantaged property practitioners, with registrations increasing by almost 100% over the past three years.
Despite this progress, the committee emphasised the need for the PPRA to develop sustainable programmes and create pathways that enable property practitioners to progress to full-status agents and principals. The committee noted that these areas continue to reflect a lack of transformation and require focused intervention.
The committee has committed to receiving periodic reports to ensure that the entities continue to play their role within the portfolio and their mandates make an impact on the lives of the people of South Africa.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS, MR NOCKS SEABI
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