By Bongekile Gumede
Springfield resident, Vassan Martin of Ribes Place, said he has suffered a huge loss of over R380 000 worth of valuables in the April floods, which is an amount he counted without including the four vehicles which were written off by his insurance company after they were partly submerged in muddy water during the April floods.
The construction business owner said he could have also lost his life in the floods as the water was about two metres high in his yard, almost covering and overflowing his concrete fencing. Martin said that as a result of the Umgeni River’s bank bursting, water was entering his property from both his front and back entrances.
“From the back of the house, the water from the river came and hit the bank just below the freeway and entered back into my yard where all my work vehicles and new SUV were parked. In the front entrance, the water came from the top of Fox Glove Road into my yard and into my house, which had just been renovated, flooding all the furniture inside. Every room was flooded, including my bedroom, and if my tenants had not woken me up my family would have been entrapped in the house,” said Martin.
He said that almost 20 houses on Fox Glove Road and Ribes Road were affected and, to date, Fox Glove Road is still flooded, blocking him from using his back entrance.
“I did notify the municipality. I even called the Roads Department superintendent to ask for help but he told me that their hands were tied. As a ratepayer, I am concerned as all the services and resources are being used in places where the people do not pay rates and we are left to sort ourselves out. I am not saying that the municipality should not help non-ratepaying residents in need of relief, however, they must allocate some teams to the formal residents who have equally been affected by the disaster,” said Martin.
He said that in order to get some of the water out from his yard, he and his helper had to dig trenches to reduce the water levels, however, this did not help as the road is still flooded. “A month later there is still water in my yard.” He said Fox Glove Road is not his problem alone, other residents have also been affected, but it seems that he is the only one “making a noise” about it which is also concerning.
“I made a call to other residents using this road to also report the matter or come up with resolutions to fix the road and hold the municipality liable, however, no one wants to join the party. I also tried getting assistance from the councillor before the resurgence of the floods, however, I could not get through to him. All I am asking for, as a ratepayer in this municipality, is for them to prioritise us,” said Martin.
He said that as a result of the recent heavy rains, a sewer line on his street got blocked resulting in raw sewage now overflowing from the manhole and in addition to having to deal with the smell of wet floors and furniture in his home, he now has to deal with the stench coming from the manhole.
“The sewer was also reported and a team was sent out on Monday to have a look. The guys just stood and looked and then left. I feel that service delivery in our Springfield area is really an issue, yet the money generated from our rates is being used elsewhere. What happens if we stop paying rates? Where will the municipality get money to render the services they are rendering to the informal residents? This is really unfair,” said Martin.
He said he is again calling on the affected residents in the Springfield area to come together and hold the municipality accountable. Martin said that since the first floods he has not received any assistance from eThekwini Municipality.
Ward 25 Councillor, Themba Mkhize, said his responsibility as the councillor is to report the damages to the municipality and since Martin has already contacted the municipality, he should wait for them to get back to him. “With regards to prioritising residents, his situation is better than those who were displaced and have no roof over their heads. By this I do not mean that he will not get help, however, the municipality is busy assisting the people who were affected the worst, and it will take time to get to everyone who was affected. I also took it upon myself to allocate someone to go out in the ward and assess the damage. The people were then required to submit their IDs so that I could submit them to the relevant office.”
Cllr Mkhize urged residents who were affected by the floods to contact him by calling 078-219-4274 and asked that they please do not contact him via WhatsApp.
