Pretoria – The social distancing which is being recommended to curb the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) is almost impossible in the country’s many informal settlements, Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said on Saturday.
“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,” Sisulu addressed reporters in Pretoria.
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.
“We need to convince the people who live in informal settlements that we will need to get into the informal settlements, and provide the necessary sanitation, as we will be providing the necessary sanitation for all our streets along the towns. We would like to disinfect the areas where the informal settlements are," she said.
“It is not possible at this stage to drive into some of these areas to do the necessary disinfection, to provide them with the necessary security.”
She said government would be providing alternative accommodation for the dwellers of the informal settlements.
Regarding her other portfolio water, Sisulu said measures have been implemented to ensure that South Africans have adequate water during the 21-day lockdown announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
In rural areas, water tanks are being put at schools, and near police stations. Sisulu said more than 41,000 water tanks have been provided by her department in just two days.