Mamelodi flood victims fear being forgotten amid relocation delays

Despite being kept up to date about the delays of land rehabilitation of the Pienaarspoort development site, Mamelodi flood victims complained they are no longer prioritised as promised from the beginning.

These flood victims are Mamelodi residents who were displaced by the severe floods between 2019 and 2023.

This follows after the MMC for Housing and Human Settlements, Aaron Maluleka, said the relocation of the remaining 5 310 Mamelodi flood victims from Pienaarspoort Ext 25, 15, 22, and 23 has been halted.

This was due to the processes underway to appoint a contractor who will carry out the rehabilitation of the Pienaarspoort development site.

Dickson Mabunda, a flood victim and representing the Mamelodi flood victims, said they were told six years ago that flood victims residing on riverbanks and below flood lines would be prioritised for relocation.

Mabunda said a total of 1 719 households have been relocated and provided with rudimentary services, which include water tanks, mobile toilets, graded roads, and refuse collection.

However, only 90 households were from the Mavuso and Willow Farm informal settlements, which were right on the flood line.

“The other 1 629 households are from Alaska, Phomolong, K54, and Tsamaya road informal settlements and they were not on the flood lines or river banks,” said Mabunda.

“Instead, they were relocated because our government want to complete the K54 Road aimed at a rehabilitation project between the Old Bronkhorstspruit and Solomon Mahlangu roads.

Mabunda added that flood victims are living in fear of history repeating itself.

“We feel hopeless because we really don’t know when they are going to remove all flood victims to a safer place,” he said.

“Tshwane Housing and Human Settlement [department] must stick to its promise to prioritise all informal settlements on the flood lines as promised, together with the squatter camps that they have identified before,” said Mabunda.

Maluleka said they had to temporarily suspend relocations after it was found that the land that was acquired was used for extensive illegal sand mining and was deemed uninhabitable.

He said the Tshwane metro first had to rehabilitate the site.

Maluleka said the process was currently in the advanced stages for the appointment of the contractor, and relocations are expected to resume at the beginning of the new year.

“The City of Tshwane is committed to relocating affected residents to permanent serviced stands,” said Maluleka.

“We are accelerating the process of appointing the contractor to ensure the outstanding affected residents are relocated as soon as possible.

“Once relocation is completed, plans for bulk services will be implemented,” said Maluleka.

Bongani Ramontja from Soil of Africa Civic Movement in Mamelodi said the organisation stands firm with Mamelodi flood victims and calls for transparency for a people-centred relocation process.

“Our organisation is in full solidarity with the Mamelodi flood victims.

“We acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of MMC for Housing and Human Settlements, and commend his commitment to ensuring that the rehabilitation and relocation process moves forward,” said Ramontja.

He said they remain deeply concerned about the living conditions of the displaced families and the pace of progress.

“It has been over six years since the devastating floods that robbed hundreds of families of their dignity, security, and stability.

“Today, many still live in dire conditions without proper electricity, sanitation, or permanent housing,” he said.

The organisation called for immediate improvement of basic services, a transparent relocation and development process, and zero tolerance for corruption.

It also pleaded that no stands must be sold or traded unlawfully during or after relocation.

He concluded by saying that he hopes “no affected flood victim or Form C holder is left behind due to poor governance or administrative delays”.

“We will continue to monitor the relocation process closely and engage both the City of Tshwane and national departments to ensure that justice and progress are delivered.”

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