Informal settlements a challenge: Premier
2011-05-10 18:46
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Johannesburg
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Johannesburg - Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane said on Tuesday that informal settlements remained a "major challenge" for municipalities in the province, underscoring constraints in the delivery of basic services such as water and electricity.
Presenting Gauteng's local government performance review, Mokonyane said that, due to the influx of people to the province, municipalities had to deal with resurfacing new cases of slums.
The review focuses on the performance of municipalities, including the City of Johannesburg, based in Gauteng over the 2006-2011 period, nearly a week before the country goes to the municipal elections.
Municipalities are battling to roll out basic services to slums, explaining part of the reason for service delivery protests.
In Johannesburg alone, 49 out of 182 informal settlements were formalised.
Mokonyane said the province planned to upgrade informal settlements that were suitable or otherwise relocate the inhabitants.
By August 2008, a total of 85 informal settlements had been formalised, while 36 were eradicated by 2009, the premier said.
Improvement
Despite the challenges posed by informal settlements, Mokonyane said there had been an improvement in the provision of basic services and infrastructure development.
Gauteng municipalities had undertaken water and sanitation projects on a massive scale, she said.
Gauteng delivered sanitation services to an additional 167 014 households and water to an extra 228 046 households, the review noted.
In formalised houses, these services were easier to install, with municipalities investing millions of rand in water and sanitation infrastructure.
The challenged was to extend these services to informal settlements that have not yet been formalised.
The review stated that all municipalities managed to spend 100% of their infrastructure funds from the Municipal Infrastructure Grant between 2006 and 2009.
The total infrastructure budget spend exceeded R5bn over the period under review.
On houses, three metros - Tshwane, Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni - built a total of 110 501 low-cost houses.
Repairs and maintenance cost municipalities 10% of their total expenditure budget, with the review saying that infrastructure was aging.
The amount spent on repairs and maintenance had improved from 5.2% in 2006-07 to 8% in 2009-10, it said.
