IT is a very poor indictment of our municipality and our principles of Batho Pele that since the heavy rains, which left much of Durban under water, nothing has been done to assist the Stockville victims of the floods.
After originally placing survivors in a small privately owned church hall where they stayed for three days, I had them moved to the old Kloof administration offices in Emolweni Road.
There are eight families who lost everything they owned and were, quite literally, left with the clothes on their backs.
After the flood, I put out an appeal to the local community in my ward and the response was overwhelming. As a result, these families (which include small children and babies) have been provided with food, clothing, blankets and toiletries, that, to a large extent, has given them a measure of comfort.
The community has also provided three small stoves so they are able to cook themselves hot meals, prior to which community members ensured they received two hot meals per day.
What is most distressing is that everything they now have was provided by the community and businesses in Ward 10.
The municipality has done absolutely nothing and disaster management, apart from a brief visit shortly after the flood, have been noticeably absent.
I have tried to contact the COO and he appears to be missing in action. With the greatest respect, your office and that of housing have not assisted in any way.
It is now more than four weeks that these families have been living in limbo and they desperately need assistance, which the municipality seems unwilling or unable to provide.
Perhaps you can find the time in your busy schedule to actually make a decision and provide the assistance which the city has a moral obligation to fulfill.
eThekwini Municipality’s spokesman, Msawakhe Mayisela, responds:
An offi cial from the City’s Disaster Management Unit has had a discussion with Councillor Tex Collins. In their discussion it was made evident that the affected community has not been telling him the truth regarding relief provision to the shelter and the number of profiling that has been done.
It was, therefore, explained to him what has been provided based on the daily and weekly supply to the shelter and the concerns noted.
The only matter that is outstanding was the provision of building material as this is a common challenge throughout all the shelters and the City is looking to address this.
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