Dozens of flood victims left homeless by February’s devastating floods in Durban are facing a second night sleeping on the streets after being evicted from the Bayside Hotel on Dr Pixley KaSeme Street on Wednesday morning.

The Witness reports the group, who were relocated from Lamontville and nearby areas after their homes and shacks were destroyed, say they were told they would remain at the hotel until permanent housing was built for them.

Now, with no clear alternative accommodation offered, they say they have been abandoned by the very officials who made the promises.

“We slept in the open with our children because of broken promises made by the provincial government, the departments of transport and human settlements, and the eThekwini Metro,” said displaced resident Xoli Mbatha.

“Our human rights are being violated, and those senior officials who brought us here are nowhere to be seen now.”

Mbatha said the Department of Human Settlements proposed relocating the group to the Chesterville community hall, but residents are refusing.

“We were once chased away from a community hall by the Chatsworth community. What guarantee do we have that it won’t happen again? We want the houses we were promised,” she said.

Government response

On Thursday, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport and Human Settlements issued a detailed statement addressing the eviction.

In the statement, MEC for Transport and Human Settlements, Siboniso Duma, said:

• “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 the 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.”

The department explained that delays in processing approvals to avoid irregular expenditure had contributed to the eviction.

“Delays caused by processes around obtaining approvals to avoid audit findings and irregular expenditure by the Auditor-General resulted in the unfortunate eviction of flood victims from the hotel.

“Yesterday [Wednesday], I flew out to Gauteng to meet with the Minister of Human Settlements, Thembi Simelane, to work out an urgent plan to turn around the situation.

“We have already paid R185 million to hotels and self-catering accommodation for flood victims. We need a further R128 million to accommodate 1,200 families,” said MEC Duma in the statement.

The department also revealed that resettlement plans have been obstructed in the past.

“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.

“During Nelson Mandela Month, we must promote Ubuntu. Resistance from some communities to resettlements of flood victims on government-owned land next to their properties — under what is called the ‘Not in My Backyard’ syndrome — must be eradicated.

“The reality is that government cannot rebuild on unsuitable land that saw homes being washed away during floods.”

On the ground

Several GNU political parties visited the site on Thursday to engage with residents.

Portable toilets were delivered, and fruit was distributed. Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers also provided meals to the group on Thursday morning.

As of Thursday evening, the residents said they had not received a clear solution, and were preparing for a second night outside.

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