Durban flood victims left homeless in April have had a taste of privacy, albeit for a short while.
Last week about 300 eThekwini families displaced from Mega village outside the Mega City Mall in Umlazi’s V-section, who had been occupying the Montclair Lodge illegally from July, were ordered off the property after Transnet obtained an eviction order.
This week the human settlements department stepped in and leased the building to house the flood victims for six months.
“The department will prioritise women, children and people with disabilities, and will take full responsibility for the management of the lodge and its related costs,” Transnet said.
“In due course, Transnet Property will enter into negotiations to formally sell the lodge, with the department of human settlements getting first right of refusal.”
Transnet Property CEO Kapei wa Phahlamohlaka is reported as having said the department will not pay rent during the lease period, but will be responsible for the management and operating costs related to the accommodation of people, including rates, taxes and security.
The “first refusal right” gives the human settlements minister the option to buy the building before the end of November.
“The property was already advertised in the market for disposal. Now we have people, possibly, who want to buy the property and have submitted their bids. All that will be suspended to give the minister the right to exercise first refusal to acquire the property.
“If the minister chooses not to, we have decided and agreed in our lease agreement that the department will have to find alternative accommodation for these people and we believe six months is enough to find that alternative accommodation,” he said.
One of the residents, Xoliswa Ngcobo, said they had seen how long it takes the government to move victims out of shelters.
“We were also flooded in the village in April 2019, on the third or fourth, and some people were moved to live in tents while government promised to find alternative places for them; they stayed there until last year.
“So we are not fighting anyone. We were just trying to put pressure on the government by occupying that building. We want to remind them that there is a need to do something for us. We don’t want them to play with us until 2024.”
Describing life in the two weeks they spent in Montclair Lodge, Nomvula Dlamini — a member of the house committee in the Yellowwood Park hall where they lived before — said it reminded her of a normal life.
“It was a brief reminder of what normal life feels like; having privacy again, being in a room with just your children, having peaceful sleep again; waking up and getting children ready for school and going back to sleep again.”
However, as much as they are looking forward to moving into the building in the short term, the group said it wasn’t a long-term solution to their housing needs.
“So what happens after six months? When the time they have set has elapsed and they have bought the building. I hope they don’t plan to house us there permanently,” said Mduduzi Mlangeni, who was part of the group that previously occupied the building.
“The good thing about being there is that it is already a temporary shelter so there is no need to move us around again while seeking a long-term solution for us. As a temporary shelter, it’s great, it’s one of the best you can hope for, but as your permanent home the rooms are too small.
“You can only fit a single bed and maybe a small fridge and that’s it. One gets an idea that it was never meant to be a home from when it was created.”
We are now ready to deploy contractors to kick-start earthworks for construction of roads and the provision of bulk infrastructure such as water and sanitation
— Dr Ntuthuko Mahlaba, human settlements and public works MEC
Dr Ntuthuko Mahlaba, provincial human settlements and public works MEC, confirmed this was a temporary measure while government was working on a permanent housing solution.
He said they have since taken the decision to buy the building, which can accommodate more than 200 people.
“Yes, we will be buying the building (after the lease period). It will be a temporary measure while we’re working on a long-term solution,” he said.
Mahlaba was one of the delegates who attended the follow-up visit of the parliamentary ad hoc committee on flood disaster relief and recovery in Durban. The committee sought updates from the provincial government and eThekwini municipality on the progress of assisting flood victims to return to normal life.
The city had confirmed during its presentation to the committee that the total cost to acquire the building from Transnet would be R33m.
They also added they would have to pay about R400,000 monthly to cover security, rates and taxes.
Mahlaba said they had completed the detailed assessments on 38 land parcels, totalling 78ha, that were acquired by the national and provincial departments of public works as well as eThekwini municipality.
“About 92 shelters have been linked to land parcels that have been acquired for the building of homes. The land parcels are at different stages of readiness,” he said.
“Importantly, the acquisition of La Mercy Land from Tongaat Hulett is now at an advanced stage with all necessary approvals being fast-tracked.
“A key milestone we have reached is finalising the procurement of service providers to deal with earthworks on all the identified sites from Ntshongweni to Ntuzuma, including Reservoir Hills. The last phase has been completed after approvals from provincial treasury and the auditor-general.
“We are now ready to deploy contractors to kick-start earthworks for construction of roads and the provision of bulk infrastructure such as water and sanitation.”
He said aside from Montclair Lodge, the city is assessing six other council properties. The properties include:
- the Palm Beach Hotel, which is owned by the department of public works;
- seven units in Ntuzuma E302 flats, which were offered by the owner at R3m; and
- the KwaMakhutha Health nursing home, which the city is negotiating with the departments of public works and health to purchase.
The city is also assessing land that can accommodate 100 temporary residential units in Ntuzuma that was offered to them to lease for 12 months at R1.5m and a sports park project, which is being reprioritised to accommodate 250 TRUs for flood victims.
The city said it would need at least R500m to evacuate the flood victims from the mass care centres.
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