‘They don’t care about us’ – Usindiso survivors on their new living conditions

Heavy rains and floods have drenched the homes the Usindiso building fire survivors were moved to in Denver. Up to 76 people died in the fire.

Residents have raised concerns that the heavy rains caused the flooding due to a lack of stormwater drainage systems.

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Sifiso Mlambo said although the government had moved them to this area following the fire, it was not a safe area.

“As you can see, there is not even a gate here. At night, anyone comes in here, which poses a safety risk. And when it rains, our homes end up flooded.”

Mlambo said the houses built were not strong and the living conditions were not conducive. “I don’t know how they expect us to vote when living in such conditions.

“When it shows there is rain coming, we get nervous because it is not safe at all. You can never sleep here when it is raining.

“The municipality did not put any effort into these houses. You can take one of them and tell them to live here – they wouldn’t. It is like they were doing this just for the sake of it. They do not care.” Mlambo said, as residents, they also lived in darkness as there was no electricity in the area.

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“Inside our homes, we do not have electricity so we have resorted to using gas and paraffin stoves. We have been previously exposed to a fire so it makes us very uneasy that, if a fire were to break out here, we have no resources to help us.”

Some houses in Soweto were also affected by the heavy rain. More than 10 houses were flooded. A resident from Protea South, Mpili Mosedi, said it has been difficult to deal with the after-effects of the heavy rain.

“I was at work when the rain started and had to rush home. Because my roofing is not that strong, the water came in and flooded my house. I had to clean the house and drain the water late at night,” he said.