Mamelodi Flood Victims – The City of Tshwane reneges on relocation plans

ActionSA has learnt, with disgust, that the DA-led City of Tshwane has refused to relocate the Mamelodi Flood Victims. Yesterday, following an invite from the leaders of flood victims, we were advised that the City had, once again, regened on its empty promise to residents.

In a meeting held earlier this week, the representatives of the flood victims were informed that the City of Tshwane had no means of relocating and housing these residents; they have not had a place to call home since 29 December 2019. At the time, a relocation plan was mooted and then abandoned by the City. A new plan was then supposedly developed, this plan has also turned to dust. 

It is clear that the City is hoping that these residents will quietly go away and that the problem will not have to be resolved. 

As usual, Ghost Mayor, Cllr Randall Williams, is too busy enjoying the perks of final days in the halls of the mayoral office than helping residents in communities. The City is in free-fall and Cllr Williams could not be bothered by its plight.

The behaviour of the Gauteng Provincial Government has been no better. Premier, David Makhura, swore to move the affected families to a safe space as a matter of urgency back in 2019. ActionSA found it concerning that only 192 of the 790 families would be accommodated in the City’s relocation plans while the rest of the families were to be left in a state of unending limbo while the DA-led City of Tshwane supposedly cobbled together yet another relocation plan. The affected residents have been given no indication of when this “plan” may come about. 

The victims of the Mamelodi flood disaster have every right to have the government act swiftly and decisively to their plight. This has yet to convincingly happen. Instead, these victims have been served with nothing but broken promises on the matter – both from the City of Tshwane and the Gauteng Premier. The remaining 598 flood victims of the original 790 that were affected have been left to the mercy of further political meanderings, petty bureaucracy, and further false promises by politicians.  

In government, ActionSA would:

• Use the legislative mandate provided to municipalities to provide temporary emergency accommodation to residents affected by disasters swiftly;
• Be proactive through pro-poor governance that builds the human resources and financial capacity within the municipality to ensure that we can implement such policies without delay when needed; 
• Conduct proper oversight and include community leaders in our efforts to aid the community to ensure that political representatives and municipal officials cannot shirk away from their responsibilities of serving our residents; and 
• Increase allocations for the provision of site and service stands so communities can build secure homes for themselves, and the City of Tshwane can address the rising housing crisis in the city.

ActionSA calls on the City to relocate the remaining shacks as promised. We have already pledged the services of our legal team to support this community. Our lawyers remain ready to assist these victims.