Human Settlements Minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi, has given contractors in the Eastern Cape, who are responsible for providing emergency housing, two months to finish the job or face contract termination, at their own cost.
Kubayi gave the directive during an emergency housing engagement with six districts and 24 local municipalities to consolidate response interventions in the Eastern Cape.
The engagement follows numerous disasters where the province and its municipalities committed to rolling out various interventions to assist the disaster victims.
According to reports on work done to help accelerate the implementation of these interventions, there are still families who were affected by various disasters, as far back as 2021, who have not been accommodated in any form of formal shelter.
Reports received by the Minister during a meeting this week revealed that 2 382 households affected between 2021 and 2023 have been assisted with permanent houses, with 2 172 assisted with temporary shelter, leaving 5 766 households with no assistance.
Households that have not been assisted have been forced to find alternative accommodation, including living with friends, families and neighbours.
Kubayi said the department is going to work around the clock to make sure that it turns the situation around.
“Having listened to the municipalities, we are all in agreement that we owe our people a speedy resolution of this situation. I will approach National Treasury to assist with funding to speed up these interventions for the province,” Kubayi said.
Kubayi also instructed officials, led by the national office, to consolidate the backlog of households that were victims of disasters in the past five years, and the budget needs.
She said this will assist in expediting and focusing on building homes for the victims.
The Minister said the national Department of Human Settlements will lead the verification process of the work ahead to ascertain that funds are properly utilised.
This follows the Minister’s announcement on 1 April 2023 that the national department will take over the responsibility of emergency housing response. However, provinces and municipalities will still be responsible for interventions in disasters that occurred before the policy change.
The Minister emphasised that moving forward, the department will no longer accommodate people in Temporary Residential Units (TRUs), as “these are not sustainable”.
“As articulated in our Budget Vote, we have decided to embrace innovative alternative building technologies so that our solutions are sustainable and of good quality, with efficiency and cost-effectiveness being the primary drivers of our disaster response. This way, we will know that we have given permanent quality homes,” Kubayi said.
She also urged those at the meeting to always keep in mind that they have a duty to the vulnerable communities who are affected by these disasters.
“We owe it to the people we serve, who only have us as their hope for a better future and we dare not to fail them. There is no time for excuses,” the Minister said.
Eastern Cape Human Settlements Indaba
Meanwhile, Kubayi will today address the inaugural Eastern Cape Human Settlements Indaba 2023, hosted by MEC Siphokazi Lusithi.
Held at Nelson Mandela University in Gqeberha from 5 - 7 July 2023, the indaba seeks to create a platform for strategic reflection on the conceptualisation and development of sustainable and integrated human settlements.
The three-day indaba is held in partnership with Nelson Mandela University under the theme, 'Accelerating the delivery of sustainable integrated human settlements in the Eastern Cape through collaborations and partnerships: Leaving No One and No Place Behind'. – SAnews.gov.za
