Page 44 - SDG Report

While provision of housing is a national and provincial mandate, provision of basic services is a responsibility of local government and eThekwini is therefore driving not only the delivery of services, but also the development of a comprehensive strategy and planning for an incremental approach to upgrading.
Of the City’s 581 informal settlements, over 370 have some level of access to sanitation services via ablution blocks, and just over 270 have full or partial access to formalized electricity.
Incremental upgrading continues in eThekwini and is gaining increasing traction across South Africa. The city is currently expanding the programme to promote safety and freedom from crime and violence in informal settlements.
Improved area coordination has also facilitated fire safety training in 10 pilot settlements. This training and provision of fire extinguishers has already led to at least one incident during which community members were able to limit a fire to only one structure, when previous fires in the same community had destroyed up to 150 structures at a time.
The eThekwini Council has approved an enhanced informal settlement upgrading strategy which will result in the adoption of a land rights protocol which will enable the upgrading of settlements on privately owned land, as well as allow for spatial designation to acknowledge informal settlements. A new information management system designed to enhance evidence- based decision making and co-production of knowledge with informal settlement communities is currently being developed through a partnership with the United Kingdom Prosperity Fund.
The key challenges to the programme include the persistent expansion of informal settlements; institutional arrangements including the establishment of dedicated capacity to implement, resistance to new models of delivery, alignment between service
delivery units, and building relationships with communities who have historically felt ignored and/or appear to have been marginalized by the State.
Working in partnership with all stakeholders such as the affected communities, academia, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Community Based Organisations (CBOs), private sector and others, as well as including stakeholders in decision making, will result in many of the challenges being overcome. Greater transversal management within the various spheres of government will also result in better alignment and integration of plans and budgets. Whether it is via Memorandum of Agreements (MOAs) entered into between City and member organizations of the South African Shack Dwellers International (SASDI) Alliance or via the establishment of an Informal Settlement Upgrading Technical Forum bringing together all key service units on a monthly basis to discuss progress with the new upgrading approach, the city is taking active steps in finding solutions to possible problems. The new approach to development needs to foster a different and more functional relationship between the state and the urban poor, which is not premised solely on state service delivery, but which also leverages the partnerships necessary for more effective social capital formation, collaboration and ‘self-help’.
The new approach requires new institutional forms which facilitate coordination, and alignment of knowledge, budgets, projects and programmes across sectors, and across stakeholder groupings. These structures should be formalised through Social Compacts, Memoranda of Agreement, Service Level Agreements and Terms of Reference so that all participants have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities.
While working in partnerships deepens the impact of any initiative, significant time must be dedicated to building trust between parties and developing the framework for cooperation.
42 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS GOOD PRACTICE