Human Settlement
With regard to his Department’s reblocking strategy to relocate people from high-risk informal settlements as part of the COVID-19 risk mitigation:
- What progress has been made in this regard, (b) which land parcels have been identified to be utilised as reblocking areas and (c) how many people from informal settlements will be relocated?
- My department, anticipating the need for urgent action and response plans related to the effect of Covid-19 on informal settlements, established a Covid-19 Task Team. This Task Team (and its various Workstreams) played a crucial role in the facilitation of key communication between the different spheres of Government (National, Provincial, and Local Government).
In determining projects, the methodology for selection was to identify large informal settlements that comprised of:
• More than 1 000 households in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan area;
• More than 500 households in municipalities throughout the Province; and/or
• Informal Settlements with an existing density of greater than 100 dwelling units per hectare.
Various land parcels across the Province, metro and non-metro, were identified. Priority was given to land parcels that already formed part of existing human settlement projects and which were adjacent to, or in close proximity to, the informal settlements identified. Since then, land parcels have been secured, or are in the process of being secured, and professional teams have been appointed. Stakeholder engagements between professional teams, the City of Cape Town, the Housing Development Agency, ward councilors, and community members have also commenced. The implementation plan indicates that the project requires a 16 week programme from start of construction.
- In the metro area, the areas of Du Noon, Greater Kosovo, and the Airport Precinct were identified for re-blocking projects, forming part of our province’s Rapid Informal Settlement Support and Upgrade Programme (RISSUP). Although these specific projects were already in the Human Settlements pipeline for implementation, the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated that they immediately be accelerated, so as to combat the spread of the virus.
Land parcels in the non-metro areas have also been identified for de-densification purposes in line with the methodology applied to the selection within the metro areas. It should be noted that these identified land parcels are merely potential sites which requires further assessment and interrogation. The list of various land parcels identified per district will be made available to members once all the necessary steps have been put in place and necessary checks concluded to ascertain the readiness of the properties.
