Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said the South African government is facing challenges accessing the informal settlements to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Addressing the media on Saturday, Sisulu said it is almost impossible in the country’s many informal settlements to implement the social distancing to curb the spread of the virus.
“In human settlements, our biggest challenge is the de-densification of the areas. We keep talking about social distancing, but social distancing does not deal with the situation that we have in the informal settlements.
It translates very much into a middle class solution until we are able to persuade the people in the informal settlements that we need to come in, and assist them to de-densify the areas,”
She said as measure to up the hygiene in the densely-populated informal areas, the government would want to provide better sanitation for the informal settlements.
The government would be providing alternative accommodation for the dwellers of the informal settlements.
People in informal sectors will be moved to better areas where it is possible to drive into some of these areas to do the necessary disinfection, to provide people with the necessary security.
The government has identified land in 4 provinces where residents of informal settlements will be moved to.
Regarding water issues, Sisulu said measures have been implemented to ensure that South Africans have adequate water during the 21-day lockdown announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Sisulu said more than 41,000 water tanks have been provided by her department in just two days.
