Increased resources for disaster prevention in informal settlements
More resources will be allocated for the prevention of disasters in informal settlements across the country, following a decision taken this week when the Minister of Human Settlements Mmamoloko Kubayi met with Provincial MECs and MMCs of Human Settlements, including Executive Mayors in Mpumalanga.
The MINMEC, which started on Thursday, agreed to reprioritise 5% of the Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership Grant, to specifically go towards a community-led process of reblocking or repositioning densely built informal settlement into clusters instead of the current improvised order of these ever-growing settlements. These resources will help open pathways and roads for emergency vehicles and other services including the provision of water, electricity, and sewerage.
In terms of emergency and disaster interventions in informal settlements, there was consensus that reblocking will help to proactively deal with disastrous fire emergencies in provinces and municipalities, which often lead to loss of lives and the complete destruction of property - almost daily.
The meeting expressed a need for more stringent measures to deal with land invasion across provinces as it impacts on development efforts by all three spheres of government. In this regard, there was a consensus that the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act should be reviewed to strengthen laws against land invasion and illegal occupation.
The meeting recommitted to finding ways to speed up more land acquisition to relocate people including those affected by disasters, amidst government’s decision against the use of Temporary Residential Units for emergency interventions in favour of more permanent solutions like Alternative Building Technology (ABT).
In addition to informal settlements upgrading as one of the priorities for the Human Settlements Sector, the meeting re-emphasised the rapid rollout of the title deeds programme as a priority to ensure that South Africans become the rightful owners of their own homes - as part of reforms by government to significantly unlock economic benefits. The Department has overtime strategically incorporated the issuing of title deeds with housing handovers to avoid further backlogs. Other sector priorities the MINMEC reflected on include the expansion of First Home Finance; the provision of service sites, elimination of mud houses or informal dwellings in rural areas as well as the removal of asbestos.
Provision of Support to Secondary Cities
MINMEC received input from Co-Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Thembi Nkadimeng and her team on the work done on secondary cities and Metros. Furthermore, MiNMEC undertook to find urgent solutions to address housing needs of communities, collaborating with other sister departments like Cogta, to provide support packages for metros to resolve challenges related to bulk infrastructure and procurement delays affecting service delivery and delays in the proclamation of township. A joint submission is expected to be made to Treasury with a view of initiating a process to address funding needs of secondary cities, which often act as catalysts for development in their regions, alleviating demographic pressure from a country’s metropolitan areas.
Critically, the alignment and improvement of business plans of Metros came into sharp focus to resolve existing housing delivery as well as delays in proclamation of townships. MINMEC has recommitment to combine efforts to strengthen internal controls, project planning, management, and implementation - which are key elements to ensure that projects are completed timeously with achievable set targets and improved performance on the Medium-Term Strategic Framework.
Performance on human settlements grants
Friday’s meeting received various reports from municipalities and provinces, in line with a commitment to prioritise service delivery through multi-year planning and constant engagements to track progress and interventions required.
An analysis of the Human Settlements Grants Performance for the period ending 30 June 2023, flagged challenges in procurement, skills capacity and contract management. As a result, a team from the department will at the end of this month embark on consultations with various provinces and municipalities to discuss noncompliance and performance improvement strategies to ensure that funds are utilised for the intended purposes. They will conduct assessment of projects to close the gaps early and avoid under-expenditure which leads to loss of money from the sector. It is important to note that, this is the last year of the MTSF, therefore delivery is key towards meeting our five-year targets In that regard, MINMEC resolved there must be transparency before any considerations to withhold or reallocate unspent funds for non-compliant provinces found to have substantially under-spent during the end of the second quarter, in accordance with the Division of Revenue Act. In instances of overspending, a process will be undertaken to determine value for money.
Payment of Service Providers Within 30 Days
The meeting also deliberated on the delays in paying suppliers within 30-days, mainly attributed to disputes. The MINMEC directed that a forum of Chief Financial Officers must constantly monitor non-compliance and consider enforcing consequence management for officials who keep invoices on their desk for a long time.
On Service delivery
Ahead of the Friday meeting, Minister Kubayi, together with the MEC of Human Settlements in Mpumalanga, Mr Speed Mashilo, led a delegation from all spheres of government to handover of over 100 title deeds and newly built governmentsubsidised homes to the indigent in the Pixley Ka Isaka Seme Municipality in the Gert District in Mpumalanga. This was part of a programme to restore the dignity of qualifying beneficiaries. The subsidized homes are part of the 500 units of a multiyear informal upgrading project currently being delivered at Vukuzakhe B Township, expected to be completed by the end of March 2024. To date, more than 260 housing units have been completed.
One of the beneficiaries was an elated Ms Juana Ngwenya, (71) a part-time domestic worker.
For Media Enquiries, contact:
Hlengiwe Nhlabathi-Mokota, Spokesperson to Minister Kubayi
Cell: 0647548426
E-mail: hlengiwe.nhlabathi@dhs.gov.za
Nozipho Zulu, Department of Human Settlements Head of Communications
Cell: 078 45 79376
