Isidima Summit underway

By Tina George
28 February 2008

The Department of Local Governement and Housing together SANCO in the Western Cape is hosting the two day Isidima Summit.

The summit is being held in order to pave the way for the implementation of the provincial sustainable human settlements strategy.

Keynote speaker at the Summit, Premier Ebrahim Rasool says that government intends on gaining a broad agreement of a set of differential solutions that the backyard dwellers will agree to.

With regard to the invasion of the backyard dwellers in Delft, The cabinet has asked MEC for Housing and Government to do a full estimation of the costs and losses incurred in that area.

“There’s R20 million worth in damages and we will be finding out the expenditure on the N2 project for the last two months during which these invasions were taking place which is likely to go to R100 million,” says MEC for Housing and Government, Richard Dyanti.

Dyanti added that the costs will also include the money that the social development department spent on food.

“I will be getting full legal advice to know which grounds the department stands on to be able to lay a claim against the DA’s Frank Martin and the party to prevent them from leading the illegal occupants,” say Dyanti.

The Isidima summit will end on Friday in the hopeful light of achieving outcomes such as making housing markets work for the poor and gradually changing over to sustainable resource-use approaches such as sanitation and food supplies.