Floods: There is no place like home

GEORGE NEWS - Residents of the informal communities of Moeggehuur and Moeggeploeg are in a stand-off with George Municipality about help to repair their flooded homes. Two weeks of rainy weather have forced residents to leave their homes for the shelter provided by the municipality at the community hall in Pacaltsdorp.

The community members told George Herald they will not leave the hall until they are helped, but the municipality says it cannot help the informal dwellers until they are home.

The informal houses have been left damaged, some beyond repair, and they want the municipality to supply materials to secure their homes. "Do they want us to leave here and go wait for them to show up and then they never do? No, we will go home the day they deliver the materials," said one of the leaders, Frances Roelfse.

Municipal spokesperson Chantel Edwards-Klose said an investigation will be done as soon as they return to their homes to ascertain the extent of the damage and to determine what assistance the municipality can provide. "Material cannot be provided to families while they remain in the community hall."

Last Thursday's rainy and windy weather left informal dwellers from Schaapkop Valley in the same boat. Shaun Hector, who lives here with his wife, says he had to make a rectangular cut in his floor so the water could flow away.

He said 19 houses were damaged and four families were left stranded. "One family had to move in the middle of the night because water was flowing right through their house."

Councillor Virgill Gericke helped to calm down the crowd of people last week after emotions were running high.

Not fit for homes
According to Edwards-Klose, on-site inspections of the structures at Moeggeploeg were done with community leaders.

"At this time, the community leaders requested the supply of roof sheets (six per structure) as well as the supply of additional G5 and G7 with cement for flooring. This request was made for the Moeggeploeg and Moeggehuur informal settlements."

The residents want the metal roof sheets because gunplast, a thick plastic, does not last. Edwards-Klose last week made it clear that the settlements are a result of illegal land invasions primarily on land that has not been earmarked for housing development for exactly these reasons - the likelihood of flooding and rising surface water. Other informal settlements are encountering the same issues and it would not be fair to provide the requested material to certain settlements only. An assessment will be done of all affected structures to determine the damage and remedial action required.

The municipality only supplies gunplast to repair roofs, while the Department of Human Settlements has provided G7, which is gravel used to make roads, to prevent the damming up of rain water around the structures.

"The Human Settlements Directorate compiled a cost estimate of supplying as requested, to all informal settlements within George, and regrettably due to ongoing financial constraints this could not be approved," said Edwards-Klose.

"At Moeggeploeg Informal Settlement, the water has been pumped out and the directorate is in process with the installation and compacting of G7 on the informal road," said Edwards-Klose.

Some of the houses were knee-deep in water.

"The directorate will also look into installing a drainage pipe to prevent further flooding once the heavy-duty equipment has finished working. The residents were provided with gunplast for repairs, based on what has been provided to all informal settlements. With regard to Schaapkop Informal Settlement, the directorate has been working according to a list of complaints and is waiting on their service provider for more stock of gunplast.

As the material has been received, it has been issued. Moeggeploeg received the initial stock of gunplast as the situation there was more critical.

"In terms of municipal policy, residents are assisted with material to build structures:
1. Where existing shelters have been destroyed or damaged (fire and storm damage).
2. Where the prevailing situation of the affected parties, poses and immediate threat to their lives, health and safety.
3. Where persons / families have been evicted or face the threat of imminent eviction.
4. Where structures are derelict and uninhabitable.
5. Structures of the elderly and disabled which are uninhabitable.

"It needs to be noted that not everyone will qualify for assistance and the level of assistance is determined by funds available at any given time. An investigation or on-site inspection will be done and the affected persons will qualify if it has been determined, in for example the case of a fire, that it was not arson. Structures utilised as a bedroom / sleeping area only, do not get replaced with a new structure.