Duduza doing much better two years after tornado

Duduza has risen from the ruin of a tornado two years ago, Gauteng human settlements MEC Ntombi Mekgwe said.

"Almost 90% of the work that needed to be undertaken has been completed," she said.

On October 2, 2011, a tornado destroyed 841 houses – 306 of them RDP homes – in Duduza, near Nigel, southeast of Johannesburg.

An eight-year-old boy died and more than 160 people were injured when the storm tore through the township, which was declared a disaster area.

Mekgwe said 300 RDP houses had since been rebuilt by private donors at an estimated cost of R16.5 million and another six had yet to be built.

The private sector played a huge role in the redevelopment of the township, she said.

"People of Duduza needed help to put their lives back together. The private sector was with the community from the day the disaster struck."

Mekgwe said the Ekurhuleni municipality had spent R4m on repairing some damaged RDP houses.