The newly announced Department of Human Settlements’ task team on sanitation is ready to roll up its sleeves and start working on identifying problem areas and pointing out where legislation has failed people living in informal settlements.
This, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the chairwoman of the newly announced 11-person task team, said on Tuesday, was what would ensure delivery to the people who deserved it most.
“The people who are out there throwing stones are saying you are not delivering fast enough, and we want to avoid that,” she said.
The team was announced on Tuesday by Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale, who said their responsibilities over the next three months would include identifying areas which were without proper and adequate sanitation, and report back to the him for action.
It was born of the need to deal with the problem of toilets built in the open in some areas of the country that had recently come to light.
“We decided once and for all to deal with it and shut the matter up,” Sexwale said, adding that the team would have the mandate to go unannounced into any of the country’s 2 500 informal settlements.
“They have until December to conclude their initial task and report back to us in January, after which their mandate will be extended to look into all issues around informal settlements,” Sexwale said.
The team is also expected to identify issues such as policy gaps, legislative shortcomings, procedures, rules and regulations, and budgetary issues affecting the delivery of proper sanitation to people in the settlements, and also bring recommendations on dealing with them.
The members of the task team have been drawn from all sectors of society and include medical professionals, members of civic organisation and trade unions, and government officials.
Madikizela-Mandela said: “The challenges we will face are what our struggles were about. We want to deal with that here, so we will roll up our sleeves and hope to speed up the process of delivery.”
This, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the chairwoman of the newly announced 11-person task team, said on Tuesday, was what would ensure delivery to the people who deserved it most.
“The people who are out there throwing stones are saying you are not delivering fast enough, and we want to avoid that,” she said.
The team was announced on Tuesday by Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale, who said their responsibilities over the next three months would include identifying areas which were without proper and adequate sanitation, and report back to the him for action.
It was born of the need to deal with the problem of toilets built in the open in some areas of the country that had recently come to light.
“We decided once and for all to deal with it and shut the matter up,” Sexwale said, adding that the team would have the mandate to go unannounced into any of the country’s 2 500 informal settlements.
“They have until December to conclude their initial task and report back to us in January, after which their mandate will be extended to look into all issues around informal settlements,” Sexwale said.
The team is also expected to identify issues such as policy gaps, legislative shortcomings, procedures, rules and regulations, and budgetary issues affecting the delivery of proper sanitation to people in the settlements, and also bring recommendations on dealing with them.
The members of the task team have been drawn from all sectors of society and include medical professionals, members of civic organisation and trade unions, and government officials.
Madikizela-Mandela said: “The challenges we will face are what our struggles were about. We want to deal with that here, so we will roll up our sleeves and hope to speed up the process of delivery.”
Although the department would not reveal the amount budgeted, director-general Thabiso Zulu said there were funds that would be taken from the department’s communication and outreach budget.- Pretoria News
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