Human Settlements Minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi, has outlined plans to speed up and strengthen the response to disaster and other human settlement development challenges in the OR Tambo District Municipality in the Eastern Cape.
Kubayi announced the plans during a two-day oversight visit to the OR Tambo District Municipality, following storms that had battered the area.
The Minister visited local municipalities, including Mhlontlo, King Sabata Dalindyebo, Nyandeni and Ingquza Hill, to ensure the rapid rollout of necessary humanitarian interventions for over 2000 affected homes.
The visit, which concluded on Wednesday, also provided Kubayi with an opportunity to engage with the affected communities, whose homes were either partially or completely damaged.
On plans to speed up and strengthen the response to the disaster, a technical team has been activated to deal with some of the challenges that must be immediately prioritised.
This includes ensuring that all disasters are treated with the urgency required to assist affected families.
“The turnaround time to respond to disaster hit areas is important and as all three spheres of government, we need to ensure that we respond immediately. Therefore, the department will strengthen its Enhanced People's Housing Process (EPHP) Programme to complement efforts to respond to disasters.
“In this programme, beneficiaries will be actively involved in constructing their houses, an intervention that received a positive response during engagements with communities,” Kubayi explained.
She added that the department will continue to implement the District Development Model (DDM) to fast-track service delivery.
Cabinet adopted the DDM in August 2019. It is an integrated planning model for cooperative governance which seeks to be a new integrated, district-based, service delivery approach aimed at fast-tracking service delivery. It also seeks to ensure that municipalities are adequately supported and resourced to carry out their mandate.
Minister Kubayi also reiterated her warning to all implementing agents and contractors working on human settlements projects across the country that the days of poor project delivery without consequences are coming to an end.
“Contractors who abandon projects and fail to deliver quality human settlements timeously will face the prospect of being blacklisted,” Kubayi warned.
The three spheres of government also provided a progress report on interventions to date, while noting concern at the rate of the implementation of the interventions, as disasters should be treated as emergencies.
Plans to unblock challenges to rollout necessary services
To improve overall performance, Eastern Cape Human Settlements MEC Siphokazi Lusithi, said a technical team in the district has been activated to review plans to unblock challenges to roll out the necessary services to communities.
She said the team will also review plans to ensure the speedy provision of bulk infrastructure for all projects.
“The focus will remain on the disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in those communities. With all the challenges that have been shared, it is important that all three spheres of government work together, as envisaged by the DDM, to find solutions to fast-track service delivery," Lusithi said.
The Minister was joined on the oversight visit by Deputy Minister Pam Tshwete, MEC Lusithi, OR Tambo District Executive Mayor Mesuli Ngqondwana and Inqquza Hill Local Municipality Executive Mayor Nonkosi Pepping. – SAnews.gov.za
