Never-Never shacks destroyed after the storm
“We don’t want to protest and block Paul Kruger Road because innocent people will be affected, but they have left us with no choice,” says Lerato Makoakoa, member of the Never-Never Informal Settlement Committee.
Never-Never informal settlement residents narrowly escaped injury after the storm last Friday evening.
Some shacks were destroyed after trees fell on their shacks.
Riana Buffelbout says she never thought the trees would fall on her shack.
“At around 7.30 pm, I heard people screaming for me to come to my house.
“I saw my grandchildren running towards me and one had scratches on her arm.
“I nearly lost my children, my life,” says Riana.
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Riana says her whole kitchen was destroyed and she now lives in fear of the next storm.
Susan Radebe was also fortunate to be outside her house when the tree fell over.
“I was on my way back from hanging my clothes when I heard the tree crack.
“As my friend and I were walking past, the tree fell over and it almost hit us.”
The residents say this is not the first time something like this has happened over the years.
They fear someone will die as a result of the trees.
The residents allege they have been given the run around by council and the owner of the land their settlement is on, Henlo Meyer, and are caught between the two.
They allege when they requested to move closer to the road, away from the trees, Meyer told them to speak to council and council, in turn, told them to speak to Meyer.
However, Meyer disputes this and says, “We (him and the residents) had that conversation a couple of years ago and I told the residents they cannot move closer to the road as council was in the process of moving them.
“I gave council notice 10 years ago that they had three years to move the people, but so far nothing has happened.”
Meyer went on to say moving people away from the trees would only create a bigger problem as more people would move in behind them, and rather urged council to keep their promises to the residents as they have been waiting for close to 15 years now.
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“We have been waiting for years to move to the location the council promised us.
“People must die first before something happens.
“We don’t want to protest and block Paul Kruger Road because innocent people will be affected, but they have left us with no choice,” says Lerato Makoakoa, member of the Never-Never Informal Settlement Committee.
Ward councillor for the ward Thulani Simelane says in the municipal plan for 2018/2019 financial year, there are plans to put basic infrastructure services in the settlement and the residents will be moved in the 2019/2020 financial year to the Brakpan Old Location.
The residents say they have giving council 12 days to respond to them before they protest.
The metro failed to respond in time for publication.
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