KwaDukuza flood victims out of community halls by Christmas
It spells the end to community hall living for 78 households and more than 200 people who have until now been relying on food and clothing donations - often from the private sector - just to get by.
Almost eight months after losing their homes to the April floods, the last of KwaDukuza’s displaced residents will be out of community halls by Christmas.
This was the promise delivered by KwaDukuza municipality (KDM) mayor, Lindile Nhaca, at the handover of 30 temporary residential units (TRUs) in High Ridge on Tuesday.
The Ward 17 homes are among the last to be completed, with units in Driefontein opening on the same day and multiple other units already in use.
“All we have left now is the TRUs in Ward 11 and 13 which are waiting on final electricity meters to be installed on December 21. I will try my best to facilitate furniture and food for them too,” said Nhaca.
The TRUs comprise two equally sized adjacent rooms with electricity access in-house, while the 30 units share common ablution facilities which include showers.
It spells the end to community hall living for 78 households and over 200 people who have until now been relying on food and clothing donations – often from the private sector – just to get by.
Residents of the halls who spoke to the Courier last month described poor living conditions and internal fights, after being forced into difficult quarters and with many out of work.
But for the initial new residents on High Ridge, the only feeling was that of elation.
“We are so happy to finally be moving in here. We have been waiting for this for months, just getting by how we can in Monkey Town. It is finally security for us,” said former Monkey Town resident, Ntombifuthi Majola.
The houses are rated to last for 10 years, although it is unclear whether the new residents will be able to stay for that entire time.
In High Ridge’s case, the area had already been identified for the Shaka Springs RDP housing project and it remains to be seen how that will impact the TRUs.
Ward 17 councillor, Chellappa ‘Tarzan’ Naicker welcomed the temporary homes, after being a constant campaigner against the community hall situation in council.
“This has been an issue for some time and initially it felt like it was not being taken seriously. But as more funding has come online and everyone has worked together it has finally come to fruition and my constituents are all very glad,” he said.
Following the floods, KwaDukuza still has infrastructure damage totalling well over R1-billion to repair.
The most pressing issues have been allocated some R175-million in funds from council, the municipal disaster response grant and municipal infrastructure grant.
As at November 30, only R63.2-million (36%) had been utilised.
Follow The North Coast Courier on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube for breaking news
Telegram Broadcast Service: https://t.me/joinchat/yJULuN8NaCs5OGM0
WhatsApp Broadcast Service: Add The Courier to WhatsApp at 082 792 9405 and WhatsApp your name and surname to be added.
Stay in the loop with The North Coast Courier on Facebook, X, Instagram & YouTube for the latest news.
Mobile users can join our WhatsApp Broadcast Service here, or if you’re on desktop, scan the QR code below.
