Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu will hold a plenary session with housing stakeholders in Johannesburg on Wednesday, to review progress about the provision of housing in the country.

The meeting follows the signing of the Social Contract for Rapid Housing Delivery by housing stakeholders last year.

The pledge signed in Cape Town last year, binds all housing stakeholders to a contract compelling them to increase the construction of low-cost housing by more than 200 000 units per year.

The signatories, including several banks, agreed to work together to remove bottlenecks in housing delivery, investing more resources in low-cost housing and fast-tracking delivery.

One of the objectives of the contract is to ensure that every commercial development including housing developments that are not directed to those earning R1 500 or less, spend a minimum of 20 percent on the construction of homes within human settlements for those who qualify for government subsidies.

Departmental spokesperson Ndivhuwo Mabaya said the plenary would focus on reviewing progress on the implementation of key programmes like the release of the R42 billion by the banks for affordable housing.

The housing department last month said it had been negotiating with members of the Banking Association of South Africa (BASA), and hoped to eventually see the release of the R42 billion shortly.

Dr Sisulu had told the media the holdup had been the guarantees the banks wanted from government over bonds for affordable housing.

The banks have been calling on government to guarantee their risk and to mitigate any loss of funds in cases where owners have defaulted on their bonds.

However, government insisted that banks and financial institutions should assume the risk of their business activities.

President Thabo Mbeki said in his State of the Nation Address that he expected a final agreement on the modalities for using the R42 billion put aside by financial institutions "without further delay".

Mr Mabaya said they would also look at research done on how to best to implement the integration of different incomes and races in which government proposed that developers look at availing 20 percent of their development to affordable housing.

Affordable housing generally refers to a house worth between R50 000 and R250 000, while low income includes household income of between R1 500 and R7 500 per month.

The research looked at international trends and how best the agreed principles could be implemented in South Africa.

"The plenary session will also receive presentations from different signatories on how far they have gone in the implementation of their commitments," said Mr Mabaya.

Among the key signatories to the social contract are the South African Property Owners Association, the Banking Association of South Africa, South African Local Government Association representing all municipalities, material suppliers, engineers and other key stakeholders in the housing delivery chain.

Mr Mabaya said the plenary session would come immediately after the first 2006 MINIMEC - the Minister's meeting with provincial housing MECs - taking place today until tomorrow.

"The minister will meet all the housing MECs for the first time after the President's state of the nation address and the national budget statement [by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel].

"The MINMEC will look at the housing programme for the year and other matters on the agenda aimed at speeding up housing delivery," he said. - BuaNews