Zikalala unveils land parcels for KZN flood victims

The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government has unveiled the land parcels that have been secured and linked to each mass care centre, as part of a programme to get flood victims’ lives back to normal and give them back their dignity.

Giving the latest update on the provincial government’s response to the floods disaster which battered the province in May, KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala unveiled a programme to rehouse flood victims who have lost homes and are still housed in mass care centres.

Zikalala said the provincial government was now in the third stage of its response, which was to focus on rehabilitation and reconstruction. This includes the construction and repair of major infrastructure, as well as the construction of houses in suitably located areas with measures to protect the residents of affected areas from such adverse weather events in the future.

Zikalala said there were currently eight sites identified to build temporary residential units (TRUs) in eThekwini municipality, with three in the North region and five in the West region.

As part of the first phase, Zikalala said the provincial government was at a stage to start the delivery of 1 074 TRUs, which will include ablution. He added the service providers have also been appointed and a major shift in relocating people from shelters is expected.

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“The province has 84 mass care centres, of which 44 have already been linked with a possible land parcel. Detailed assessments on the 44 recommended properties are complete and due to be released by the national department of public works and infrastructure.

“Preliminary engineering design processes are underway for all sites. All designs are in line with the permanent solution. The city [Durban] is required to play its role in the installation of services to connect proposed TRUs with the eThekwini water and sanitation department,” Zikalala said.

The premier announced that the department of human settlements had identified projects worth R2.1 million as necessary to return the displaced families back to normal lives.