Minister of Human Settlements Nomaindiya Mfeketo is calling on the three spheres of government to work closely together and improve panning in order to service the communities they are responsible for.

This comes after Mfeketo recent visit to Khayelitsha following the recent devastating fires in the area.  The minister said people cannot be given plans forever or only when disasters happen.

“We allocate funds from the national government and it is a shame when these go back to the fiscus unused. We as government need to step up and serve our people,” Mfeketo said.

Communities must hold government accountable

She urged communities to be their own activists and hold government to account for service delivery in general.

Communities were also encouraged to become active participants in the developmental activities of their communities.

“This will force politicians to stop playing games and deal with the real problems faced by people,” the minister added.

Plans to uplift the Khayelitsha community

Mfeketo confirmed that the building kits given to victims of the fire will only provide temporary solutions.

According to the minister the provincial human settlement has identified land for relocating people while the real building happens.

“The identified land is only less than a kilometre from the current informal settlement and will keep people within their social networks,”Mfeketo noted.

Prioritising bulk infrastructure

The national Department of Human Settlements together with province and municipality agreed that services and bulk infrastructure should be prioritised so as to avoid such fires from happening again.

The minister requested that both the province and municipality should enhance their planning abilities in order to find lasting solutions for all the informal settlements in the Western Cape. This will eliminate unfortunate disasters that occurred in Khayelitsha, Kosovo, Hout Bay and other areas.

Minister Mfeketo gave an undertaking that she will personally monitor the implementation of the work the province and municipality have promised to the communities of Khayelitsha; Kosovo and Hout Bay.