Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning
- Whether the provincial government’s Winter Readiness Programme includes provisions for providing temporary shelters or emergency accommodations for those in need during extreme weather events; if so, what are the relevant details;
- (a) what kind of resources or assistance is available to informal settlements and (b) how does the Western Cape Government (i) assess and (ii) prioritise areas or communities that are more susceptible to winter-related risks?
- The Department does not have the mandate to provide temporary shelters. All municipalities have standard operating procedures and contingency plans in place which guides them on how to access such provisions from the relevant sector departments, the National Department of Human Settlement. As of 1 April 2023, the National Department of Human Settlements took over the emergency housing programme. As a result, the provincial emergency housing grant and the municipal emergency grant ceased to exist. The Emergency Housing Command Centre has been established to coordinate the national disaster response and allows communities direct access to report incidents via email. This process has been a challenge for the Department, impacting our communities negatively and putting pressure on our municipalities. Some municipalities provide emergency shelter, while others are reluctant due to substantial financial and legal implications. In many communities, members often refuse alternative shelter to safeguard their belongings and housing.
(2)(a) Municipalities proactively implement and guide flood mitigation
measures to communities living in informal settlements. Such activities
include:
• Clearing of rivers, bridges, drains, ponds, canals, culverts;
• Advising informal settlement residents to dig trenches around dwellings to divert rainwater;
• Rehabilitation of access roads at vulnerable informal settlements.
• Health and hygiene promotion around stagnant rainwater;
• Ensuring that an acceptable level of cleanliness is maintained;
• Ablution facilities within the low-lying informal settlements areas are identified for placement on high grounds;
• Trimming of trees;
• Awareness raising of low-lying informal settlements on flood risk.
• Flood-wise public education and awareness;
• Municipal services are always on stand-by to be activated in the event of a severe incident associated with adverse weather conditions; &
- Municipalities ensure that public education and awareness are intensified, particularly in pre-identified high-risk areas of the province.
(b) (i) & (ii) The Western Cape Government supports local municipalities in
developing their disaster risk and vulnerability assessments. Through scientific research and community engagements, this process includes identifying the most at-risk communities and prioritising mitigation measures to reduce the identified risks. The final risk and vulnerability assessment reports are handed over to the local municipalities with recommendations to implement the identified mitigation measures.
