Lungani Zungu
Families who were displaced by the deadly April floods were overjoyed when KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube told them they would be housed on Saturday.
But their excitement was short-lived.
On Sunday, residents of Reservoir Hills in Durban blocked them from occupying the temporary residential units at a local facility.
However, the 40 families, who have been crammed in Truro Hall in Westville, were elated again on Monday when they were allowed to enter the 50-room residential unit.
Ashwin Pillay, who was among those who barred the flood victims from entering the facility, said they had nothing against them.
“The last time people occupied this building, the drainage system was blocked and there was sewage all over the street. As long as that does not happen, then there will be nothing for us to worry about,” said Pillay.
The government will rent the building until houses are built for the victims.
“We are happy that we are going to have a better place to stay now. It’s been a rough six months. We just hope that the government will build proper houses for us soon,” said Thandeka Ngcobo.
Dube-Ncube said the provincial government was allocated R221.8 million by the Municipal Disaster Response Grant to cater for the victims of the flood.
Despite snags, Dube-Ncube said the provincial government aims to relocate all the flood victims before the looming festive season.
More than 5,000 people were displaced when the floods hit KZN and some parts of the Eastern Cape in April.
By her own admission, Dube-Ncube said the shelters were “horrible” and “not the proper place for our people”.
