Durban — The eThekwini Municipality has indicated that it understands the frustration of those who live in shelters because of heavy rainfall and floods that battered the municipality in April.
The municipality said restoring their dignity and their homes was a priority. It said it continues to work with all spheres of government to ensure there is no delay in resettling flood victims in a place they can call home.
Here the municipality answers 6 questions on how they have been tackling the re-settlement of flood victims:
1. How many families have been resettled?
In total 145 families have been provided with building materials to enable them to rebuild their homes in areas that are not prone to flooding. In addition, the KZN Department of Human Settlements (KZN DHS) has constructed 38 temporary residential units (TRUs). The construction of these units in eThekwini is expected to increase over the coming weeks.
2. How is the municipality determining where to start with resettlement?
The priority is to assist families currently living in mass care centres. Materials are being distributed to those who come from areas where rebuilding on their original site is possible. Those who were living in wetlands and on riverbanks are discouraged from rebuilding at the same sites and will be provided with TRUs in safer areas.
3. Has the process of identifying land parcels to build started?
Yes. Both eThekwini and KZN DHS have identified land for the construction of TRUs. Nine parcels of municipal-owned land have been handed over to the KZN DHS for the development of temporary layouts and construction of TRUs. Town planners are busy subdividing the land. A further 23 parcels are still being assessed, in addition to 10 KZN DHS sites currently being assessed.
4. How do people in mass care centres apply for building materials?
If you are staying in a mass care centre, you do not have to apply. Our teams have verified the number of people in each centre and are delivering materials according to the lists.
5. How far is the process of repairing BNG (breaking new ground) homes, formerly known as RDP homes, which were not in flood-prone areas?
Assessment of damaged BNG houses is complete. Construction work is under way and so far 30 BNG houses are being rebuilt/repaired.
6. The process to resettle families seems to be moving slowly, why is this?
The municipality is committed to resettling families as quickly as possible. However, to do this right and to build better, processes must be followed. These include identifying suitable land, installing bulk infrastructure, town planning considerations and procurement processes. All these take time but once they are completed and building starts, the process should move fast.
Two Sundays ago, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala said a total of 27 069 households were affected in the floods, with 8 584 houses totally destroyed and 13 536 partially destroyed.
On the progress on rehabilitation and reconstruction, Zikalala said major progress has been made to get the province fully back on its feet, with it now entering the second stage – which is to restore infrastructure and revive the economy.
Zikalala said that as they continued constructing TRUs, their focus was to accommodate more than 4 396 families that were accommodated in halls, churches and schools.
“At least 206 TRUs have been completed to date and there is progress in identifying land for further building. So far four properties under Tongaat Hulett have been identified. Of the land identified in other parts of the province, 258 land parcels (41.88%) do not have geophysical constraints, with 5.8% out of these being in eThekwini,” Zikalala said.
Daily News