Durban — The DA in KwaZulu-Natal has revealed that flood victims could wait for up to four years for temporary housing, after the party’s spokesperson on human settlements, Marlaine Nair sent parliamentary questions to the Department of Human Settlements concerning accommodation for the victims.
Responding to the questions, Human Settlements MEC Dr Ntuthuko Mahlaba said that there were 135 halls or centres housing flood victims from the outset - in eThekwini (120), KwaDukuza (11), Ugu (3) and Msunduzi (1).
The department also provided Nair with a list of halls that were currently “active”. There were 75 in eThekwini, 11 in Ilembe and one in Umgungundlovu.
In the 120 mass care centres in eThekwini, 3 809 households were waiting to be housed. In KwaDukuza 215 households, in Ugu none of the households, and in Msunduzi eight households were waiting to be housed.
Mahlaba also said that various sector departments and municipalities that have a role in the maintenance of halls were making ongoing visits to them.
He also said that families whose homes had been partially damaged were provided with building material vouchers by the Department of Human Settlements.
However, when Nair asked what value of the building material vouchers was, Mahlaba said the question was not applicable because no vouchers had been issued.
Nair, in relation to the material vouchers, asked the MEC if any flood victims had rebuilt their homes on flood plains or in areas where their houses might again be flooded.
Mahlaba said: “The department has no record of resettlement of victims on flood plains once again.”
On temporary residential units (TRUs), Nair asked about their completion, allocation, budget, and plan.
Mahlaba said that the plan was to empty all mass care centres as soon as possible; however, the construction of TRUs depended on the availability of suitable building sites. There was a budget to build a total of 4 983 TRUs and the phase 1 procurement for the construction of 1 810 TRUs has yielded 1 138 completed TRUs to date.
Further procurement of service providers, with the intention to build more units, will be done when land parcels are ready for the construction of top structures.
“The provision of TRU is mainly to assist the destitute families with no shelter; criteria used is to prioritise victims occupying mass care centres followed by victims residing with relatives and neighbours,” Mahlaba said.
He said that there was a sufficient budget to build all TRUs by December 2022.
“R342 million was set aside for the construction of TRUs and the remainder is budgeted for other interventions (hostel repairs, appointment of professionals etc),” Mahlaba said.
“The TRUs are constructed with the plan to come back with permanent solution at a later stage; either single-standing dwelling or high rise depending on the number of sites that can be yielded by the particular land parcel.
“The TRU structure is designed to have a 5-year lifespan. Department, working with national departments and municipalities, is in the process of sourcing funding to eradicate TRUs using different subsidy instruments within human settlements.”
Reacting to Mahlaba’s responses, Nair said that the DA has concluded that, based on the current delivery rate by KwaZulu-Natal’s Department of Human Settlements, it could be as long as four years before all of the province’s flood victims are finally moved to TRUs.
“The belief is based on, amongst others, KZN’s existing housing backlog, the slow delivery of land parcels for flood victims and the department’s own failure to meet TRU construction targets despite R342 million having been set aside for this very purpose,” Nair said.
“The figure is also supported by a written parliamentary reply in September by KZN Human Settlement MEC, Nthuthuko Mahlaba which confirms that the department failed to meet its own deadline of constructing 1 810 TRUs by end of July and only built 1 139.”
Nair said the reply further states that R174 million has also been budgeted for interventions including hostel repairs and any other expenses related to the housing of flood victims. It also includes a failure by the MEC to commit to an estimated date for all flood victims to be housed.
She said the information came after an explosive report by the auditor-general which confirmed that the department had spent only R33.14 million of the R516 million allocated for flood victims’ TRUs by July.
“It is not clear why KZN’s ANC-run government has not spent more of this budget while flood victims continue to suffer enormously and while the province faces further violent summer storms. With 4 032 families currently living at 87 KZN mass care centres – and at an average of four members per family – there are an estimated 16 128 flood victims still waiting,” Nair said.
She said the reply also states that KZN still has 87 out of an initial 135 halls open. Meanwhile, eThekwini Municipality still has 75 mass care centres open, with only 44 linked to land parcels to date.
She said that another concern was the issuing of vouchers for flood victims who experienced partial damage to their homes. During an earlier oversight, the former MEC indicated that R10 000 vouchers would be offered to them and that officials were on the ground identifying beneficiaries. Yet, according to the reply, not a single material voucher had been handed over by September.
“The lack of urgency and prioritisation of flood victims is unsurprising given the existence of decades-old transit camps and massive housing backlogs. The DA fully expects that, on the eve of the 2024 elections, houses will be handed over to KZN’s flood victims en masse. This is how the ANC operates.
“The ANC continues to fail the people of KZN, in particular its most vulnerable members of society. The DA remains committed to its role as KZN’s most effective opposition and will continue to expose what is an uncaring and unfit government,” Nair said.
Daily News