KANYAMAZANE – With spring on our doorsteps, accompanied by rain and high temperatures, residents may face the reality of sleeping under roofless houses for a while.

Premier Refilwe Mtsweni assured some community members during an inspection that the repairing of roofs damaged by a hailstorm in May, should be completed in three weeks’ time.

Mtsweni, who was accompanied by MEC for human settlements Ms Norah Mahlangu and MEC for Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Mr Speedy Mashilo, visited a few households, much to the disappointment of the community that raised a number of concerns.

Mr Themba Matsebula’s home, covered with a relief tent donated by Cogta shortly after the disaster, was assessed, but he is more concerned about the time frame, considering that his home has to be demolished due to cracks on the walls.

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“There were people who came here once and informed us that it is impossible to only repair the roof because there are too many cracks. But now, I ask myself if it will ever happen and where we will go during that period.

“It is not safe and what is worse, is that in some homes, repairs are half-done,” he pointed out.
Less than a kilometre from Matsebula’s home, on the main road, is another white four-room roofless house belonging to Gogo Ngutshane, who according to neighbours, has moved to another place. The windows are shattered right around the house, with all doors locked and her mail gathering dust on the doorstep.

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“We haven’t seen gogo since that week, but she might be living with relatives somewhere. She is old and lives alone in this house. She would have never coped as you can see there is no roof and almost all the windows are broken,” said one of her neighbours.

Addressing the media, Mtsweni mentioned that as government, they would accelerate work in repairing households and that even though residents are not satisfied with the progress made, credit must be given to the community as they had never attempted to stop production on-site.

“The rainy season is upon us and we cannot afford to not have completed the houses when the time comes. Hence, we are giving ourselves a time frame to finish all the work in three weeks.

“We have plans we are implementing as government where we also engage with communities, but we also have to replenish our planning to equate the population within various communities.

“We are also working with the Department of Education to come up with a plan for schools in KaNyamazane to catch up on work and time lost during the protest last week,” she ended.