The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) will be contacted by the Democratic Alliance (DA) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) concerns the living conditions of flood victims in KZN.
The DA referred to the flood victims’ living conditions at community halls as “inhumane.” The group travelled to nine community centres in eThekwini and showed pictures of how flood victims are living.
The party took note of Premier Sihle Zikalala’s media briefing in April, during which he pledged to construct more than 4,000 temporary residential units (TRUs). In Ugu, Ilembe, and eThekwini, the TRUs were expected to be operational the week of the announcement.
According to the DA, just 65 TRUs have been made known to them so far in the eThekwini region. The party claimed that after interacting with the victims, many of them claimed that neither government representatives nor those from the province or the municipality had told them of the plans to construct TRUs.
Community members are forced to fend for themselves
The DA said;
“Instead, they have been left in these community halls to fend for themselves with little to no aid in terms of food, blankets and other essentials. The conditions in some of these halls are appalling, which no human should be subjected to. We have seen people who are sleeping in toilets and on concrete floors,”
Over 400 people are crammed into the Mountview Community Hall, according to the party. Additionally, it was discovered that a resident of the Waterloo Community Hall gave birth there.
“The DA in the province will continue to engage with all structures in the province to expedite addressing the humanitarian crisis facing our province,” said the party.
Although many KZN flood victims now have roofs over their heads, it was previously reported that the building of these new homes came under harsh criticism on Monday. Online comments about the dwellings’ photos have been labelled “shameful” due to a number of obvious design problems.
Private business owners, like Royal AM owner MaMkhize, contributed to the project’s funding. Four of these homes were built with her money. The terrible April floods claimed the children of one family who just moved in.
It’s produced a bit of a conundrum since many who previously had nothing at all now at least have a place to call home.
However, the effort is still receiving harsh criticism because it doesn’t seem like the dwellings’ design will benefit their occupants in the long run.