By Nkosenhle Sibisi
Displaced flood victims from Annet Drive Informal Settlement who are currently staying at Truro Hall in Westville are appealing to eThekwini Municipality to build them houses. They were evacuated from Reservoir Hills after their shacks were washed away during the torrential rains and floods experienced in April. The 67 destitute flood victims who are surviving on donations have been staying at the hall, waiting for the City to build them temporary housing.
One of the victims, Khosi Ndebele said that it is not easy living in the hall as they have had to adapt to living in a shelter with no privacy.
“We are pleading to the government to give us proper housing. We are staying with our children in the hall and the conditions are not ideal as there is no privacy. We sleep on mattresses. It is Winter season now and the hall gets cold. Reservoir Hills is our home, some of us at the hall are struggling to get to jobs since the place is secluded. To get to work, some of the people have to hire a taxi to transport them to and from work, and that on it’s own requires money. We were told that the area to build us temporary and permanent housing at Pamilton Avenue in Reservoir Hills has been identified but there is no progress. Reservoir Hills residents and the ratepayers say is it is not geologically advisable to build on that land,” said the distressed Ndebele.
Another flood victim staying at the hall, Themba Msomi added that some people have had to move back to Reservoir Hills to live with their neighbours so that they would be closer to their places of work.
“I don’t think there is anything wrong with the newly identified property, all we need is to be moved back to to Reservoir Hills. We have been suffering for a long time, proper housing is a necessity. Getting to work is hard from Westville is there is no public transport nearby. We don’t mind moving to temporary housing. We are not even sure how long that is going to take,” he said.
Ward 23 Councillor, Alicia Kisson said : “A meeting was held with the Provincial and eThekwini Departments of Housing, Human settlements and Disaster Management as well as Ratepayers and beneficiaries of the housing scheme who are currently housed in Truro Hall. This has become a humanitarian crisis as people from our ward need to continue with their lives and this matter needs to be dealt with that urgency. The Department had identified land in a residential area and ratepayers insist that the humane formal housing needs to be erected urgently for those people affected while the beneficiaries want temporary housing structures. The ratepayers raised concerns that the land identified by provincial is not geologically suitable and which also had a landslide this weekend. The department needs to urgently address this matter and provide residents with an immediate solution.”
Reservoir Hills Ratepayers Association Chairman, Ish Prahladh said that the property identified needs to be inspected by geologists and and engineering department as it was also washed away by the floods.
“That property is below road level. During April floods mudslides entered residents’ homes and water gushed through the property. During this weekend’s rain it was the same issue. This property needs to be inspected first by geologists, engineers and other relevant departments. Proper drainage has to be put in place otherwise the houses that are going to be built on this property will be washed away,” said Prahladh.
