My update for today on the response to COVID-19 will start with what we have done with Water and Sanitation – and move to our response regarding Human Settlements.

On water and sanitation:

The current interventions remains mainly focused on water services infrastructure, that is the water supply & sanitation.

By improving these areas, we are doing our best to combat the spread of COVID-19 in mainly human settlements and rural areas.

We’ve had to look at new ways of providing services and do so quickly.

The Water Command Centre we established at Rand Water, allows us the opportunity to know on a daily basis what progress is being made by the team, including how many tanks and tankers have been delivered and where they have been installed, or in the case of tankers where they operate.

Just to remind you, we blocked manufacturers from selling tanks, until such time that government has purchased enough of them for communities in need of reliable water.

As we speak, we have delivered close to 17 000 water storage tanks across the country, and over 1 200 water tankers.

It is important to understand that these numbers change on a daily basis as delivery continues.

I call on the communities and municipalities that are still struggling with water to make use of our call centre number 0800 200 200.

This is the only way that we get made aware of our communities in need.

Regarding funding, the first stretch of the intervention had a budget of R306 million attached to it.

The response to COVID-19 has huge implications for all of government and ultimately the nation. That is why we are in deliberations with National Treasury for a further R831 million to continue the intervention.

The delivery of this intervention includes the testing of water quality to ensure that the water delivered is of the requisite quality to enhance the lives of all South Africans.

As we can all see there is a lot of work ahead of us.

We will never stress enough that this responsibly of reaching out to every South African require all of us to work together, whether business sector, NGOs and ordinary members of the public.

We once again, thank all those who have joined up with us in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Regarding human settlements:

As government we have stressed that apart from washing hands frequently with water and soap, our citizens need to practice social distancing.

From the very beginning my departments realised that this was not practical for informal settlements. We therefore came up with re-blocking as a solution (what we initially called de-densification).

We’ve joined up with Civil Society Organisations to resettle residents from extremely dense informal settlements to 27 land parcels we identified and are currently preparing for resettlements.

The National Department of Human Settlements has allocated R4, 6 billion from the Human Settlements Development Grant and the Urban Settlements Development Grant in the current financial year for this programme.

Just to update you on what we are planning and already doing in the affected Provinces:

Eastern Cape

In Duncan Village in Buffalo City, we have just appointed a contractor to fast tract the construction of 1 174 housing units as part of the broader Duncan Village Integrated Development Programme.

Another 2 000 units will also be constructed at Ziphunzana Bypass and Gompo where a contractor has already been appointed and is on site. The number of households that will be allocated from this phase of the development is 10 000.

Some of the beneficiaries will be relocated to 2 500 completed units in Reeston and 2 800 units in Mdantsane. These are people who have already applied and been approved for government’s low cost housing programme.

Land for the majority of these sites has already been secured around East London

Gauteng

The Department will deliver units to 72 households on Plot 323 in Wilgespruit, Roodeport, in the City of Johannesburg. We managed to achieve this through our private sector partners who donated these units  to the provincial and local government. These families have constantly been victims of multiple farm evictions over the past years.

In Diepsloot, the Department will be resettling 1 348 approved beneficiaries to completed units in Riverside, City of Johannesburg. This process will commence in May 2020.

We have also prepared 808 stands and 300 stands in Tanganani Extension 7.

A total of 1 100 units will also be constructed in Tanganani Extension 14.

In Zandspruit informal settlement, we are planning to construct 1 402 units.

In Ivory Park, 1 200 units are planned. The Housing Development Agency (HDA) will take further instructions from the City of Johannesburg on proposed design.

In Sjwetla informal settlements in Alexandra, a total of 2 295 TRUs will be constructed. Community facilitation has commenced already.

Madala Hostel is also identified for de-densification with 1 233 units to be implemented by the Johannesburg Social Housing Company.

A total of 1 062 multi-storey units will also be constructed in the area and the Department is in the process of obtaining approval from the Gauteng Provincial Government to access provincial land.

Helen Joseph Women’s Hostel will also benefit with 144 units.

Identification of households earmarked for relocation to units will commence at the end of this month and relocation letters to all beneficiaries targeted for relocation to various sites identified to units will commence as per the relocation plan.

At Phomolong in the City of Tshwane, households from K54 route and 150 victims of the Mamelodi floods will be resettled in 792 stands. And 1 000 TRUs will also be constructed to decongest the Mamelodi Hostel.

Residents from Brazzaville and six other nearby informal settlements in Pretoria West will also benefit from planned 1 342 units.

North West

A total of 350 housing units are scheduled to be constructed for Boitekong informal settlements in Rusternberg.

Western Cape

In DuNoon in the City of Cape Town, a contractor has been appointed to deliver 1 500 multi-storey Temporary Residential Areas

A total of 2 000 units will also be constructed in Kosovo whilst the Department, Province and the City of Cape Town is intends to build 3 000 units at Ithemba.

Lastly, I had a meeting with the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg Geoff Makhubu and the MEC for Human Settlements, Cooperative Governance and Urban Planning, Lebohang Maile.

I have asked them that prospective residents in Gauteng already on the waiting list be immediately resettled into an estimated 14 000 units that have been completed. In some instances, these do not yet have basic services – but these can be fast-tracked.

I thank you.