The DA in KwaZulu-Natal has today outlined a series of proposals aimed at assisting flood victims still living in community halls.
The recommendations – which have been submitted to the provincial government – comes as many thousands of people have been left to languish for almost four months following the April floods.
It also comes after several days of oversight visits by the DA to some of the community halls across eThekwini, where we learnt of the inhumane living conditions they are being subjected to.
Following the oversights, the DA submitted a complaint to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), to request that the conditions are urgently investigated. Our complaint was acknowledged by the SAHRC, we are hoping for their urgent intervention and recommendations. We believe that a number of human rights are being violated. To make matters worse, there has been very poor liaison between the province and municipalities to assist residents in these halls.
It is time that Premier Sihle Zikalala released funding from the contingency reserve in order to speed up the delivery of Temporary Residential Units (TRUs) for residents.
The following proposals have been put forward by the DA;
Social Development:
1. For the Department of Social Development (DSD) to actively engage, on an ongoing basis and for social workers to provide continued psycho-social support to residents;
2. For DSD to assist NGOs so that they can continue providing residents with food, sanitary and any other essentials;
3. For DSD to provide flood victims in halls with SASSA vouchers for disaster relief, as stated by SASSA ( we have escalated this issue); and
4. For DSD to ensure that it has a funded disaster plan in the event of future unexpected disaster
We have also today submitted questions (view here) to the DSD MEC, Nonhlanhla Khoza.
Human Settlements:
1. For the Department of Human Settlements to provide information and updates to those living in halls, including how long they will have to wait before receiving the promised temporary units (TRUs);
2. For the Department to provide a clear understanding of how the TRU’s allocation process will take place ie who will benefit first;
3. For the Department to provide information around delays relating to the delivery of TRUs ;
4. For the Department to provide information on funding for land and the building of TRUs; and
5. For the Department to engage with municipalities to prevent people from rebuilding in flood plains again
No government that cares for its people would allow them to live in the conditions that we have seen in these halls.
2024 will afford voters the opportunity to vote for a party that cares, and a party that gets things done. That party that is the DA.