Durban - More than 50 displaced flood victims who were moved from Truro Hall in Westville into the Royal Hotel in Durban last week after a lease agreement between the government and a Reservoir Hills landlord fell through have finally moved into new temporary emergency accommodation.
KwaZulu-Natal Human Settlements spokesperson Mlungisi Khumalo said the families were moved into an apartment building this week.
“We cannot disclose where they are because we want to protect them from any discriminatory acts and from residents who have a ‘not in my back-yard’ attitude.”
Khumalo said these acts of discrimination from residents had affected the displaced families, leading to them feeling marginalised and depressed.
One of the flood victims, Nomhle Mkhetho, said the apartment block they were moved into was similar to the one they were going to be moved into initially on October 2.
“We have been moved into a former student accommodation. The rooms have two and some have three beds. Each block has its own kitchen.”
Mkhetho said they had not encountered any issues from the residents of the community and were now looking forward to moving into their permanent homes.
Speaking at a media engagement held yesterday, Human Settlements and Public Works MEC Dr Ntuthuko Mahlaba said greedy landlords sought to capitalise on the plight of flood victims by hiking property prices above their market value.
He said the department had since decided not to work with some landlords, and would remove them from its database.
Mahlaba said that in the coming months mass care centres would be closed.
“We would like to accelerate our building programme for permanent homes, but pace is determined by how speedily we resolve the land issues, which relate to unbuildable sites and other soil-related conditions. As a result, this has required alternate sites and further assessments.”