Duduza – Gogo Nomasonto Ngubane (84) from Duduza received her brand new house from the City of Ekurhuleni and Urban Dynamic Architecture on May 7, after living in a waterlogged house for 44 years.
“The water seeping through the floor has always been a problem and got progressively worse to the point that we had to put blankets on the floor to suck up the puddles that were forming,” says her granddaughter, Ntombana Ngubane.
According to Ntombana, the family had been reporting the house since 2006 and in 2016, after it was assessed, it was found to be unfit for occupation and demolished.
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Construction manager Louis Robberts says upon inspection, a spring was found in the backyard, resulting in them having to close it before building the house to prevent it from flooding again.
“We put in a subsoil drain system which goes all the way out to the gate to absorb any water, which took us three weeks and costs R60 000,” says Louis.
Mayor Mzwandile Masina thanked Urban Dynamic Architecture, which sponsored the house, for their great work.
“Thank you to Urban Dynamic Architecture for working with us to ensure we bring dignity to our senior citizens,” he says.
The mayor says the problem started during forced removals when people were moved from high-lying areas and moved to low-lying areas that are not fit for human settlement.
Ntombana says her grandmother is excited to finally be going back to her own house after living with her son while the house was being built.
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“She is very happy to be moving in because she loves her own space and kept visiting the site, even when it was just rubble and dust.
“The previous state of the house hurt her deeply and we can see a change in her demeanor,” she concludes.
The house has a lounge area, a kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms and a carport.
Urban Dynamic Architecture also pledged to donate furniture to gogo Ngubane after her furniture was damaged by the water.
