The KwaZulu-Natal government is fast-tracking relief efforts in the Kenville informal settlement area, following the fire that destroyed homes, displacing over 400 families.
Over 200 informal units at the Kenville Informal Settlement in Sea Cow Lake, Durban, were razed by fire over the weekend, leaving 431 families displaced, and a pregnant woman dead.
Following a visit to Kenville, KwaZulu-Natal Transport and Human Settlements MEC, Siboniso Duma, together with eThekwini Municipality Mayor, Cyril Xaba, have agreed to implement immediate relief, while activating a long-term plan to assist the 431 destitute families.
After consultation with Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, the provincial Human Settlements Department and eThekwini Municipality announced that building material would be delivered by Wednesday and Thursday, to rebuild 237 informal dwellings destroyed by fire.
Duma said building material will also be arranged for over 200 families who were affected in the past, but their profiling took long to complete.
He said eThekwini Municipality, together with the NGO Gift of the Givers, have arranged blankets, mattresses, and food for the families, while the Office of the Mayor is assisting the families of the deceased with funeral arrangements.
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“The Department of Education is ensuring that learning for some of the 89 children is not interrupted, [while] the Department of Health is ensuring access to quality healthcare through a mobile clinic.
“The Department of Social Development is providing relief vouchers and counselling to the families, and Home Affairs is assisting with the issuing of temporary IDs and other enabling documents,” Duma said.
The MEC emphasised that the long-term plan is to ensure that all families are relocated to a suitable land where government and the city will build decent houses.
“Some of the informal settlements that have been razed down by fire are inaccessible and have been built in unsuitable land without proper planning. We are searching for vacant land in order to build houses for these families.
“Homes in poor terrains can be easily washed away during heavy rains [and] this applies to those who reside near rivers and waterways. With extreme weather patterns caused by climate change, our main goal is to save innocent lives,” Duma said.
Xaba has also assured that the municipality, working with all spheres of government, will provide much-needed relief to the families affected by fire to bring their live to normalcy.
The Mayor said fire victims have already been relocated to a temporary shelter and have been provided with food hampers.
“Social workers and healthcare workers are on site to provide psychosocial and healthcare services to the victims. The Department of Human Settlements has also profiled all affected households with an intention of providing them with building material,” Xaba said. – SAnews.gov.za
