Victims of a fire that left hundreds of people homeless in Ngqeleni are calling for government intervention. Many houses were destroyed by a fire in 2008, while 34 households were affected by raging veld fires in September last year.
This left three families, whose houses were gutted by the fire, homeless. They still have no homes and stay with neighbours.
Ntsimbini village in Ngqeleni has been hit by the same disaster twice. The first incident was raging veld fires in 2008. The residents were provided with temporary structures, which are now old and leaking.
Another fire broke out last year, while the residents were still waiting for decent houses, leaving them hopeless.
An elderly man, Ngcingane Vanya has been a victim of both fires and he now lives in a dilapidating temporary structure.
“My home was burnt in the first fire in 2008. They gave me this structure. Then last year another fire burnt this structure and there was a strong wind that blew the roof away. I found the roof in the bushes and I rebuilt this shack by myself so that I can have a roof over my head,” says Vanya.
Housing project at standstill
In 2015, a housing project resumed in the village. The fire victims were among the beneficiaries, but only concrete slabs were erected. Six years later, the project is still incomplete.
Some victims of the fire, including Nomawethu Mpayipheli and Nozimama Jalile, still stay with relatives.
“Since the fire broke out in September, I’m still staying in someone’s place. I do not have a place of my own that I can call home. All we ask is for government to intervene as our leader, so that we can have homes. We are still struggling for a place to stay,” says Mpayipheli.
“My two-roomed house burnt to the ground. Now, I’m pleading for the government to assist me because I do not have the means to build another house. I had to go back to my maiden home,” says Jalile.
Government’s ’empty promises’
Traditional leader, Mbukeni Mkrokrelwa says they are tired of the government’s empty promises.
“Authorities have been promising to come to us but till now they have not come. The slabs are lying there, idling. People here are confused because they don’t have a place to stay,” says Mkrokrelwa.
The Nyandeni Local Municipality has attributed the 13-year delay to budget constraints. The municipality’s portfolio head of Human Settlements, Phila Godongwana says they are now prioritising the project in the village.
“There is a contractor called Big Boy, which has been appointed to build the houses at Ntsimbini village. But we will give ourselves some time to go and visit the village to make sure the families are safe,” says Godongwana.
There are a number of other projects that have been left incomplete in various wards around Ngqeleni. Some have concrete slabs to show, while others have walls without roofs.
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