Declare state of disaster after Gauteng floods, says Minister Kubayi after visit to hardest-hit areas

Damages caused by heavy rains in Protea Glen on December 10, 2022 in Soweto, South Africa. Residents in parts of Gauteng have experienced flooded homes and destroyed roads after the heavy rains wreaked havoc. (Photo by Gallo Images/Papi Morake)

By Nonkululeko Njilo

13 Dec 2022

With an estimated 2,000 homes affected by floods that have wreaked havoc in parts of Gauteng since last week, Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi says she’ll ‘engage’ with the province to declare a provincial state of disaster.

Human Settlements Minister Mmaoloko Kubayi on Monday visited some of the Gauteng areas hardest hit by recent flooding, including Protea Glen, Kliptown and Nancefield in one of the country’s oldest townships, Soweto.

Kubayi warned that if the MEC for Cogta in the province, Lebogang Maile, failed to declare the floods a disaster, the government would not be able to give the residents the support they need, citing a scarcity of resources.

“There’s quite a number of areas that are affected and [the floods warrant] some level of intervention across the province, and because we need the resources, that’s why a disaster has to be declared … the limited resources that we have will not be able to meet the demand if a disaster is not declared,” she said.

In Protea Glen, angry residents left their homes to listen to Kubayi when she arrived in their area. She blamed private developers for the lack of proper drainage systems which may have led to the floods, and those who approved the plans.

“Part of what we are trying to look at, obviously the city will have to find those people within the city that approved these plans … there is no stormwater drainage … it doesn’t meet the minimum requirements.

“We will have to go and find the developer so that we can start a process of relocating these people … it can’t be the government’s responsibility to relocate these people because they have paid somebody who made a profit from this area.”

One resident, Nomzamo Sebone, lost nearly everything to the floods — electrical appliances, bedding and food. When Daily Maverick visited her home, the dank odour left by the water — which still stained the walls — was overpowering.

Damage caused by heavy rains in Protea Glen on 10 December 2022 in Soweto, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Papi Morake)

Residents in parts of Gauteng have experienced flooded homes and destroyed roads after the heavy rains wreaked havoc. (Photo: Gallo Images / Papi Morake)

Visit Daily Maverick's home page for more news, analysis and investigations

With the South African Weather Service predicting more rain in the coming days, an emotional Sebone said she was sleeping with one eye open.

“I am mostly concerned about my kids; fortunately, my family took them. I am drained, I just want to move from this place, we can’t live like this.”

Sebone said the area had been hit by floods three times in recent memory: in 2010, in 2020, and now, which has been the worst.

“We have been pleading with the government to move us … whenever it rains, we start panicking, we start looking for other alternatives and it’s not a way to live.”

Sebone recalled how on Friday, while she was at work, she received a frantic phone call from her children, aged 15 and four, as they watched the water enter their home.

“They were so confused wanting to save some items and I just had to tell them not to worry but to save themselves.”

Arriving on the scene, she could not get inside her home, and like many others, she could only watch as her home became submerged.

Asked if she knew who the developers of the area were, she said: “What I know is that they are bankrupt already; those people are gone, they are no longer in existence.

“Our councillor has been trying to escalate the issue to the provincial government but nothing is happening. Since 2010, we have been having the officials coming, questioning us and making promises but there’s still nothing. Instead, things are getting worse.”

Samuel Sedibane purchased his home in the area in 2019. Unlike Sebone, he does not have insurance.

Sedibane slammed Kubayi’s impromptu visit.

“She was not here for the community; maybe she was here to look at the water. We have no faith that she’ll do anything.”

Another resident, Buyi Molefe, said their plight had fallen on deaf ears as the provincial government failed to honour promises to address their grievances by moving them to different areas or providing alternative solutions.

Molefe said she was tired of hearing the same promises and vowed that as a community they would take the fight to the streets and the minister’s office.

“We are fed up… we will not keep quiet, we will fight. If it means protesting, we’ll do that; if it means going to Kubayi’s office that is also fine.”

Meanwhile, Johannesburg’s executive mayor, Mpho Phalatse, said the city was continuing to dedicate resources to humanitarian and cleanup operations across the city, particularly in the regions that have been hardest hit by the storms.

“This has, of course, placed tremendous strain on the city’s service delivery operations. Therefore, all relevant departments and entities, mainly Public Safety, Social Development, Community Development, City Power and Water are on high alert, with all hands on deck working to stabilise service delivery operations,” said Phalatse.

Kubayi assured the media that efforts were being made to accommodate those who had lost their homes. So far, 46 people have been moved to temporary structures.

Kubayi said her department was also getting information on similar incidents in Tshwane and Ekurhuleni and the department would strive to put in place proactive measures in the future. “Planning in our cities has to change and how we build has to change.” DM

Categories:

Tags:

DM is much better if you are signed in...

South Africa