19 buildings identified to house KZN flood victims

The provincial government has identified 19 buildings in which to house people from communities that were affected by the floods earlier this year.

KZN Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube on Sunday said contractors have started working on some of the identified sites.

She was providing an update on progress made by the province since the April and May 2022 flood disasters, and some decisions taken by the executive council on issues around the province.

The premier had difficulty responding to concerns about overcrowding, ablution facilities and noise, among others, raised by the Reservoir Hills residents in response to the choice of the facility to house the flood victims.

Dube-Ncube and some of her government officials started the day by visiting families housed at the Truro Hall Community Centre in Durban where they informed 47 families that starting from Sunday, they would be relocating to a 50-room building where each family will have their own room.

… Earthworks and construction is under way a few kilometres down the road from here, where the Department of Human Settlement and Public Works is building 80 new three-storey buildings that will become permanent homes for our citizens whose lives and livelihoods were devastated by the floods

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She said the facility was a student housing complex and has two or three beds in each room. It also has CCTV cameras, hot water, a perimeter fence, kitchen with stoves, guard house and children’s homework area, among other amenities.

She said the government has put in place a practical plan to move people out of community care centres by the end of November.

“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 R325 764 000 to the provincial department from the provincial emergency housing grant for the provision of emergency housing solutions. This has enabled the delivery of temporary residential units (TRU), which to date stand at 1 315 units provincially,” she said.

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She said the remaining 80 shelters have now been linked to land parcels, but these land parcels are at different stages of readiness.

Nineteen buildings, including former student accommodation, former hostels and state-owned properties, have been identified for temporary emergency accommodation.

These facilities are currently not being used.

They include sites at Westpoint, Montclair, and Ntuzuma, which will provide 60 temporary residential units, according to Dube-Ncube. Resident Jagesh Manoo said they were not against accommodating the flood victims in the property, but a lack of consultation by the government was their major concern.

Dube-Ncube said in a television slot that government will be meeting with the residents to listen to and attend to their concerns.