INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS: SHOULD BE A PRIORITY FOR GOVERNMENT

The informal settlements are often dangerous since they don’t follow proper housing standards.

The majority of shacks are erected illegally. The occupation of land continued over time, with more threats of invasion of the land dubbed “Sihlalangenkani” in many parts of the country.

Shacks are mostly erected in high-risk areas. Therefore, floods and fires are most common in squatter camps, resulting in many deaths.

It is estimated that more than 2.2 million urban dwellers live in informal settlements in South Africa. Approximately one in five people live in shacks in many of South Africa’s biggest cities, including Johannesburg and Cape Town, according to the South African Cities Network.

Government reports suggested that between 2002 and 2016, informal settlements in South

Africa increased from 300 to 2,225. Each year, the number increases.

To protect residents from floods and fires, the Social Protection, Community, and Human Development cluster has announced that the government is working around the clock to formalise informal settlements. When it comes to transforming these settlements, the government should address two key issues:

1. Land

In South Africa, land ownership remains a contentious issue. In section 25, the property can only be expropriated “for a public purpose or in the public interest” and “subject to compensation” - the amount and manner of compensation must be agreed upon by those affected, or decided by a court.

Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill, which aimed to amend section 25 of the Constitution to allow for the expropriation of land without compensation, failed to garner the necessary votes in the National Assembly. This makes it difficult for the government to provide land to those living in informal settlements.

Nonetheless, the cluster believes one of the most important factors in human settlements development is access to land in urban settlements. The cluster briefing to the media on Sunday, 26th February, was led by Angie Motshekga, Minister of Basic Education, and DrJoe Phaahla, Minister of Health, reiterated this information. To date, 2,689 hectares of State land have been transferred to the Housing Development Agency from the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.

2. Housing opportunities

From the released land parcels, nearly 64 000 housing opportunities are planned, which will contribute significantly to fulfilling the prescripts of the Freedom Charter, which states that “houses, security, and comfort” shall be provided.

Despite the increased number of informal settlements created by a variety of factors, the department still fails to upgrade informal settlements. Some informal settlements have existed for decades without access to electricity. A good example is Makause, an informal settlement located in Germiston, which is home to more than 10,000 people, many of whom have lived there for more than 20 years. Yet, another good example is Zandspruit in Honeydew,where thousands of people have been living in shacks for years. In most cases, the ANC government leaves shack dwellers dry and only remembers them during elections. They will then secure votes with food parcels.

“In the last financial year, about 24 671 stands were created through the informal upgrading process,” Motshekga said. She told journalists that, in order to transform informal settlements, basic services such as water, electricity, sanitation, and security will be provided. As there is no alternative for Eskom, and the government is failing to keep the lights on, it’s unclear how the government will provide electricity to millions of people living in shacks.

3. Floods

In the past five days, Motshekga pointed out that the country has experienced devastating floods in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

Every year, we read about squatter camp dwellers who are displaced by floods or fires. Just before Covid-19, Mamelodi was hit by heavy flooding, leaving many people in a squatter camp destitute. Similar flooding occurred this year, leaving hundreds homeless.

One of the best ways to resolve this problem, is by providing proper housing to residents of squatter camps. Byinvesting in the upgrade of informal settlements this saves lives and provide South Africans with a place to call home In order to achieve thisthe government will have to increase its housing budget by billions of rands. There is still no money available to improve the failing power utility, as far as we know. Where will the money come from to build houses?

“With climate change, natural disasters are becoming more frequent and most of our infrastructure was not designed to be resilient,” said Motshekga.

“For an effective response to these disasters, we need land, we need South Africans to embrace each other, especially when families are homeless, vulnerable and distressed.

“It is in times like this that we need to collaborate, unite and focus on solutions that will provide relief to all those in need.”

Motshekga also expressed gratitude for all the interventions being initiated by private and public sector partners as well as social partners to assist those in need.

“It will be a long road, but together we can do so much more to minimise the impact of the devastating floods.”

Final Thoughts

Those in power must recognise the dignity of all South Africans, regardless of their socioeconomic status. Unfortunately, that is not the case for millions of impoverished individuals who live in squalor. No human should live in a shack or any substandard housing conditions, without access to basic services such as water, sanitation,road access, electricity andno refuse collection. It is the right of every South African to have a roof over their heads. This is what we all vote for when we go to the polls.