The Rustenburg Local Municipality in the North West has been instructed to do a land audit to determine how quickly informal settlements can be formalised.
The provincial Human Settlements Department says the audit will help identify which of the 32 informal settlements can be formalised, and which are not suitable for human settlement.
The platinum city has a large number of informal settlements due to the mining operations there.
North West Human Settlements MEC Lenah Miga says, “The municipality must be able to know their land. They must be able to know what is it that land is going to be used for. It must be part of their IDPS (Integrated Development Plans), so that people can understand, but also as they access their IDP documents, they know that, when that land that can be occupied, that is going to be formalised, land that cannot an area for people to reside on, and so forth and so forth.”
But formalising such areas comes with its own difficulties, such as the illegal occupation of RDP houses, illegal electricity connections, and poor workmanship by contractors.
Human Settlements Minister Mamoloko Kubayi has warned against sub-standard work by contractors.
Kubayi says, “We’re currently dealing with the whole country, in terms of looking at blocked and unblocked projects. My message to contractors again – we don’t want to find ourselves in court with you. Because the majority of these people are previously disadvantaged people, who are trying to make means. Now, if you come and you have difficulties, rather cede the contract back to us, rather than giving poor workmanship, or not completing the work.”
Residents are also complaining that while their areas are being formalised, it takes time for other services to be provided.
One resident says, “There are sewer spillages in our area, can contractors please do quality work, streets are bad. There’s no drainage system.”
Earlier this year, the Human Settlements Department indicated that nationally there are still about 2.2 million households in informal settlements.
VIDEO: Last year, North West government set aside R87 million for RDP houses:
