By Loushe Jordaan Gilbert
As relief efforts are underway in various areas following disruptive rain that hit the mother city last week, residents in Khayelitsha, an area that was severely affected by localised flooding, said the situation in the area remains dire.
Speaking on VOC Breakfast on Wednesday Monde Bambelo, Khayelitsha Community Police Forum Chair said the recent downpours has affected several homes, leaving many destitute.
“The situation is bad, especially in informal settlements. Our people are living in dire conditions, practically living in households that are inhumane as their places are completely flooded,” he said.
Bambelo further said Khayelitsha is one of the many areas that is constantly affected by the adverse weather conditions with not much assistance from key role players.
“When you engage the councillors, they all say that their hands are tied while the City of Cape Town (COCT) is waiting for the area to be declared a disaster area. They are not assisting our people at all while they are always making promises that they do not keep. We honestly need help to avoid these issues from occurring year in and out,” he noted.
Last week Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said there is a need for formal houses to protect residents from widespread flooding.
He was speaking in Khayelitsha on Thursday. Hill-Lewis said they (COCT) would start identifying places that are susceptible to flooding.
“What we will do now in the next few weeks is to go and see what are those areas that we did not expect flooding where it did flood, what are the reasons for that, [and] how do we work now in the coming summer to try and alleviate that.”
Bambelo said they are tired of the lip service they get. He said the COCT as well as the resident affected need to bring about change.
“Promises of proper structures being build has been ongoing for years and to date, nothing has changed. At the same time is important to note that as much as the COCT is at fault, we (residents in the area) are also to be blamed as we do not want to move elsewhere when the opportunity does arise. We cannot say that we want help, but refuse to move elsewhere,” he stressed.
Photo: GOTG
