Durban - Flood victims evicted from Tehuis Hostel in uMlazi two weeks ago and then moved into a former student residence in Berea, Durban, are living in overcrowded conditions.
Last week Tuesday the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Human Settlement announced the closure of the Tehuis shelter, stating that the families, which consist of about 100 people, have been moved to Transitional Emergency Accommodation (TEA) facilities within the city.
“The department can report that fifty percent (50%) of the mass care centres have been formally shut down, bringing the overall number of mass care centres that have been closed to seventy (70),” said the department’s spokesperson, Mlungisi Khumalo.
Ward councillor Sakhile Mngadi said he was concerned about the people living in that building because it had many issues, including no water, and the fact that it could accommodate no more than 30 people.
Mngadi said that last week he was made aware that water had been made available in the building.
“The Mercury” visited the building to get an idea of the conditions the family were living under.
It was found that up to four families were sharing a room. In one of the rooms six men were sleeping on thin mattresses.
“The Mercury” also found a mother nursing her infant on the veranda that she has turned into a makeshift bedroom.