13 years of empty promises for residents!

SIX months have turned into 13 years.

This is the situation for residents living in the KwaMancinza Transit Camps north of Durban in KZN.

The gatvol residents told Daily Sun life is hard for them, and they need urgent attention from the eThekwini Municipality.

They said toilets are no longer usable as they are broken and filthy.

They said most of them now use buckets to relieve themselves.

Residents were moved into the transit camps in 2011 after their homes were washed away by the heavy rains which hit Durban at the time.

A resident, Thuleleni Ngubane (52) stated that Mxolisi Kaunda, the mayor of eThekwini Municipality, visited the camps in 2021, observed the dire conditions they were living in, and promised them housing.

"That was the last time we heard from him. Till today, nothing has happened. The only thing that happened and angered us was that the walls of the camps were painted. So instead of moving us into proper houses, they decided to paint the camps," she said.

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Another resident, Nonhlanhla Masoka (67), said her sister had lost her eyesight while staying at the camps.

"This kind of environment is not conducive for her. She falls and hurts herself all the time," she said.

Gogo Doris Mbonambi (76) said they are begging for help because the terrible conditions they live under are not good, especially for someone her age.

"We've buried our children here. I think we've persevered far too long. The mayor promised us, but now clearly he has forgotten us."

She said most kids who arrived at the camp when they were young are now adults, and have children of their own.

"We appeal for removal. We can't take it anymore," she said.

eThekwini Municipality mayor's spokesman Mluleki Mntungwa said the city has a comprehensive programme to eradicate transit camps.

Mntunga said originally, there were 71 transit camps in the city.

"Since 2013, the municipality has been relocating families from transit camps to greenfield projects such as Cornubia. Recently, the municipality closed the Isiphingo Transit Camp and relocated 300 families to the newly built Kanku Road Housing Project," he said.

Mntunga said the city remains committed to eradicating all 42 transit camps by 2026 in line with the imperatives of the Constitution of ensuring that people are afforded their right to decent shelter.