Human Settlements

The present form and layout of the informal settlements especially in the Metro makes it very difficult to provide utility and emergency services when needed. High densities and highly flammable shack materials aid the rapid spread of fires significant and this hampers the effective response of emergency services, which often result in the tragic loss of life, homes and possessions.

To assist in addressing these issues, my department commissioned and appointed service providers [CORC & Isandla] to conduct:

• The Rapid Appraisal of Informal Settlements in non-metropolitan areas, which seeks to assess, categorise and rank informal settlements per municipality; and
• An Informal Settlement Support Plan [ISSP] that will map the strategies, approaches, processes and interventions for informal settlements.

The ISSP has since developed a Provincial wide strategic framework as support to informal settlement upgrading incrementally. This framework enables a process of categorisation and prioritization of all settlements across the non-metropolitan areas of the Western Cape, review of design and tenure options and a monitoring and evaluation framework for both metro and non-metro municipalities. Ultimately, all this informs an implementation plan that outlines critical steps involved in implementation of interventions.

To elaborate further, the categorisation and prioritisation entails assessment of living conditions and risks informal settlements are exposed to.

The evaluation of informal settlements through the Rapid Appraisal provides clarity on the risks associated with disasters and thus the following data fields are being prioritised:

• Physical feature that poses risk to the settlement in terms of location;
• Community exposure to disaster (Fire, Floods, strong winds);
• Type of prevalent disaster experienced [Man-made or Natural Disasters];
• Social problems [Crime, Community Violence, Riots or Protest]; and
• Occurrence of the disaster.

My department is currently rolling out these initiatives to provincial departments and municipalities. Relevant departments such as the Disaster Management Centre in the Department of Local Government will be approached to assist with the installation of smoke detectors and interventions for flood relief through their Disaster Management Support to municipalities. Programmes such as Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading [VPUU] will also be approached to partner with my department for interventions in informal settlements in future. As we roll out the programme more departments will come on board to assist. The nature of interventions differs from informal settlement to informal settlement.  The involvement of all relevant stakeholders are thus to be coordinated as the process moves forward. 

My department is also busy with an enumeration study in the informal settlements along the N2 Southern Corridor [City of Cape Town].  Up to now a total of 15 854 households were reached. All structures were numbered and spatial mapped with unique GPS coordinates.  In George a similar project was done reaching eight [8] informal settlements translating to 690 households.  Currently my department aims to reach sixty [60] informal settlements with upgrading interventions which would also address the need for easy access in cases of emergencies.  It should however be noted that despite interventions, the high densities in informal settlements continues to pose challenges for access to emergency vehicles. Therefore community empowerment programmes are needed. My department with relevant sister departments will engage with intermediaries [Non Profit Organisations] to assist with community empowerment programmes as the ISSP continues to be rolled out.

The City has meanwhile developed a policy that informs residents of its plan to re-block informal settlements. This is aimed at reducing the impact of fires and floods on households in these communities as well as facilitating better access to City services.