‘If I had money I wouldn’t stay in such a place’

Just weeks after more than 800 families were affected by floods in Tshwane, victims in Mamelodi have started rebuilding, clinging to hope that the municipality will relocate them to a safer area.

Despite fearing their lives are in danger, the families say they have no choice but to stay put for now as they have nowhere else to go.

“If I had money I wouldn’t stay in such a place,” said Pieter Chauke, a resident from the Soul City informal settlement in Mountain View, Mamelodi.

Frustrated his bed got wet again on Thursday after being almost dry after the flooding, Chauke said: “I am suffering. It even smells in here. I have lost everything.”

He woke up to the screams of neighbours at about midnight on February 5.

“There was water everywhere, so I just ran outside for safety,” he said.

Rose Mahlangu, whose shack is next to Pienaars River, said she lived in fear daily, especially at the sign of rain.

Mahlangu was in Mpumalanga when the flooding happened. She received a call from her children at 2am to say they had fled to a friend.

Cleaning her shack with her children and grandchildren when Sunday Times Daily visited, Mahlangu appealed to the municipality to move them to a safer area.

“It smells bad inside. The bed was floating on the water, so now it’s too wet to sleep on. We also had to throw away food because the muddy water spoiled everything.”

Boitumelo Ledwaba, who lives in Booysens Extension 4, Pretoria west, said she is scared her children, who sleep on the floor, will one day drown.

The 27-year-old said they were asleep when they heard sound of water in the house.

“We took bricks, trying to put all the furniture on top so it didn’t get too wet.

“Every time it rains we don’t sleep. We can’t move because we do not have money to move or a place to move to.”

Johanna Skhosana, from Willow farm, who is now sleeping at Nellmapius Community Hall, said: “My shack is gone. I don’t have anything now.”

“We had to leave everything and save ourselves. I left the house in only my nightdress. I don’t have a plan. What I want is for the government to assist us and give us a place to stay,” she said.

MMC for human settlements Abel Tau said the matter was a priority for his department.

He said the city had successfully acquired portions of a farm in Mooiplaas near Centurion.

“During phases 1 and 2A of the relocation approximately 610 beneficiaries from Eerste Fabrieke (Mamelodi west Baptist Church), Riverside (Stanza Bopape Community Hall), Mavuso (Nellmapius Community Hall), Mamelodi Ext 11, Transit Camp 1 and 2, and K54 were relocated to the said portions in Mooiplaas.”

Tau said he and community leaders had agreed to meet on Tuesday to discuss a way forward.

Lucas Modisa, leader of Mountain View, under the umbrella of Soul City, said when it rained again on Tuesday residents who had started rebuilding panicked and rushed to the hall, causing overcrowding.

Tired of fighting the elements, he said they were willing to move to Mooiplaas.

The city said more than 800 families affected by the floods were receiving relief assistance, while others had been temporarily relocated to community halls.

Jas Kruger, district commander of operational emergency services allocated to the water rescue unit, said most incidents were in Centurion.

“We also assisted with a lot of rescues in the eastern part of Pretoria.”

He said even though they encountered problems in Mamelodi due to things being thrown at the rescue helicopter, they were able to assist.

“The crew is well trained. The biggest problem was getting to the guys inside dirty, contaminated water in the heavy floods, and it was dark. You can’t see the people, you hear the people screaming on top of trees and in a split second you must decide who to save first.

Kruger said they were assisted by the province and SAPS. “In Centurion we were able to save about 10 people. About six bodies were recovered.”