Question NW14 to the Minister of Human Settlements

Reply:

a) Before the 2023/24 financial year, the National Department of Human Settlements (NDHS) has been allocating disaster response funds (on application) to provinces and municipalities that were affected by disaster incidences such as floods, gale force winds and fires through the Provincial Emergency Housing Grant (PEHG) and Municipal Emergency Housing Grant (MEHG) respectively.

As a result of the April 2022 floods in KwaZulu Natal, the province was allocated a budget of R342 133 000 through the PEHG, for the provision of Temporary Emergency Accommodation (TEA) that enabled more than 3 000 displaced households to be removed from mass care centres (community halls, churches, and schools) to various lodges and flats within eThekwini municipality. In addition, these funds were also utilised by the province for the construction of Temporary Residential Units (TRUs), whilst a permanent housing solution such as the construction of BNGs, is sought by the KZN Department of Human Settlements (KZN-DHS). The Eastern Cape Province was allocated a budget of R84 109 000 through the PEHG, for the provision of 225 Temporary Residential Units to displaced households.

As of the 1st of April 2023, the NDHS discontinued the PEHG and MEHG to formulate an Emergency Housing Response Fund (EHRF) that is administered and implemented directly by NDHS.

The Human Settlements Department under the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) played an active role in the provision of emergency accommodation for the victims of the fire incident that occurred at the Usindiso building. The CoJ’s Human Settlements Department established a Transitional Relocation Area (Shalizile Denver TRA) where the victims were relocated to. Services such as water supply, sanitation, area lighting and refuse removal are provided. The costs relating to the construction of the corrugated structures amount to R3 648 640.00 in Shalizile Denver TRA.

bI The National Department of Human Settlements (NDHS) put in place the following emergency housing interventions that will enable displaced disaster victims to be provided with decent shelter during disasters:

• A 3-year panel of contractors has been established for the construction of Temporary Residential Units (TRUs) on an as-and-when-required basis until the year 2026.
• The Housing Development Agency (HDA) has been tasked with the responsibility of acquiring suitable land parcels and state-owned buildings that will be utilised immediately as Temporary Emergency Accommodation (TEA) during disasters, whilst TRUs are being constructed. This responsibility is in line with their core mandate prescribed by the Housing Development Agency Act No. 23 of 2008.
• The National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) has been tasked with the responsibility of conducting structural assessments and remedial plans for formal houses that were damaged by the floods, winds, and fires, as per their mandate prescribed on the Housing Consumers Protection Measures Act, 1998 (Act No. 95 of 1998).
• To ensure that such measures are implementable across all provinces, the NDHS has developed Emergency Housing Guidelines that outline the type of disaster interventions that should be provided by the department. The Guidelines also outline the collaborative role of the Provincial and Municipal Disaster Management Centres (PDMCs, DDMCs & MDMCs), in assisting the NDHS to respond effectively and efficiently to disasters.