KZN Flood Victims Remain Homeless As “Racist and Greedy” Landlords Rank Profits Over People, Government Says

• The victims of the KwaZulu-Natal floods have been left in the lurch by greedy landlords
• The provincial government in KZN blamed the slow progress of securing suitable houses for displaced victims on landlords who are looking to make a quick buck
• While the KZN government and landlords play power games, 4 000 people await temporary housing

KWAZULU-NATAL - The provincial government in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has sworn off working with "racist" landlords who put their bottom line before human dignity.

The MEC of human settlements and public works in the province, Dr Ntuthuko Mahlaba, said the department was battling to find suitable housing for hundreds of families displaced by the floods.

The catastrophic floods in April 2022 left 6 278 people homeless, and more than 400 people lost their lives in the devastation.

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The challenges faced by the department include a fallout two weeks ago between the KZN government and a Reservoir Hills landlord who agreed to rent out a building to house flood victims. However, the landlord reneged on the agreement at the last minute and demanded that government buy the building, TimeLIVE reported.

Mahlaba said the government refused to be bullied by landlords who sought to profit from the flood victims' suffering by raising prices above market value or attempting to force them to buy temporary infrastructure.

The MEC added that the national government had set aside R325 million for emergency housing, over R78 million of which has been used to pay service providers. The department has also completed thousands of temporary residential units thus far.

According to News 24, the provincial government has only delivered 1 046 temporary housing structures to date, which has left almost 4 000 victims with no housing.

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South Africans react to the slow progress of KZN flood relief efforts

South Africans don't buy the MEC's reasons for the slow pace of finding suitable housing for the displaced flood victims.

Here are some comments:

@SLOGANGOV asked:

"Finding scapegoats for govt's flops?"

@char_delaney questioned:

"But isn’t that what the ANC does? Put profits above human dignity. ie school toilets just to begin with."

@thabomotlou claimed:

"Whites are still running the country supported by our constitution and our courts, and when Lindiwe Sisulu raised the issue, she was lambasted and called names."

@thasveermaraj08 suggested:

"These MECs could have built homes for those displaced. Full of excuses."

@ThandohNkosi commented:

"Not surprising, but still sad."

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Source: Briefly News