Durban - Flood victim Nosipho Mtshali, who lost her home in the April floods and is staying at the Royal Hotel in Durban, says her ultimate dream is to be moved back to her community.
Mtshali, who has a disability, was one of more than 50 people who were moved to a building earmarked for temporary emergency accommodation on Sunday in Reservoir Hills after they had stayed at the Truro Hall in Westville for five months. The flood victims’ homes in Reservoir Hills were destroyed in the floods.
When the emergency accommodation plan fell through due to a dispute between the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government and the landlord of the building, the residents were moved to the Royal Hotel in Durban.
According to Mtshali, they were told that they would be staying at the Royal Hotel until Monday and thereafter be possibly be moved to a flat in Russell Street in the CBD.
She said as much as she would be grateful to have a roof over her head, she wanted to return to Reservoir Hills as she had run a crèche from her home before the floods and would like to return to get back to her “kids”.
“The community I lived in was much more accessible, that’s why I could run my business there. However, because I love children, I won’t stop taking care of them wherever I am.”
When The Mercury visited the Royal Hotel yesterday, the displaced flood victims were occupying the fourth, fifth and sixth floors.
The room that Mtshali was sharing with her mother and two children had three single beds and a bar fridge.
The Royal Hotel had not responded to The Mercury’s request for comment regarding the duration of the flood victims’ stay by the time of publication.
KZN provincial government spokesperson, Lennox Mabaso, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
On Tuesday, Mabaso said that the families would be accommodated at the Royal Hotel for no longer than five days while they looked and confirmed alternative temporary emergency accommodation in the Reservoir Hills area.
Meanwhile, the IFP in KZN is planning to lodge an official grievance with the South African Human Rights Commission against the provincial government after they alleged that flood victims who were staying at a hall in uMlazi were allegedly forced to sleep outside after they were kicked out.
The IFP said women, children and senior citizens were forced to spend the night out in the open after they were evicted from Tehuis Hall in uMlazi on Wednesday.
“About 100 flood victims from Mega Village informal settlement were left homeless after the April floods that battered KZN.
“According to the victims, they were dispatched from Tehuis Hall by eThekwini Municipality in two buses. As they feared losing their belongings, they loaded them into the buses and slept in an open field,” said the chief whip of the IFP Caucus in the KZN Legislature, Blessed Gwala.
The eThekwini Municipality said in a statement that following the eviction of displaced flood victims from Tehuis Hall, it could confirm that new accommodation had been found.
It said it had initially decided to move the residents to Wema Hostel, however during the move, the city was advised of potential security risks from the area. Therefore the residents were taken to Lamontville police station for safety reasons, it said.
The city said it was investigating the cause of the initial eviction and the potential security threat.