South Africa Weighs Interdepartmental Plan for Informal Settlements on Military Bases

Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane says her department is considering an inter-departmental approach to deal with informal settlements encroaching on military bases, after engaging the Department of Defence and Military Veterans and other relevant organs of state.

Responding to parliamentary questions from IFP MP Alco Ngobese, Simelane said the department is pursuing a coordinated intergovernmental approach involving relevant national departments, provincial and municipal authorities and, where appropriate, entities such as the Housing Development Agency. This includes identifying affected areas, determining the extent of occupation and assessing appropriate interventions.

It was reported last year that informal settlements had encroached on 10 military bases, posing serious challenges to national security, operational readiness and the safety of both military personnel and civilians. The affected bases include Tamboerskloof and Wingfield Naval Stores Depot in the Western Cape and 93 Ammunition Depot and the Combat Training Centre in the Northern Cape; in Gauteng they include the Defence Works Training School, Marievale Military Base, Lenz Military Base, Defence Headquarters, Wallmansthal and 43 SA Brigade.

Simelane said an interdepartmental working group will be established to address the issue in consultation with participating institutions, including the departments of Human Settlements, Defence and Military Veterans, Public Works and Infrastructure, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Land Reform and Rural Development, and Agriculture, along with relevant provincial departments and municipalities.

She said a consolidated number of households requiring relocation has not yet been established and would be confirmed through assessments undertaken with the relevant land-owning departments, provinces and municipalities. Where relocation is deemed necessary, suitable alternative land and applicable human settlements interventions will be identified in consultation with the relevant authorities.

The minister stated that basic services at alternative sites will be addressed as part of the planning and development process, subject to infrastructure and funding availability. However, no dedicated national allocation has been made specifically for the relocation and rehousing of communities occupying military land, and funding requirements will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, with interventions potentially supported through existing human settlements programmes.