This morning Abel Tau, John Moodey and I fulfilled the promise we made to the Mamelodi Flood Victims earlier this year to provide legal support against the City of Tshwane and Gauteng Premier David Makhura who have both failed to deliver on their relocation promise.
It has been over a year since the Mamelodi flood disaster of 29 December 2019 and still our fellow citizens are without a place to call home! Soon after the floods hit, Gauteng Premier David Makhura promised the flood victims that they would be moved to a safer space as a matter of urgency.
If Premier Makhura could promise a prompt response to the victims, surely, he knew what he was talking about…or was it another political ploy to placate the flood victims’ anger and desperation?
In an interview with eNCA on 11 July 2020, Selby Bokaba, a City of Tshwane Spokesperson said that the City had been marred with corruption. That a group known as the “Business Forum”, had held the City to ransom demanding that their scope of work for the relocation project be extended so they could derive more benefit which has delayed the relocation process.
Bokaba went on to say that the first phase of relocations would be initiated a week later, however, none of this has happened to this day.
Few of us can easily forget seeing the devastating impact of the heavy floods that swept through much of Gauteng that December.
Most of us watched in horror on television screens as people were trapped in their homes. Others were left gob-smacked by the images or videos they received via WhatsApp and other social media, of shacks, people’s personal belongings and cars floating as they were being swept away by strong winds and unstoppable pools of storm water.
And so, a year and four months after the floods, victims are still in limbo and at the mercy of political meanderings, petty bureaucracy, and false promises.
Once again ActionSA has sought the serves of Mkhabela Huntley Attorneys led by Wendel Bloem to provide legal support to this community who had managed to raise a little money to be able to pay for their legal action against the City.
However, the commendable efforts of ActionSA Gauteng Campaigns Manager Abel Tau have compelled us to respond to yet another community in need. To that end, ActionSA will pay for the legal fees of this action while the community diverts the money they have amassed so far toward some of their more immediate needs.
