Africa-Press – South-Africa. While close to 5 000 temporary housing structures are needed for flood victims in KwaZulu-Natal, the government has so far only delivered 1 076.
According to Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, an application from the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government to access funds from the provincial emergency housing grant to provide 4 983 temporary residential units (TRUs) was approved at the cost of R342 million.
She said an amount of R140 million was transferred to the province on 17 June.
Auditor-General red flags poor temporary housing units for KZN flood beneficiaries
This emerged in Kubayi’s written response to a parliamentary question from IPF MP Sbuyiselwe Angela Buthelezi.
“The province has reported that 1 076 TRUs have been erected in various municipalities. I have directed the KwaZulu-Natal Province to ensure that affected households are relocated into TRUs by 30 September 2022. The province is also exploring the possibility of having transitional accommodation owned by the state or a rental assistance scheme for such households.
“The province will be engaging the National Treasury with the support of my department to seek approval to use funding from the provincial emergency housing grant to utilise for purchasing transitional accommodation and/or seeking rental accommodation,” she said.
Nearly six months after the devastating floods that killed hundreds and destroyed billions in infrastructure, the government has been slow to repair and restore livelihoods.
The floods left 6 278 people homeless, and more than 400 died in the devastation.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that a national state of disaster had been declared – and that R1 billion would be made available for relief measures.
Regarding the damage in parts of the Eastern Cape, Kubayi said authorities in the province were advised to reprioritise funds from its human settlements development grant (HSDG) and the informal settlements upgrading partnership grants to address housing disaster-related matters.
“The province has reported that service providers have been appointed to construct TRUs in affected areas, and the national department has transferred R105 million of the HSDG. In order to assist, my department has also allocated R16 million to Alfred Nzo District Municipality to address disaster-related incidents, including the eradication of 5 450 mud structures,” she said.
She added:
R2.2bn in flood relief funding approved, but only R100m has so far been paid to service providers
In the North West, provincial authorities reported to Kubayi that the Deelpan settlement in the Tswaing Local Municipality experienced high rainfall in April which affected the local community.
“Alternative land for the relocation of the affected community was required to ensure the safety and security of the community, and the Housing Development Agency (HDA) has been requested by the province to assist in this regard.
“The North West Provincial Department of Human Settlements has been granted permission by the National Department to utilise R54.9 million of its human settlements development grant,” she added.
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