By REGINALD KANYANE
The emotional pictures of a man from Pompong Section in Dryharts village near Taung, who was left destitute after his house was demolished by torrential rains left people distressed.
Piet Masibi (65), who stayed with his father, Andries Masibi (86) said his one roomed house was ruined by torrential rains on Sunday morning.
“I do not have anywhere to go after my house was destroyed by torrential rains. I don’t even know where I will sleep tonight, so I urge anyone who could assist with anything to come forward. I have lost all my belongings because of the torrential rains and I’m also in need of a shelter.
“I have communicated with our ward councillor and he said he will only be able to assist on Tuesday. However, my situation is too bad to wait for Tuesday as I need a temporary shelter. So, I will highly appreciate it if there is any good Samaritan out there who could assist,” he said.
The Greater Taung Local Municipality (GTLM) mayor, Tumisang Gaoraelwe said: “We will liaise with our ward councillor to go and assess the situation of the affected family and we will take it from there. However, the municipality will definitely assist with a temporary solution for now and all administrative issues will be dealt with on Tuesday.”
Meanwhile, South Africa was hit hard by a massive and lethal downpour earlier this week, where Kwazulu-Natal province is the most affected. The chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements, Machwene Semenya said she has observed with concern the destruction of property in KwaZulu-Natal.
Semenya also urged the Department of Human Settlements to work with other government departments on all levels to find alternative accommodation for residents affected by the floods.
“We have received worrying reports that RDP houses and other dwellings have been destroyed by the storm, which has left many families destitute. We welcome the announcement made by the national government that KwaZulu-Natal has been declared a disaster area, which will assist in unlocking necessary resources to develop shelter for the people.
“We also extend our heartfelt condolences to the families that have lost their loved ones during this tragedy. Despite the obvious budgetary shortfalls that the department is facing, we urge the department to rally its stakeholders and agencies in efforts to rebuild infrastructure in KZN,” Semenya said.
She further said the committee urged departmental agencies, such as the Housing Development Agency and the National Housing Finance Corporation to enhance their systems to ensure that rebuilding efforts are not hampered.
Semenya added that the committee will hold a meeting with the department to assess the overall impact of the storm, the department’s interventions and plans to rebuild the affected houses.
“But the immediate concern is that the affected communities must be provided with interim shelter to alleviate the impact of the storm. In the long term, the committee will be preoccupied with how the department will speed up implementation of its projects to ensure that communities are provided with quality human settlements,” she concluded.
Anyone who would like to assist the Masibi family can contact Piet Masibi on 0788464161 or Kabelo Moshwetsi on 0762021209.
The Guardian 