Durban — The DA in KwaZulu-Natal will look at the matter of the flood victims from a legal perspective when it comes to the failures of the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), eThekwini municipality and KZN government.
This was according to DA KZN leader Francois Rodgers who had visited the building housing the flood victims that were evicted and dumped outside the Lamontville police station in recent weeks.
Rodgers said the KZN provincial government did not care about the flood victims.
“The SAHRC has done little to nothing to assist, we will now be exploring legal action in order to ensure that flood victims get housing and dignity speedily,” Rodgers said.
In a video at the new accommodation, Rodgers said that he had just done a site inspection of a block of flats where some of the flood victims have now been housed.
He said that the flood victims were originally housed in a community hall. They were then moved to a Transnet site, and Transnet then evicted them from there.
“This is now their third home in seven months,” Rodgers said.
“Clearly we’ve got a city here, we’ve got a province that doesn't care for its people.
“The conditions that I find the people living in here are horrendous.
“Again it’s shared ablution facilities, men, women and children.
“Some of the bedrooms have up to eight people sleeping on the floor.
“These people, some of them have comorbidities, they’ve got no access to medication and the situation is just diabolical,” Rodgers explained.
He said that they were told (by flood victims) that officials said that maybe in two years' time.
Rodgers said that cannot be good enough.
He said that the ANC seems more geared and focused on their internal elective congress coming up in December than the people of eThekwini and the flood victims.
“I have engaged with the SAHRC, they have been of no use whatsoever and we will no take this matter further from a legal perspective.
“We will see what we can do as a party, both when it comes to the failures of the SAHRC, of eThekwini, the city of eThekwini and of the province of KwaZulu-Natal,” Rodgers said.
“But this typifies the uncaring government that we are faced with in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.”
The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial government does not care about flood victims.
— DA KZN (@DA_KZN) October 17, 2022
The residents in this accommodation have been told that they will be living here in the next two years. #DAatWork pic.twitter.com/jRpdJpx2VX
Earlier this month, ward councillor Sakhile Mngadi said: “We're not sure if this building’s equipped for the over 100 people that are here.
“From my understanding, this building can only take about 30 people.
“We know that there are water and sanitation issues that we are not sure if eThekwini municipality has addressed accordingly.”
He said that what was clear was that the flood victims had been moved from pillar to post and it was unconscionable that the municipality would treat young women and children, especially, in this manner and leave them in conditions like this.
Daily News