NELLMAPIUS FLOOD VICTIMS HAVE TO GO BACK TO THEIR SHACKS OR FACE EVICTION FROM THE LIBRARY HALL

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By Dimakatso Modipa

MMC for Human Settlements in the City of Tshwane Ofentse Madzibatela addressing floods victims in Nellmapius community hall on Tuesday night photo by Dimakatso Modipa
MMC for Human Settlements in the City of Tshwane Ofentse Madzibatela addressing floods victims in Nellmapius community hall on Tuesday night photo by Dimakatso Modipa

Approximately sixty flood victim families currently housed at the Nellmapius Library Hall will have to vacate their place or face eviction by the City of Tshwane.

This is the message that was delivered by MMC for Human Settlements in the City of Tshwane Ofentse Madzibatela to the flood victims in Nellmapius on Tuesday evening.

The flood victim families have been housed in the Nellmapius Library Hall since February 2022 after their shacks were flooded at informal settlement areas like Willow Farm, Marikana and Seven Seven.

Madzibatela explained that the flood victims can’t stay at the hall forever as the facility was needed for community activities which have been put on hold since 2022 to accommodate the flood victims.

And to support the sincerity of this very statement, Madzibatela was accompanied by Deputy Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya who is also MMC for Community and Social Development and whose department wants to use the hall for its activities.

MMC for Human Settlements in the City of Tshwane Ofentse Madzibatela held a meeting with the flood’s victims on Wednesday night at the Nellmapius community hall together with councilor Joyce Seelane and councilor Kholofelo Khopotso.

According to Madzibatela, the flood victims will be relocated from their original flooded shacks so that the process would be smooth and be conducted according to the existing and known list of victims who deserve to be relocated.

He said an inspection has been conducted by the City of Tshwane officials and it has emerged that all flood victims except ten families still have shacks wherein they can still live while waiting relocation.

The said ten families who no longer have shacks to go back to will be accommodated at another temporary shelter but they, like all flood victims’ families still living at the hall will have to vacate the premises.

The relocation process, according to Madzibatela, will commence around October/ November.

He announced that a new, safe place of abode has been identified by the City of Tshwane where the victims will be relocated to.

The city received a parcel of land in Pienaarspoort from the provincial government, and all the affected families will be relocated there. Relocations will resume once the rehabilitation of the land in Pienaarspoort, which has been budgeted for, is completed.

The envisaged date for the relocation is November 2024.

We remain committed to these relocations as we believe that everyone deserves to live in safe and liveable environments.

We also urge communities to stop illegally invading land and building structures on land earmarked for development by the City.

Be that as it may, flood victims expressed their concerns regarding the delay in relocating them to a new, safer place and also about the fact that they have to go back to their original shacks, with the risk of being flooded again.

Deputy Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya (brown jacket) with MMC for Human Settlements in the City of Tshwane Ofentse Madzibatela at the meeting with floods victims' photo by Dimakatso Modipa
Deputy Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya (black jacket) with MMC for Human Settlements in the City of Tshwane Ofentse Madzibatela at the meeting with floods victims’ photo by Dimakatso Modipa

One lady flood victim told MMC Madzibatela that the last relocation process, whereby some flood victims were relocated to Leeuwfontein last year November, was not fair at all.

This as those who were relocated in that process were still living in their shacks while they had lost everything as their shacks had been washed away, yet they were left behind.

“The shack wherein I used to live has been removed and replaced by a vegetable garden, so I want to know if the vegetable garden will be removed so that I can rebuild my shack there,” asked another concerned flood victim.

“What will you say to us if we get flooded again at our original shacks? I am appealing to you to give us a safe temporary shelter while we are waiting for relocation in October) November,” said yet another flood victim.

“What we have gone through during the last flooding incident is very terrible and something that I don’t want to wish upon anyone at all,” said another victim.

“Imagine fleeing your shack at around 1am in the middle of the night with flood ravaging your shack while carrying an eight- month-old baby,” lamented another victim.

The victim complained that by being ordered to go back to go back to their original shacks, the City of Tshwane was indicating that it doesn’t have neither care nor love for them and regards them as being useless to the municipality.

Some of the floods victims at the meeting with city of Tshwane officials' photo by Dimakatso Modipa
Some of the floods victims at the meeting with city of Tshwane officials’ photo by Dimakatso Modipa

She pointed out that flood victim parents and their children are still traumatised by the flooding incident and that to date they haven’t received any counselling.

Be that as it may, Ward Councilor Joyce Seelane informed the victims that it has been agreed that they will have to go back to their original shacks as no one will be relocated while still living at the Nellmapius Library Hall.

The flood victims are expected to start leaving the Nellmapius Library Hall from today (Wednesday).

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