Customer Education Development Communications

Background

It is a mandate from the National Department of Housing in conjunction with the Provincial Department of housing, where the Provinces together with Local municipalities are to carry out housing consumer education to the broader communities of South Africa

What is Development Communications

• Development communication refers to a spectrum of communication processes, strategies and principles aimed at improving the conditions and quality of life of people in the communities. Therefore disseminating information and raising awareness in relation to the department's products as defined under the key priority areas, by educating and engaging communities about housing processes.
  
• It is the management through communication of perception and strategic relationships between an organization and its internal and external stakeholders.

Purpose of the Customer Education Development Communications

The purpose of customer education is to inform beneficiaries on the departmental policies and process on how to access housing products and services such as:

• Demand Database (The importance of registering)
• Housing Programmes (Different Subsidy programmes to choose from)
• Title deeds (The importance, where to get a title deed)
• Housing contracts (Deed of sale, Happy letter, Lease agreement)
• Law of succession (child headed families, Health stricken)
• Roles and responsibilities of stakeholders involved.
• Empower housing consumer to understand their housing rights, responsibilities and the advantages and disadvantages of their housing needs.
• The importance of understanding the qualifying criteria and the documentation required.

Role of Customer Education Development Communications

• Development communications and Customer Education steps of responding to the above questions, (pert ion and memorandums )
• Establishing a relationship with the local community and understanding the challenges they are facing.
• Involve the community in the identification of a problem, its potential solutions, and the decision to carry out concrete solutions.
• Identify the different community groups and other stakeholders concerned with the identified problem.
• Identify communication needs, objective and activities
• Identify appropriate communication
• Prepare and pre-set communication content and materials.
• Facilitate the stakeholder management meetings.
• Produce an implementation plan.
• Monitor and evaluate the communication strategy and documenting the community profile
• Plan the sharing and utilization of outcomes and analyzing the impact of our stakeholder engagement.

What is Demand Database?

The Housing Demand Database is a new and innovative record management system introduced by the Gauteng Department of Housing to identify the community's housing needs in the province and to promote fair, equitable and transparent allocation of houses. It will replace the waiting list.

"According to Housing MEC Ms Nomvula Mokonyane "unlike the waiting list, the Demand Database will have records of all customers in need of all types of housing products ranging from free low cost housing, rental accommodation and credit linked or bonded housing.

This means that customers not qualifying for free RDP houses for various reasons will also be registered on the Demand Database.

"The Demand Database will be used as a planning tool for housing development in the province and this will assist us to deliver the right products to the right people, based on need, choice and affordability"

The Demand Database will in brief assist government in achieving the following objectives:

Provide government with accurate and detailed records that will eventually assist in the allocation of houses

• Assist government in making sure that houses are allocated to the right beneficiaries
• Assist in fast tracking housing allocation in the province
• Result in customer information being migrated to a newly improved system known as the Demand Database
• Enable the department to plan effectively for the housing needs of all beneficiaries
• Assist government to understand the housing needs of all the Gauteng communities
• Ensure that customers receive all the housing options available such as low cost housing, rental or bonded housing

Most importantly the Demand Database will be used in future as a planning tool for housing development in Gauteng .

Bring your documents along

Citizens who have applied for a house in Gauteng and willing to successfully update their information on the new Housing Demand Database should bring along the necessary documentation.

Customers are urged to come along with their spouses with all the following documents:

• Green South African ID
• Form C
• Proof of residence
• Marriage certificate
• Divorce decree
• Proof of income (if employed)
• Birth certificates of all dependants

Those who do not qualify for free low cost (RDP) housing

The demand database will have records of all customers in need of all types of housing, rental accommodation and credit linked or bonded housing. This means that customers not qualifying for free RDP houses for various reasons will also be registered on the demand database.

Once the department has identified the housing needs of customers based on the information provided by the demand database, the department of housing will take immediate steps to provide customers with their required housing needs.

If the housing need of a particular area happens to be rental, then the department will include rental housing when planning for that identified area.