It has been more than five months since the deadly floods that left a trail of destruction in several parts of KwaZulu-Natal and the lives of flood victims have not changed.
Besides the delay in providing shelter for residents whose houses collapsed, a criminal syndicate is now said to be profiting from the woes of flood survivors.
Community activists who spoke to Sunday World lamented the dire situation at temporary shelters.
“Our situation gets worse every day. The temporary residential units [TRUs], which were promised are going slowly. The process of allocation is also riddled with corruption because people who were not affected by floods are fraudulently registering for these units. People are paying money to get on top of the housing list,” said Kholiwe Langa of Bhambayi in Inanda whose home was reduced to rubble during the record floods.
Langa said besides the inhumane living conditions they endure in temporary shelters; hunger was another problem that destitute families were confronted with.
“While other donated food items are swindled and sold by those in charge, ordinary people from the community are now fighting us queuing for food,” she added.
The South African Human Rights Commission engaged social justice organisations to deliberate on what immediate interventions can be implemented to assist the desperate families.
During the meeting last week, the non-profit organisations questioned the whereabouts of the R1-billion in disaster relief that both President Cyril Ramaphosa and Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana had promised would be unlocked.
“Those families who were severely affected are in limbo because they are disillusioned and angry that the commitment from the government has come to nought. The authorities have been secretive and all that we want is transparency and to know where the money is,” said Blessing Nyuswa, a community leader.
She also said there was also a ruthless syndicate exploiting the desperation of residents by selling them land that didn’t belong to it.
“Community leaders and those seen as fighting against the syndicate are targeted and they die under mysterious circumstances. The murder would be staged as if it was just a robbery gone wrong,” she said.
The construction of the so-called TRUs has also become a deadly undertaking for construction workers, who are said to be targeted by a hostile group known as amadela ngokubona, known for using underhand tactics to demand big projects from the government.
Pastor Musa Gumede of the Inanda Church Leaders Network said at one construction site in Ntuzuma, south of Durban, a construction worker was shot dead while others were left wounded when unknown assailants attacked them.
“There’s now fear from other construction workers that their lives are in danger. This will further delay the construction of temporary structures,” said Gumede.
In a memorandum by Godongwana, it was explained that the only money KwaZulu-Natal has received to deal with flood damage was R325-million.
The money was reprioritised from the Provincial Emergency Housing Grant.
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