THE evictees’ worst nightmare befell, spending the cold night in the street, freezing, scared, angry and hungry.

February floods saw more than 150 people of eMathinini informal settlement in Lamontville being evacuated from along the river bank, where they resided. According to the dwellers, the Department of Human Settlements relocated them to a hall in Bayview, and after several days they were relocated to Impala Hotel in South Beach where they stayed for a week. They were then relocated to Bayside Hotel on Dr Pixley KaSeme (West) Street, where they had been for more than three months.

“The living was good here, all the families were accommodated properly, although there was no other aid that we received besides accommodation,” one resident said.

The evictees said last month the rental at the hotel was delayed, and that’s when they started to panic.

“This month the department did not pay, and no one was talking to us and we had zero communication from any government official. The hotel informed us on Monday of this issue, and indicated eviction.  Although we were allowed to stay on for a day, but come Tuesday we were officially kicked out.”

Thulani Mashwadi is one frustrated victim. He stayed at the hotel with his aged mother, his partner and their children, the youngest being four months old.

“This is a total nightmare. We are left here stranded in the street without any plan. Our children are hungry and there is nothing we can do. We can not cook and stuff from our fridges is melting. It’s even worse because some of us cannot afford to buy fast foods because we’re either unemployed or do casual jobs,” lamented Mashwadi. He said it would be comforting if any of the office-bearers would come and address them.

The evictees spent Tuesday night on the street after they opted not to board buses around 23:00which came to transport them to a hall in Chesterville. “But we decided not to go because we were not given detailed information about the destination or what to do with our belongings. Still there was no officials to direct us regarding the move. The people who brought us here were supposed to address us,” shared Mashwadi.

“We do not blame the hotel for the eviction, they are running a business. We fear that they are going to relocate us to one of the terrible marquee shelters, in a guise of temporary arrangement and they will forget about us. We cannot go back to our homes in Lamontville because they were demolished. We are in a state of confusion and despair,“ said one single mother of two.

The spokesperson for the MEC for Transport and Human Settlements, Ndabezinhle Sibiya, said, “MEC  Siboniso Duma yesterday urgently flew out to Gauteng to meet with the National Minister of Human Settlements to resolve the eviction of victims of floods from Bayside Hotel due to delayed payments (R185m has been paid so far to hotels; a further R128m is needed)

“We plead with flood victims evicted from Bayside Hotel to allow eThekwini Municipality and the Department of Human Settlements to move them to Chesterville Community Hall as a temporary measure. It is unfortunate that there are individuals within the victims who mobilised against any move to Chesterville while we sort payments to the hotel. There are terrified individuals who have informed us that they have been intimidated and forced not to move to Chesterville Community Hall.

“This is unacceptable in view of the fact that there are children who were exposed to this cold weather the whole night and this morning. Buses were arranged yesterday evening but some victims flatly refused to be moved. We will continue this morning to plead with them.”

Also read: Damage to KZN companies estimated at R7bn after floods

Sibiya added, “We could have built houses for some victims in identified State-owned land such as in Shallcross and other areas but communities there chased away contractors who were starting to build.” The department said it would further communicate the developments.

DA’s Thabani Ndlovu shared, “We demand that this administration prioritise human dignity over political gamesmanship. The KZN Department of Public Works, led by the DA’s Martin Meyer, recently donated three buildings to eThekwini which can also be considered for accommodating flood victims.”

Parents fear that once schools reopen, it will be mayhem when their children have to travel from any new location. No food aid has come forward yet, and the glaring reality of hopelessness lingers.

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