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Human Settlements Minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi, has given contractors in the Eastern Cape, who are responsible for providing emergency housing, two months to finish the job or face contract termination, at their own cost.

Kubayi gave the directive during an emergency housing engagement with six districts and 24 local municipalities to consolidate response interventions in the Eastern Cape.

The engagement follows numerous disasters where the province and its municipalities committed to rolling out various interventions to assist the disaster victims.

According to reports on work done to help accelerate the implementation of these interventions, there are still families who were affected by various disasters, as far back as 2021, who have not been accommodated in any form of formal shelter.

Reports received by the Minister during a meeting this week revealed that 2 382 households affected between 2021 and 2023 have been assisted with permanent houses, with 2 172 assisted with temporary shelter, leaving 5 766 households with no assistance.

Households that have not been assisted have been forced to find alternative accommodation, including living with friends, families and neighbours. 

Kubayi said the department is going to work around the clock to make sure that it turns the situation around. 

“Having listened to the municipalities, we are all in agreement that we owe our people a speedy resolution of this situation. I will approach National Treasury to assist with funding to speed up these interventions for the province,” Kubayi said.

Kubayi also instructed officials, led by the national office, to consolidate the backlog of households that were victims of disasters in the past five years, and the budget needs. 

She said this will assist in expediting and focusing on building homes for the victims. 

The Minister said the national Department of Human Settlements will lead the verification process of the work ahead to ascertain that funds are properly utilised.

This follows the Minister’s announcement on 1 April 2023 that the national department will take over the responsibility of emergency housing response.  However, provinces and municipalities will still be responsible for interventions in disasters that occurred before the policy change.

The Minister emphasised that moving forward, the department will no longer accommodate people in Temporary Residential Units (TRUs), as “these are not sustainable”.

“As articulated in our Budget Vote, we have decided to embrace innovative alternative building technologies so that our solutions are sustainable and of good quality, with efficiency and cost-effectiveness being the primary drivers of our disaster response. This way, we will know that we have given permanent quality homes,” Kubayi said.

She also urged those at the meeting to always keep in mind that they have a duty to the vulnerable communities who are affected by these disasters.

“We owe it to the people we serve, who only have us as their hope for a better future and we dare not to fail them. There is no time for excuses,” the Minister said. 

Eastern Cape Human Settlements Indaba

Meanwhile, Kubayi will today address the inaugural Eastern Cape Human Settlements Indaba 2023, hosted by MEC Siphokazi Lusithi.

Held at Nelson Mandela University in Gqeberha from 5 - 7 July 2023, the indaba seeks to create a platform for strategic reflection on the conceptualisation and development of sustainable and integrated human settlements. 

The three-day indaba is held in partnership with Nelson Mandela University under the theme, 'Accelerating the delivery of sustainable integrated human settlements in the Eastern Cape through collaborations and partnerships: Leaving No One and No Place Behind'. – SAnews.gov.za

South African Communist Party (SACP) General Secretary Solly Mapaila has paid homage to Minister in the Presidency, Dr Essop Goolam Pahad, whom he described as a selfless leader without personal interests.

“You demonstrated this up to your last days. May your undying fighting spirit live on and inspire new generations of our people to continue the struggle until all forms of exploitation and oppression are eradicated in society,” Mapaila said on Thursday.

He made these remarks while honouring Dr Pahad during his funeral at Westpark Cemetery, Johannesburg. The struggle stalwart passed away at the age of 84 and was laid to rest in a ceremony in which ceremonial honours were provided by the South African Police Service (SAPS).

“Your intellectual rigour to assess the conditions of the working class of our country, to place the movement that you so led with distinction, to be a selfless servant of the people will never fall down. Dr Pahad was a senior leader of the SACP, a great patriot of our party. A selfless comrade who lived humbly and respected all people but was also a communist intellectual,” he said.

He served in the World Maxis Review, which essentially assessed international development of the socialist struggles and the struggles of the working class towards their emancipation.

“If he was engaging with you and you are not rising to the occasion, he would come across as arrogant because intellectually he will decapitate you. You needed to raise the bar when you engage him on intellectual questions of the revolution. He was not a man to be taken for granted and in that regard, the Communist party will miss him dearly,” Mapaila said.

He expressed gratitude to Dr Pahad’s immense contribution and service to the country.

Minister in the Presidency, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, also paid tribute to her former mentor, describing him as a kind hearted and caring individual.

“The loss of this committed, revolutionary and caring internationalist is very sad but we understand it as the cycle of life,” the Minister said.

She remembered him as a dedicated cadre of the movement who did not miss the opportunity to speak out.

“He also created an environment where everyone could speak up. He was a selfless patriot and he put the country first. That is the lesson we must learn because it is a lesson that seems to elude us.

“We bid farewell to a former secretary the Transvaal Indian Youth Congress, executive committee from 1958 to 1964. We bid farewell to a selfless and daring volunteer that risked everything when producing and distributing pamphlets to mobilise communities behind the then banned African National Congress (ANC),” Dlamini-Zuma said.

She said Dr Pahad was a vibrant student activist of the 1960s at universities such as Wits and other universities abroad.

“We bid farewell to an exile revolutionary who led the ANC and SACP structures in exile. Dr Pahad comes from the golden generation of ANC and Alliance who placed revolutionary ideas at the forefront of building the consensus and ideas that guide us and a guide to ideas.

“He comes from a generation that gave priority to quality and not quantity of membership. Yes, we need quantity but we need quality leadership. We learn from Dr Pahad and his collective that the success of an idea must first depend on its strength and not on the mere number of people who support it,” the Minister said. – SAnews.gov.za

National Police Commissioner, General Fanie Masemola, has confirmed that eight members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) implicated in the video which shows the assault of three civilians on the Gauteng highway, have been issued with suspension notices.

The officers have also been temporarily removed from their posts pending investigations.

The police said they have since successfully traced the victims and that they have encouraged them to open cases against the police officers.

“I want to reiterate that the SAPS does not condone such behaviour at any point,” General Masemola said.

Addressing the media in Vanderbijlpark earlier on Thursday, General Masemola said no amount of provocation can ever justify or validate what was witnessed on the video clip.

The media briefing was called to update the nation on key policing matters. The briefing also focused on successes achieved by the SAPS's nationwide high density operations.

“We generally follow a very stringent process to identify members that should be protecting our principals, so for those members to have conducted themselves in such a manner, is quite concerning.

“We pledge to offer our full cooperation to the IPID investigation, at the same time ensuring that our internal processes are not compromised in any manner,” General Masemola said.

General Masemola explained that SAPS has clear instructions on the role of VIP Protectors whose mandate is  to ensure that an integrated protection service is rendered to all individuals identified as VIP’s.

“The protection of VIP’s is provided for in terms of the policy on protection packages.

“The policy is in accordance with 2014 Cabinet memorandum. In executing their duties, close protection officers must at all times portray professionalism, discipline, politeness, enthusiasm, and high ethical conduct, at all times prioritising the safety of their principals,” he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy President Paul Mashatile whom the implicated police officers are said to be his protectors also condemned the incident.

“Members of the SAPS are meant to uphold and protect the fundamental rights of every person and exercise the powers conferred upon them in a responsible and controlled manner,” said the Deputy President.

General Masemola said in terms of Regulation 176 and 185 of the National Road Traffic Regulations of 2000, any member of the service can use blue lights and sirens if necessary in order to execute his/her duties.

“Therefore, when members are on convoy, they are permitted to use blue lights. This should be done taking into account the safety of other road users.

“A police official may exceed the general speed limit with or without the use of a blue flashing light, provided that he/she drives the vehicle in the execution of duties necessitating this and with due regard and careful consideration of the safety of other road users,” he said.

General Masemola also called on members of the public to direct complaints against a close protection officer to the SAPS Complaints Directorate on 0800 3331 77.  - SAnews.gov.za