Pretoria - The City of Tshwane MMC for Human Settlements Abel Tau had said he was confident that this time around all the people hit by floods in Eerste Fabrieke informal settlement in Mamelodi would have been relocated by the end of October.
After first being hit by the floods in 2019, the area was yet again swept away at the weekend after heavy rains.
Tau said the efforts to acquire land for the people were delayed by various complications, including overpricing, the budget to pay for the cost to relocate the families, and cost of supplying them with basic needs such as water and chemical toilets.
The residents yesterday said the wait had been frustrating and that they were tired of promises. The community made headlines in 2019 when the informal settlement was hit by flash floods, leaving thousands homeless.
Mandla Mahlangu said: “How many other heavy rains are we going to have to endure before October comes and we are relocated? This is a very dangerous situation we are in because lately these rains have been pouring hard.
“We would also like to take this moment to dispel the rumour that there are some people who refused to be relocated. Why would anyone fight to live next to an unsafe river? The problem is that they are dividing us with just small things and they do not see.
“For instance, right now there are some of our people accommodated in a community hall in Mamelodi west. Fine, but you cannot expect all of us to leave our valuables unguarded just to live in a hall and queue for soup and some blankets.
flooding in #Mamelodi. #Pretoria. South Africa #flood #flooding #floods #FlashFlood #heavyrain #HeavyRains #tormenta #thunderstorm #rainfall #alluvione #lluvias #lluvia #chuvas #aluvión pic.twitter.com/fXfqBXYnOJ
“One of the problems starts right there because eventually when help comes it goes to those people and we are forgotten here or uncounted.”
Tau said he would be the first to admit that they should have already turned things around since 2019 when the area was first hit by the floods.
He said since assuming office again as MMC he has learnt that the deal for a piece of land that was big enough to accommodate 15 000 housing settlements, including the Mamelodi flood victims and other residents who needed land, fell through.
“The reality is that we are seized with wanting to find a permanent solution.
“One of our fixations is to find pieces of land that are owned by the City where we can move these people.”
EFF whip in council councillor Leofi Leshabana, who engaged the community, and other party members were assisting those who needed to rebuild their shacks. They also gave some people clothes.
Floods wreaking havoc in Mamelodi😔 pic.twitter.com/hXjmuYne2H
— SA Trucker (@rsa_trucker) February 5, 2022
Leshabana said this matter should have been dealt with long ago by the local and provincial governments, but it appeared to him that they were not pro-poor enough.
He said the EFF has been saying that section 25 of the Constitution must be amended to have the Land Expropriation Without Compensation Bill passed into law, but the ANC that was built through the struggles of land has been the one delaying the process.
“Our people basically have nowhere to stay. Nobody can choose to live near a river bank, and in many other areas our people, particularly black people, are subjected to these kind of living conditions.
“In Tshwane for instance, the municipality has been saying they are selling land. I am surprised Tau is talking about buying land.
“How do you sell land and buy it back? It does not make sense.”
Pretoria News