Durban – The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Human Settlements says the displaced communities that have been living in two mass care centres in eThekwini municipality were this week moved to transitional emergency accommodation facilities within the city.
The communities were living in Tehuis Hostel in Umlazi, south of Durban and Truro Hall in Westville.
The displaced flood victims from these two shelters had been caught in the middle of evictions and landlord woes.
The department says to date, 1 406 temporary residential units (TRUs) have been completed in the province to ensure that thousands of families who were displaced by the April 2022 floods are provided with decent homes.
Human Settlements further blamed under-performance by service providers and the onset of the rainy season for a reduction in the 100 weekly target of TRU completions to 64 as of the end of last week.
“Besides the construction of TRUs, technical assessment of recommended properties has also been completed to decant mass care centres with urgency in and around eThekwini,” said the department’s spokesperson Mlungisi Khumalo.
He says the eThekwini Municipality is awaiting the finalisation of earthworks for the construction of a further 1 064 TRUs.
“Already three land parcels have been handed over to service providers with one outstanding, which is to be handed over by end of this week. A further 1 224 platforms for additional TRUs have been cut.”