De-densification: Sisulu’s plan meets with resistance

Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu faces opposition to her plans for the de-densification of select areas in a bid to improve conditions in informal settlements.

Sisulu faces opposition, not only from the communities themselves but also provincial governments.

De-densification not enjoying universal support

Critics of Sisulu’s de-densification include planning and housing experts who say that the cost of the planned moves was such that the money would be better spent improving conditions in those communities.

Sisulu’s spokesperson, McIntosh Polela, said the minister had engaged civic organisations in the hope of getting communities to agree before presenting her plans to cabinet.

“She will be working with other government entities, including municipalities, once there is an agreement with the communities.” 

Polela said that one couldn’t put a price oh human life when addressing issues of the cost of the project.

“As for the budget, this is a constantly moving target, and one cannot put a price on human lives,” he said.

Sisulu outlined the plan at a national media briefing earlier this month, identifying the locations that had been targeted for de-densification.

The devil is in the details

The nitty-gritty of the plan is something of a mystery with the government yet to clarify how residents will be selected for relocation.

Stjwetla in Alexandra, Johannesburg, Kennedy Road in Durban, Mooiplaats in Pretoria, Duncan Village in East London and Dunoon in Cape Town have been identified as priority locations for de-densification.

There appears to be a disconnect between national and provincial government though with KwaZulu-Natal human settlements MEC Peggy Nkonyeni saying her department was not planning on moving a single soul from Kennedy Road.

“We will be following our programme [of upgrading informal settlements],” she said.

“We have [several] transition camps in KZN. We are very, very much scared [of] establishing other transit camps now because many people have been staying there for more than 10 years and if you ask me how their living conditions are … they are very, very bad. We cannot continue promoting [the] establishment of transit camps in KZN. We are in [the] process of reducing them, and we even agreed that we will demolish them.”

Officials in the Eastern and Western Cape have claimed they will be instituting their own plans to support informal settlements that did not involve de-densification.

Professor Marie Huchzermeyer, of the Centre for Urbanism and Built Environment Studies at the Wits School of Architecture and Planning, opines that de-densification will come with enormous costs.

“It not only isolates households, but also separates homes from livelihoods, and breaks social ties, which are the very basis of what makes informal settlements work as a survival base for the unemployed and poorly paid workers.”