Durban — The DA in KwaZulu-Natal said it has written to the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to investigate the inhumane conditions which flood victims are subjected to in the community halls where they are still staying.
In a media briefing held by the provincial party leader Francois Rogers on Monday, the party said the conditions were appalling and urged the SAHRC to visit the shelters to see for itself the appalling conditions, which were not suitable for people.
Rogers said it was unacceptable that almost four months after the floods there were people who had not been relocated to the temporary houses which the government had promised.
The DA in KwaZulu-Natal on Monday outlined a series of proposals aimed at assisting flood victims still living in community halls. According to the party, out 4 983 families displaced, only 501 have been relocated to the new houses built by the government. The party said if one family has four members it means more than 17 000 people are still trapped in the halls with no clarity when they would be relocated.
“Following the oversight visit, the DA has submitted a complaint to the SAHRC to request that the conditions are urgently investigated.
“Our complaint was acknowledged by the SAHRC, we are hoping for their urgent intervention and recommendations. We believe that a number of human rights are being violated.
“To make matters worse, there has been very poor liaison between the province and municipalities to assist residents in these halls.”
The party also made a series of proposals to social development and human settlements departments.
For social development the DA said it must actively engage, on an ongoing basis and for social workers to provide continued psycho-social support to the displaced, assist NGOs providing food, sanitary and other essentials. It also called on the department to provide flood victims in halls with Sassa vouchers for disaster relief. For the Department of Human Settlements the party said it must provide information and updates to those living in halls, including how long they will have to wait before receiving the promised temporary units, and also provide a clear understanding of how the home allocation process will take place and who will benefit first.
Social Development spokesperson Mhlaba Memela said the department has noted the DA proposal but the department was already doing what the DA was proposing. Memela, however, agreed that the conditions were not good with adults sharing halls with kids.
KZN Human Settlements spokesperson Ndabezinhle Sibiya said the department was in constant liaison with chapter nine institutions such as SAHRC to protect human rights of the affected people.
“The department has made progress in finding land to build temporary houses which was the stumbling block. 78 hectares of land have been identified where more than 3 385 people will be accommodated.”
Daily News