Durban — Concerns remain regarding the flood victims who were allegedly evicted from Tehuis Hostel in Umlazi on Wednesday after they were moved into a building that was not suitable to house all of them.
The victims, believed to number around 100, were evicted on Wednesday night and spent the night out in the open outside the Lamontville police station after they were locked out of the property they were supposed to have occupied.
In response, the eThekwini Municipality said it had found the victims alternative accommodation.
On Friday afternoon, eThekwini Municipality ward 33 councillor Sakhile Mngadi updated residents in the areas his ward covered, alerting them that the flood victims had been moved to his ward.
Mngadi said that the displaced people were moved to a closed-down residence in the Berea area.
“I’ve been on the scene with DA members of the provincial legislature and officials of the municipality and have made it clear that this is the responsibility of the municipality’s Disaster Management Unit,” Mngadi said.
Mngadi assured residents that all measures were being taken to remedy the situation.
On Friday afternoon Mngadi, while standing outside the residence, said he wanted to make it very clear that the placement of the flood victims in his ward had not gone through his office as the ward councillor of the area.
He said that at around 1 o’clock on Friday afternoon, they remained unclear about what was happening, what co-ordinating efforts were in play, how long the displaced people were going to stay there and what the long-term sustainability of their staying there was.
“We're not sure if this building’s equipped for the over 100 people that are here. From my understanding, this building can only take about 30 people,” Mngadi said.
“We know that they are water and sanitation issues that we are not sure if eThekwini Municipality has addressed accordingly.”
He said that what was clear was that the flood victims had been moved from pillar to post and it was unconscionable that the municipality would treat young women and children, especially, in this manner and leave them in conditions like this.
“So I want to assure you all as residents of ward 33 that as your councillor I am aware of what's going on. I'm going to be in constant communication with city officials to ensure that we remedy what’s going on here and that we ensure that these people are not only safe but that the mechanisms that are in place to ensure that Disaster Management does what it's supposed to do to take care of these people are done.”
He added that there were organisations helping with food. There was no indication from the municipality whether or not the people are being fed consistently.
He said the matter needed serious action from the city manager, the mayor's office and from a number of officials involved, to ensure that “we ascertain exactly what's going on here and that the residents that live in this area are also kept abreast about developments”.
On Thursday the eThekwini Municipality announced that it had found alternative accommodation for the flood victims that were evicted from Tehuis Hostel on Wednesday night.
It is believed that the flood victims, including children, were evicted from Tehuis Hostel and dumped outside the Lamontville police station, south of Durban.
In a statement, the municipality said it had found new accommodation for evicted flood victims.
The municipality said that following the eviction of displaced flood victims who had been housed at the Tehuis Hall since the April floods, the city could confirm that new accommodation had been found.
“The city had initially decided to move the residents to Wema Hostel. However, during the move, the city was advised of potential security risks in the area. For the safety of the residents, the buses travelling to Wema Hostel were re-routed to the Lamontville police station for safety reasons. The residents remained there under guard until they could be moved,” the municipality said.
“Meanwhile, the city is also investigating the cause of the initial eviction as well as the potential security threat.”
Daily News