A meeting to be held to discuss housing for the flood victims moved from Westville

A MEETING between the residents of Reservoir Hills and the KZN government will be held following the residents’ concerns over flood victims who are set to be moved to the area from Truro Hall in Westville. This followed after residents voiced their concerns about the building the victims were going to be allocated to. 

The KwaZulu-Natal premier, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, visited the hall yesterday, along with the MEC for Human Settlements, Dr Ntuthuko Mahlaba, to give an update on progress made in KwaZulu-Natal since the April and May 2022 flood disasters. They were also going to announce the latest decisions taken by the Executive Council on key issues in the province.

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Forty-seven people accommodated in Truro Hall were set to move to a facility that is a former student housing complex. The government said this facility has the following: 50 lockable rooms with two or three beds each; 112 beds; CCTV cameras; hot water; a perimeter fence, a security gate and biometrics; a kitchen with four-plate stoves; a lounge; a kids’ homework area; an en-suite bathroom and common bathroom, and a guardhouse.

The Department of Social Development will issue vouchers to the families during the course of the week to assist in procuring food items.

“Government has put in place a practical plan to move people out of community care centres by the end of November 2022. To date, we have reduced these centres from 135 to 80. As was announced, the National Department of Human Settlements has since granted a total amount of R325m to the Provincial Department from the Provincial Emergency Housing Grant for the provision of emergency housing solutions,” stated the premier. 

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Residents in Reservoir Hills said they are concerned about the living conditions of the people who will be moved. The Reservoir Hills Ratepayers Association chairperson, Ish Prahladh, said they knew on Sunday morning that the residents would be moved to the said building. 

“Our concern is the safety of the 47 people who will be housed there. We do not know if this place has been examined, and we do not know of any buildings in the area that can house 47 people, except for flats, and that is not a flat. The government must make sure these people were victims of floods, and they must not put them where it is unsafe. All protocols must be adhered to. There are 47 people’s lives involved in this situation,” he said. 

The details of the meeting are still to be communicated.