Latest news with #DepartmentofHumanSettlements
The Citizen
2 hours ago
- General
- The Citizen
Toddler among two killed in Kennedy Road Settlement fire
Kennedy Road Informal Settlements face persistent challenges with fires and natural disasters. Bandile Zulu and Nonhle Mbango, victims of Kennedy Road Informal Settlements fire. Image: Collage/ SUpplied/ MEC for Transport and Human Settlements Siboniso Duma. A 19-month-old baby and a 25-year-old woman died in a devastating fire that swept through Kennedy Road Informal Settlements, destroying 122 shacks. According to officials, the blaze originated from a burning candle. The victims have been identified as Bandile Zulu, the 19-month-old baby, and Nonhle Mbango, 25, who had recently buried her father just weeks before the tragedy. Government response to Kennedy Road Informal Settlements fire KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport and Human Settlements Siboniso Duma said he engaged with Minister of Human Settlements Thembi Simelane to coordinate emergency assistance for affected families. 'We wish to report that a roving team involving officials from the national Department of Human Settlements, the provincial Department of Human Settlements, and the eThekwini Municipality is already working out a plan to speed up the delivery of building material,' Duma said. The MEC confirmed that officials from his office have already met with the bereaved families. 'We send our deepest condolences to Zulu and Mbango families. May the departed souls rest in peace,' he stated. According to Duma, relief efforts awaited the completion of verification processes by disaster management teams from eThekwini Municipality and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta). ALSO READ: 'His brother is not coming back': Heartbroken mother speaks after toddler dies in Pretoria tent fire Extended family notification Duma indicated that authorities are prioritising communication with extended family members in distant areas. 'At this stage, their focus is to ensure that extended families in Mount Frere and Umzimkhulu are properly informed about the tragedy,' he said. The MEC is working alongside Ward 25 Councillor Themba Mkhize to assist families with burial arrangements for their loved ones. Recurring disaster pattern and relocation challenges Kennedy Road Informal Settlements face persistent challenges with fires and natural disasters. 'Kennedy Road Informal Settlements are always affected by fires and natural disasters such as floods,' Duma noted. The MEC expressed concern about settlement patterns despite previous relocation efforts. Many residents who were originally relocated to alternative areas returned to the informal settlement. 'Critically, we remain worried about the fact that residents who originally lived there were relocated to the newly built houses in Waterloo and double-story homes just across Kennedy Road,' Duma stated. During a recent meeting with Minister Simelane and eThekwini Mayor Councillor Cyril Xaba, officials agreed on stronger enforcement measures. The leadership consensus focused on implementing bylaws to prevent people from reoccupying or renting shacks in the area. ALSO READ: Six-year-old Limpopo boy shot in the head by stray bullet Urban migration realities Despite enforcement challenges, Duma acknowledged the broader socio-economic factors driving the growth of informal settlements. People continue to migrate to eThekwini and other secondary cities in search of economic opportunities. 'These are realities that we are grappling with,' he said. MEC spokesperson Ndabezinhle Sibiya confirmed the government's multi-level response to the tragedy. The spokesperson emphasised that building material delivery plans are already underway, pending final verification by the disaster team. READ NEXT: George building collapse 'was entirely preventable' – report
Daily Maverick
4 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
DA calls for rights commission, Public Protector to probe ‘neglect' of evicted KZN flood victims
The party also says it will table a motion of no confidence against the eThekwini city manager, the mayor and two council members after the flood victims were evicted from their Durban accommodation. The move by the party comes after the Department of Human Settlements announced it had bought a Durban building to ensure flood victims are never evicted due to nonpayment again. On 9 July 2025, more than 150 of the victims were evicted from the state-provided temporary accommodation, the Bayside Hotel in central Durban. They were told this was because of nonpayment of rent. They spent hours on the street outside the building with their belongings, and slept there, before being moved to accommodation in Umbilo, Durban, the next day (10 July). 'What hurts us the most is we were told they didn't pay, we were standing outside for hours (calling for help) and no one was picking up calls, we had children there, nobody gave us any attention,' one of the victims said in a voice note sent to Daily Maverick. In a statement on 14 July 2025, councillor Thabani Mthethwa, the DA's eThekwini caucus leader, said: 'The Democratic Alliance in eThekwini has written to the South African Human Rights Commission and the Public Protector to request an urgent investigation into the recent neglect of eThekwini flood victims. Vulnerable residents, many of them women and children, were evicted from shelters and forced to sleep on the streets. This is a human rights violation, and it cannot go unanswered.' The KZN flood victims' spokesperson, Sibongile Mkhize, told Daily Maverick she is grateful to the councillors, including Sbu Lushaba, who stayed with the victims all night while making calls, along with civil society organisations which also helped. Mkhize said that instead of the situation getting better for flood victims, it seems to be getting worse. Mthethwa said this incident and previous challenges faced by flood victims as far back as 2022 are examples of a greater collapse of the city's leadership. As a result, the DA would table a motion of no confidence against the city manager, the mayor and two council members. MEC for transport and human settlements Siboniso Duma said during a media briefing on 13 July that the affected flood victims were now 'living comfortably and warmly in a safe place in Umbilo'. Duma also thanked the councillors and civil society organisations who provided food to the victims. New building Duma announced the acquisition of the Montclair Lodge by the Department of Human Settlements in KwaZulu-Natal. It was bought from Transnet for R33-million and would be repurposed to accommodate flood victims. 'In other words, we will no longer use private facilities as part of the temporary emergency accommodation. The lodge boasts a total of 268 rooms with a bed capacity of 600. The building is managed by the Housing Development Agency on behalf of the KZN Department of Human Settlements. A professional engineer will be appointed before the end of July 2025 to do a basic assessment, which will determine the scope of work for the refurbishment,' Duma said. A contractor would be appointed immediately following basic assessments. 'A minimum of R35-million will be set aside for the refurbishment, while R4.2-million has been made available for the basic assessment. It is anticipated that some flood victims will take up residence in the lodge during the month of December 2025 or January 2026. Our plan is to ensure that we are ready for heavy rainfall and flooding associated with the summer season. This milestone of a government-owned transitional emergency accommodation will drastically reduce the rent paid to privately owned transitional accommodations,' Duma added. To avoid flood victims facing eviction and other challenges in rented properties all stakeholders had decided to streamline some of the responsibilities. 'In our meeting with the minister of human settlements, Thembi Simelane, and the mayor of eThekwini, Cyril Xaba, we have agreed to review the Temporary Emergency Accommodation Policy. This will help us avoid the repetition of a similar situation faced by the flood victims at Bayside Hotel… Following our engagement with Minister Thembi Simelane, we wish to announce that the KZN Department of Human Settlements has been given the mandate to take over the administrative coordination and responsibility of temporary emergency accommodation,' Duma said. DM
IOL News
6 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
KZN Human Settlements Department unveils housing plans for disaster victims
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport Siboniso Duma details accommodation plans for those displaced by floods. Image: Supplied THE Department of Human Settlements in KwaZulu-Natal has announced detailed plans aimed at addressing accommodation for people displaced by disasters. This comes amid concerns that the department has failed to deliver on key objectives, including building disaster relief housing in a timely manner. The department revealed yesterday that it plans to renovate a building purchased from Transnet, which will provide immediate housing relief stock for those left homeless by recent disasters. Going forward, the department intends to limit spending on private accommodation for those displaced by natural disasters. Last week, 189 individuals and more than 60 families spent a night outside after being evicted from the Bayside Hotel in Durban amid a payment dispute, as the department had not paid the hotel owner. To date, it has spent R185 million to accommodate families in about six private accommodations across Durban, and it said it needed an additional R128 million to continue doing so. The flood victims have since been placed in another building after the hotel owner refused to take them back in. This incident unfolded amid growing concerns that the department was failing to deliver on its key mandates. DA spokesperson on Human Settlements, Riona Gokool, stated that the department's portfolio committee was briefed on its performance to date, raising serious concerns. 'KwaZulu-Natal's Department of Human Settlements (DHS), under MEC Siboniso Duma, has failed to meet delivery targets across its most critical mandates, despite reporting 100% financial expenditure of its 2024/25 R3.9 billion adjusted budget. Video Player is loading. 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Next Stay Close ✕ 'The damning information came to light during a recent KZN Legislature Human Settlements portfolio committee meeting, during which officials outlined the department's fourth-quarter reports and proposed Annual Oversight Plan (AOP) for 2025/26,' she said. 'The reality is that out of a total of 50 performance indicators, only 28% exceeded targets, while 36% underperformed, notably in Planning and Housing Development. This reflects a serious misalignment between expenditure and actual outcomes, raising concerns of inefficiency, poor planning, and lack of consequence management. 'Only 21 out of 410 targeted post-1994 title deeds have been registered, with zero community residential units delivered out of a targeted 270. No informal settlements have been upgraded to Phase 3 despite escalating housing backlogs, and only 540 disaster relief houses have been delivered out of 1 500 targeted units," she stated. The department pushed back on these claims, stating that the information was meant to misinform members of the public. It said, guided by MEC Siboniso Duma, that over the past 391 days, the department has delivered: 7 976 fully subsidised houses for ordinary members of communities 5 030 houses for people in rural areas 464 homes for vulnerable members of society More than 900 sites established to enable members of the public to build their own houses 1 638 title deeds registered and handed over to ordinary members of society 315 households assisted to own houses for the first time through the First Home Finance Programme. The department said it is doing significant work to deliver housing, including spending on bulk infrastructure to ensure that projects are completed on time, despite that being a municipal function. Regarding the progress made to address the issue of housing for disaster victims, the department stated that all levels of government are working together to coordinate their response to disaster relief. Part of this expenditure was the acquisition of Montclair Lodge from Transnet, which has 600 beds to accommodate flood victims. 'We have paid R33m for this facility, which will be repurposed to accommodate victims of floods. The transfer from Transnet to us took place on 31 May 2025. In other words, we will no longer use private facilities as part of the Temporary Emergency Accommodation,' said MEC Duma. It said a professional engineer will be appointed before the end of July 2025 to conduct a basic assessment, which will determine the scope of work for the refurbishment. The contractor will be appointed immediately upon receipt of the basic assessment. A minimum of R35m will be set aside for the refurbishment, while R4.2m has been made available for the basic assessment, it continued. It is anticipated that some flood victims will take occupation in the lodge during December 2025 or January 2026. 'Our plan is to ensure that we are ready for heavy rainfall and flooding associated with the summer season,' concluded the department's statement. THE MERCURY
The Citizen
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Video: Durban flood victims left in the cold after hotel eviction
Dozens of flood victims left homeless by February's devastating floods in Durban are facing a second night sleeping on the streets after being evicted from the Bayside Hotel on Dr Pixley KaSeme Street on Wednesday morning. The Witness reports the group, who were relocated from Lamontville and nearby areas after their homes and shacks were destroyed, say they were told they would remain at the hotel until permanent housing was built for them. Now, with no clear alternative accommodation offered, they say they have been abandoned by the very officials who made the promises. 'We slept in the open with our children because of broken promises made by the provincial government, the departments of transport and human settlements, and the eThekwini Metro,' said displaced resident Xoli Mbatha. 'Our human rights are being violated, and those senior officials who brought us here are nowhere to be seen now.' Mbatha said the Department of Human Settlements proposed relocating the group to the Chesterville community hall, but residents are refusing. 'We were once chased away from a community hall by the Chatsworth community. What guarantee do we have that it won't happen again? We want the houses we were promised,' she said. Government response On Thursday, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport and Human Settlements issued a detailed statement addressing the eviction. In the statement, MEC for Transport and Human Settlements, Siboniso Duma, said: 'We plead with flood victims evicted from Bayside Hotel to allow eThekwini Municipality and the Department of Human Settlements to move them to Chesterville Community Hall as a temporary measure. It is unfortunate that there are individuals within the victims who mobilised against any move to Chesterville while we sort payments to the hotel. There are terrified individuals who have informed us that they have been intimidated and forced not to move to the Chesterville Community Hall. This is unacceptable in view of the fact that there are children who were exposed to this cold weather the whole night and this morning. Buses were arranged yesterday evening but some victims flatly refused to be moved. We will continue this morning to plead with them.' The department explained that delays in processing approvals to avoid irregular expenditure had contributed to the eviction. 'Delays caused by processes around obtaining approvals to avoid audit findings and irregular expenditure by the Auditor-General resulted in the unfortunate eviction of flood victims from the hotel. 'Yesterday [Wednesday], I flew out to Gauteng to meet with the Minister of Human Settlements, Thembi Simelane, to work out an urgent plan to turn around the situation. 'We have already paid R185 million to hotels and self-catering accommodation for flood victims. We need a further R128 million to accommodate 1,200 families,' said MEC Duma in the statement. The department also revealed that resettlement plans have been obstructed in the past. 'We could have built houses for some victims in identified state-owned land, such as in Shallcross and other areas, but communities there chased away contractors who were starting to build. 'During Nelson Mandela Month, we must promote Ubuntu. Resistance from some communities to resettlements of flood victims on government-owned land next to their properties — under what is called the 'Not in My Backyard' syndrome — must be eradicated. 'The reality is that government cannot rebuild on unsuitable land that saw homes being washed away during floods.' On the ground Several GNU political parties visited the site on Thursday to engage with residents. Portable toilets were delivered, and fruit was distributed. Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers also provided meals to the group on Thursday morning. As of Thursday evening, the residents said they had not received a clear solution, and were preparing for a second night outside. Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal. Read original story on At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
eNCA
10-07-2025
- Climate
- eNCA
Durban flood victims sleeping on the street amid R128m debt to hotel
DURBAN - Over hundreds of survivors of the recent floods in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal are sleeping on the streets. Among those include children This comes after they were evicted from their temporary accommodation. The Human Settlements Department confirms that the owner of the hotel they'd been placed in has since kicked them out, over an outstanding bill of R128 million. The flood victims had been staying in the accommodation for almost five months since they were moved from Lamontvile. At the time heavy rains had lashed through the community leaving trails of disruption. Department of Human Settlements spokesperson Ndabezinhle Sibiya explains that there has been a delay in processing of payments but efforts to turn around the situation are in motion.
