Parliament, Monday, 3 March 2025 – The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements, Mr Nocks Seabi, has called on the national Department of Human Settlements, the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Provincial Department of Human Settlements and the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality to ensure a strong collaborative response and the urgent unlocking of the Emergency Housing Response Fund in response to the ongoing floods in KZN.
“In its oversight visit that happened in October last year the committee highlighted various concerns with the delay in ensuring access to the fund for victims of floods. It is in this context that impediments are removed and that the fund serves its purpose by being timeous and agile to assist the victims,” Mr Seabi said.
In an environment of devastation and distress, government programmes must not be tied up in bureaucracy and territorial disputes that delay interventions. “We are hopeful that the concessions made by the national department on the implementation of the fund will come in handy in the response to the current disaster. The delays witnessed previously such as the verification of beneficiaries and assessment of damaged houses, which had taken 10 to 12 months or longer, should be a thing of the past going forwards,” Mr Seabi emphasised.
Despite this, Mr Seabi called for enhanced monitoring of building standards as regulate by many laws such as the Housing Consumer Protection Act and the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act to ensure the quality of houses that are able to withstand the elements. “In an environment of increasing environmental disasters, building standards and building materials should be such that they can withstand such disasters. Stronger monitoring and inspections should be the order of the day,” Mr Seabi emphasised.
The Chairperson extended his heartfelt condolences to those that have passed on during the floods.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS, MR NOCKS SEABI.
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