Question NW893 to the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation
04 October 2019 - NW893
Langa, Mr TM to ask the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation
What (a) total number of informal settlements exist (i) in each province and (ii) in the Republic, (b) total amount of money would it cost for the Government to eradicate all informal settlements in the Republic and (c) is her department’s plan for eradicating informal settlements?
Reply:
(a)(i) Total number of informal settlements in each province is as follows:
Eastern Cape (305), Free State (153), Gauteng (710), Kwazulu Natal (248), Limpopo (90), Mpumalanga (268), Northern Cape (111), North West (172) and Western Cape (643).
(ii) The total number of informal settlements in the Republic is 2700. The status as at October 2017, based on information provided by Provinces and some Metropolitan municipalities, as well as information gathered by the Department during the informal settlement assessments, categorisation and development of the upgrading plans.
(b) It should be noted that the number of informal settlements is constantly on the increase, amongst others, due to people moving to urban areas and city centres with the hope to increase their prospects of securing employment opportunities. Due to this reality, government’s immediate priority is to upgrade informal settlements by providing access to water, sanitation, electricity and other essential services in order to ensure that people live under decent and habitable conditions.
The total amount of money it would cost Government to upgrade all informal settlements in the Republic will depend on whether a settlement will be in-situ upgraded or need to be relocated due to the site constraints. In-situ upgrading is preferred in order to minimise livelihood disruptions and relocations are a last resort. The upgrading of settlements needs to be incremental i.e. a process of change over time, with the initial priority of addressing health and safety, essential services and functional tenure. Land tenure solutions need to be simplified and partnerships with communities and civil society are critical.
(c) Department has approved 300 informal settlements upgrading plans for the current financial year. The incremental upgrade of settlements will translate into the eradication of informal settlements. However, research and empirical evidence suggests that the informal settlements will mushroom in other parts of the country due to migration.