“I live in a death trap”

Melville’s Sindy Sibiya lives in fear that her dilapidated RDP house will collapse on her and her children.

Sibiya moved into her house in 2006 with her two children and younger sister. She said even in its new state her house had cracked walls and she immediately informed ward councillor Nokwethemba Ndlovu of the problem.

“The councillor assured me that she would report the matter to KwaDukuza municipality (KDM) and a few months later their employees came and inspected the cracks,” said Sibiya.

She claimed they promised to come and fix the damage but they only returned after the 2009 floods.

Seven years and four inspections later, nothing has been done and the cracks are growing wider, forcing Sibiya to stuff pieces of cloth between them to keep wind and rain out of the house.

“I am worse off in this house than I was in the shack that I lived in before. The planks on the roof are rotten because of rain water. The walls are always mouldy and I cannot lock my door because the cracks over the doorway have forced the frame and the wall apart.”

Last year she said she tried building an outside building so that she could move out. But KDM told her to stop as the new house was going to affect their plans to fix the old one, which they also told her not to fix by herself.

“What depresses me is that my neighbour’s house with the same problems was fixed in 2010 and they said they would come back and fix mine. To this day they only come and inspect the damage after heavy rains, only to vanish after that.”

Sbiya said her house looked like a mini dam after the heavy rains last month but all she got from the municipality was blankets and a food voucher.

“I am starting to think they are waiting for this house to bury us alive before they do something. The one thing that frustrates me the most is that they will not let me fix it myself or build a new one so basically I am stuck,” said Sibiya.

KwaDukuza municipality had not responded at the time of going to press.