Minister of human settlements, water & sanitation

Score:

2.3

Lindiwe Sisulu has had a critical role to play during the pandemic: her department has had to help curb the spread of the coronavirus by ensuring sufficient water supply to distressed communities across SA to allow for preventive measures such as hand-washing.

Fikeni says Sisulu started well, with swift deliveries of water tanks and drilling of boreholes. But challenges emerged in the process.

“[Sisulu] had done more marketing and communication than actual intervention on the ground in some instances,” he says.

The department also planned on dedensification of informal settlements, in which social distancing can be a challenge. Booysen, however, says the plan was out of touch with both the scale of the problem of high-density living and the extent to which rehoming people would find traction.

There have also been issues around alleged corruption. In May, Sisulu said advocate Terry Motau would lead a team of lawyers to probe corruption and irregular expenditure related to her department.

The Daily Maverick reported that her announcement was preceded by allegations that her advisers tried to use their positions to influence deals. That same month, City Press also raised concerns about possible corruption in Sisulu’s department.

Booysen believes the alleged Covid-related corruption to emerge from those close to Sisulu may have “helped set a template for the looting spree that followed”. x Claudi Mailovich