COGTA's Hlabisa wants flood victims in informal settlements persuaded to move to safer areas

CAPE TOWN - New Cooperative Governance Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa wants the Department of Human Settlements and the City of Cape Town to persuade flood victims in informal settlements to relocate to safer areas. 

He warned that no interventions can improve conditions in the waterlogged areas that will continue to be impacted by heavy rains. 

More than 100,000 Capetonians have been significantly impacted by last week's severe cold fronts that affected over 30,000 homes.

"It is not conducive for human settlement, the people residing there have to be persuaded that they need to relocate. It will be therefore the responsibility of national government, working together with the City of Cape Town, the provincial government, and national government, and all other departments." 

The City of Cape Town and the Department of Human Settlements last week agreed that while a permanent solution was the only real intervention, land availability remained a problem.