R32.5bn needed: the massive cost of fixing City of Tshwane’s informal settlement crisis

Collaboration with communities, provincial and national government, and other stakeholders key to to develop sustainable, inclusive, and financially viable housing solutions The City of Tshwane requires R32.5 billion to either upgrade or relocate all of its existinginformal settlements. This figure far exceeds the city’scurrent budgetand available resources, says Ald Aaron Maluleka, MMC for Human Settlements at the City of Tshwane. He says the City of Tshwane is embarking on a significant step towards managing the rapid proliferation of informal settlements across the municipality.

“This comes after the City of Tshwane Council approved the Informal Settlements Management Policy during its ordinary February Council sitting,” Maluleka says. The approval follows an extensive investigation conducted by the City with the support of the Cities Support Programme (CSP) from the National Treasury Department, says Maluleka. Tshwane, like other metropolitan municipalities in South Africa, has experienced an influx of residents over the past decades, with growth accelerating during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The City says it has identified 502 informal settlements, reflecting a demand for low-income housing and rental accommodation. Of these, 194 informal settlements (comprising 355,945 structures) are categorised as able to be upgraded in situ, and 308 (comprising 151,707 structures) are categorised to be relocated. The work in this regard is said to be currently underway.

[paywall]

The unplanned expansion of informal settlements has pushed the urban edge outward, contributing to spatial inefficiencies, environmental pressures, and socio-economic marginalisation, says Maluleka. He adds that in several instances, settlements have developed in rural areas with limited access to basic infrastructure and municipal services.

[/paywall]