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Govt did not respond timeously in KZN floods: Minister Kubayi

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Human Settlement Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi has conceded that government did not respond fast enough to the devastating floods in KwaZulu-Natal in April and May.

She says the Department of Human Settlements needs to build capacity to respond to disasters faster.

“But again, you would see with the plans that are here, that we build with dignity, were giving people dignity. We are building for communities to be safe. We are thinking about the children. And that’s what human settlements are about. Hence, we are no longer a Department of Housing, we are about human settlements where they stay resilience in terms of the communities. But helping the cities as well to be able to build better,” says Kubayi.

Kubayi and United Nations Human Settlement Programme executive director Maimunah Mohd Sharif visited the Pemilton informal settlement in Durban’s Reservoir Hills.

The programme promotes transformative change in cities and human settlements through knowledge, policy, and collaborative action.

Six months after the floods that wreaked havoc in KwaZulu-Natal, flood survivors are still living in community halls. Over 400 people died in the first flooding incident in April. Over 8 500 houses were destroyed.

Now plans are under way to relocate over 47 families from informal settlements in Reservoir Hills, that were wiped out by the gushing mudslides and floodwaters.

In the aftermath, they were relocated to a community hall in Westville. Now the Reservoir Hills Ratepayers Association says they have reached an agreement with the eThekwini Municipality to build permanent housing for these flood survivors in the area. This is a departure from initial opposition to plans for temporary residential units in the area.

Ratepayers Association chair, Ish Prahladh says, “We are thrilled that permanent housing is going up. Geologist tests have been done, the land is fine. It’s a win-win situation for us now that permanent housing is going up for our people, no TRUs (Temporary Residential Units) which have meant that number 20 informal settlements in Reservoir Hills. This is definitely a win for ratepayers in all areas of eThekwini, to go this way and make sure that all the informal have permanent housing, “says Prahladh.

Residents at another informal settlement in the eThekwini Municipality at New Germany, say they feel neglected by government. Here shacks are made up of corrugated iron with small passages to walk through. The area is littered with rubbish and mobile bathrooms, some are leaking. In some instances, up to ten family members share a room. Community member Protas Ndlovu describes his living conditions.

“Housing is the major issue here. Unfortunately, this new Germany informal settlement is one of the informal settlements that has not had one person being moved to a proper housing. So, it’s very difficult, it brings tears to talk about it because from 1994 we are staying here and you see people are getting free houses all over South Africa. But nobody is coming on board to say here is what it is, this is the plan, this is when you guys are going to get new houses, they only come with saying that they are building but nothing has materialised,” says Ndlovu.

Full Interview with floods victims in Durban:

Meanwhile, executive director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme  Sharif says the collaboration between the UN and South Africa will help to improve people’s lives.

“So, I really hope that this collaboration will really improve the quality of people lives. We have already list down what are the things that would like to do, one is on the planning on the policy alignment,  second, is on the actual work on the ground in terms of the human settlements or participatory or slum transformation this is one of the projects that you can see that he’s not upgrading but transform that is insane of mobility. Fourth, in terms of employment and now with all this climate change and climate calamity, I think this is one of the areas in which will lead to do. Africa is one of the continents that is urbanised very fast,” explain Sharif.

Sharif is also expected to visit the Western Cape to assess similar informal living spaces.

Human Settlements minister hosts Director of United Nations Habitat, Maimunah Mohd Sharif

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