KwaZulu-Natal to close emergency accommodations for flood victims by January 2027
Image: Shan Pillay
All Transitional Emergency Accommodations (TEA) will be closed by January 2027, stated the KwaZulu-Natal Human Settlements Department (DHS) on Wednesday.
In a report to the KZN Legislature Human Settlements Portfolio Committee, the department recorded that it had spent R185 million on TEA rental for flood victims from December 2022 to December 2024, and an additional R128 million for every 12 months thereafter.
The DHS is projecting that 837 houses will be completed by December 2026, and that 375 flood victims will be housed at Montclair Lodge and Cornubia Temporary Residential Units (TRUs) while building their permanent houses, targeted for completion by June 2027.
According to the DHS flood victim status report, there are 1,195 families in TEU as of June 2025.
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Next
Stay
Close ✕
In an updated report before the committee on the resettlement of 2022 and 2025 flood victims, the DHS identified seven problems. They were: Land parcels rezoning/statutory compliance for the 2022 disaster victims' permanent shelter solution was completed after two years, against the expectation of a shorter period.
There is no additional funding for bulk infrastructure services and top structures estimated at R 1.7 billion if building on six identified land parcels, and R681 million if building at Cornubia.
Communities already living near the rezoned identified land parcels do not want flood victims to be settled in these land parcels.
There is no funding for TEA rent, and it depletes departmental resources, which would have been spent on service delivery.
The department has spent R185 million on TEA rent from December 2022 to December 2024, and an additional R128 million for every 12 months.
Flood victims are inconvenienced as they do not have complete privacy where they live. They no longer enjoy the perpetual stay in TEAs.
The KZN province, particularly in eThekwini, continues to suffer from disasters, as could be seen with the 2025 emergencies in Lamontville and Umlazi.
The department stated that the construction of 108 houses in Cornubia, north of Durban, could commence this month.
For the Cornubia area, the DHS has allocated R420 million from the Urban Settlements Development Grant (USDG) and the Informal Settlements Upgrading Programme grant (ISUPG) for bulk services from the 2025 /26 budget.
The department stated that R25 million from Capital Balances had already been allocated to complete 108 houses in October 2025.
The balance of the money will be made available in the 2026/27 financial year. The 692 houses are scheduled for completion by the end of December 2026, and it is anticipated that the flood victims will move in during December 2026 and January 2027.
The DHS stated that 20 houses for flood victims are under construction at Illovo, costing R3.8 million. The completion of these houses will close Ilfracombe and Adams TEUs.
It warned that the seven rezoned lands under eThekwini Metro will be utilised for the normal housing projects to address the backlog. The DHS stated that, together with affected municipalities, it will conduct an intensive social facilitation on communities that refuse to accept flood victims and other developments in their backyards.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
6 days ago
- IOL News
KwaZulu-Natal to close emergency accommodations for flood victims by January 2027
The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature Human Settlements Portfolio Committee was briefed on plans to provide houses for flood victims. Image: Shan Pillay All Transitional Emergency Accommodations (TEA) will be closed by January 2027, stated the KwaZulu-Natal Human Settlements Department (DHS) on Wednesday. In a report to the KZN Legislature Human Settlements Portfolio Committee, the department recorded that it had spent R185 million on TEA rental for flood victims from December 2022 to December 2024, and an additional R128 million for every 12 months thereafter. The DHS is projecting that 837 houses will be completed by December 2026, and that 375 flood victims will be housed at Montclair Lodge and Cornubia Temporary Residential Units (TRUs) while building their permanent houses, targeted for completion by June 2027. According to the DHS flood victim status report, there are 1,195 families in TEU as of June 2025. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ In an updated report before the committee on the resettlement of 2022 and 2025 flood victims, the DHS identified seven problems. They were: Land parcels rezoning/statutory compliance for the 2022 disaster victims' permanent shelter solution was completed after two years, against the expectation of a shorter period. There is no additional funding for bulk infrastructure services and top structures estimated at R 1.7 billion if building on six identified land parcels, and R681 million if building at Cornubia. Communities already living near the rezoned identified land parcels do not want flood victims to be settled in these land parcels. There is no funding for TEA rent, and it depletes departmental resources, which would have been spent on service delivery. The department has spent R185 million on TEA rent from December 2022 to December 2024, and an additional R128 million for every 12 months. Flood victims are inconvenienced as they do not have complete privacy where they live. They no longer enjoy the perpetual stay in TEAs. The KZN province, particularly in eThekwini, continues to suffer from disasters, as could be seen with the 2025 emergencies in Lamontville and Umlazi. The department stated that the construction of 108 houses in Cornubia, north of Durban, could commence this month. For the Cornubia area, the DHS has allocated R420 million from the Urban Settlements Development Grant (USDG) and the Informal Settlements Upgrading Programme grant (ISUPG) for bulk services from the 2025 /26 budget. The department stated that R25 million from Capital Balances had already been allocated to complete 108 houses in October 2025. The balance of the money will be made available in the 2026/27 financial year. The 692 houses are scheduled for completion by the end of December 2026, and it is anticipated that the flood victims will move in during December 2026 and January 2027. The DHS stated that 20 houses for flood victims are under construction at Illovo, costing R3.8 million. The completion of these houses will close Ilfracombe and Adams TEUs. It warned that the seven rezoned lands under eThekwini Metro will be utilised for the normal housing projects to address the backlog. The DHS stated that, together with affected municipalities, it will conduct an intensive social facilitation on communities that refuse to accept flood victims and other developments in their backyards.
IOL News
6 days ago
- IOL News
Report reveals stalled housing projects in KwaZulu-Natal
A report on blocked and stalled projects was presented to the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature Human Settlements Portfolio Committee, highlighting the nature of the challenges, proposed interventions, and progress on houses Image: KwaZulu-Natal Human Settlements A 62-page summarised report by the Department of Human Settlements (DHS) in KwaZulu-Natal depicted the dire straits of housing projects in the province. The report on blocked and stalled projects was presented to the KZN Legislature's Human Settlements Portfolio Committee recently. It highlighted the nature of the challenges, proposed interventions, and progress to date on the implementation of the development interventions. There are several blocked projects in the report, with the most being eight in the Ilembe District Municipality. Charlestown Housing, a R62 million project with a contract date from December 20, 2019, to April 30, 2025; sites approved 1,200, with houses delivered 295. The project is blocked due to the lack of a bulk water supply. Initially, the project area was connected to Pixley ka Seme Municipality (Mpumalanga Province) for bulk water supply, which was later cut off due to high demand. The Newcastle Municipality is currently acquiring funds for the provision of bulk water supply. The Mbazwana Rectification 426 unit housing scheme has not broken soil as yet. The department cannot proceed with the Supply Chain Management processes to appoint a service provider before beneficiary verification has been concluded. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Cedera Housing project, worth R44 million, started in July 2016 with a contract end date of March 2018. However, only 100 units were built out of 623. The targeted beneficiaries are residents at Khanye Village, which is the staff accommodation for the workers of Cedara College. However, over the years, these families have grown, and some workers have retired but remained in the village. The project was stalled because of insufficient bulk services and the school site encroaching. The Umgungundlovu District has no funds to complete the bulk services. No funding in the Umgungundlovu Municipality for bulk services led to the stalling of 500 homes for the Kheyalisha Housing Project from December 2007. The Chief Albert Luthuli Housing Project, a R43 million project for 1,000 homes, was contracted between February 2005 to October 2010. Only 394 houses were built. The implementing agent abandoned the project due to financial challenges and left units incomplete. There was also poor workmanship and non-performance noted before the municipality terminated the service provider. The department has repackaged the project as a rectification and rehabilitation project to address the assessment's findings. Umzinto Slum Clearance Housing Project worth R269 million contracted from April 1, 2012, to December 2017. Of the 1,925 sites, only 500 units were built. The project was identified by uMdoni Municipality to clear six informal settlements, but due to the non-availability of bulk sanitation infrastructure, it was stalled. Riona Gokool, MPL and DA KZN spokesperson on Human Settlements, said the 4th Quarter performance reports have revealed a litany of issues. Gokool stated that the DHS failed to resolve dozens of blocked projects, many of which have been stagnant for more than a decade. 'These projects represent billions of rand in public funds and affect thousands of intended beneficiaries, yet the department has provided no clear roadmap for completion. There should be a comprehensive action plan for all blocked projects, with district-specific timeframes. A moratorium should be placed on new projects until current backlogs are resolved,' Gokool said. Two weeks ago, during a discussion over his 400 days in office as the MEC for Transport and Human Settlements, Siboniso Duma expressed his commitment to tackling delays in housing construction. He stated that his department had reduced blocked housing projects from 68 to 15.
IOL News
22-07-2025
- IOL News
Sea View Cemetery: A community's struggle for dignity and housing
Living side-by-side with gravestones is a way of life for residents of the Sea View settlement in Durban Image: Sibonelo Ngcobo/Independent Newspapers LIVING in shacks atop gravesites is the lot of a desperate community of 400 people inhabiting the Sea View Cemetery on Coedmore Road in Durban. Their plight caught the attention of the KwaZulu-Natal Human Settlements Department that is attempting to have them relocated to formal houses and restore respect for the deceased. Spokesperson for the department, Ndabezinhle Sibiya, said the Sea View situation underscored the desperation of some communities that resorted to inhabiting sacred spaces. Those who call the cemetery home have built their dwellings in all the available space. In some instances tombstones are found in some shacks. It's common practice for inhabitants to walk on graves, children play on them, and some even sleep on them. 'The MEC, Siboniso Duma, has stated that it is incorrect for people to live on top of graves,' Sibiya revealed, emphasising the significant cultural implications of such a situation. "We must remember the spirit of ubuntu, as cemeteries are regarded as sacred spaces." Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ This sentiment reflects a broader call for dignity and respect towards those who have passed away, while also confronting the pressing housing crisis faced by many South Africans. The emergence of shacks around the Sea View Cemetery, particularly in the adjacent Kennville informal settlement, has prompted urgent action from the government. Sibiya acknowledged the acute land scarcity problem that complicates these efforts, yet affirmed that the integrity of cemeteries cannot be compromised. In pursuit of sustainable housing solutions, local traditional leaders in Inanda have offered land for new construction, although critical funding of approximately R1.7 billion is needed for essential bulk infrastructure improvements. Construction is already underway on a separate site in Cornubia, with an investment of R500 million allocated for housing development. Over the weekend, MEC Duma directed their Head of Department, Max Mbili, along with the eThekwini Municipality, to expedite the profiling of families residing in Sea View Cemetery, so that they could be relocated to the Cornubia site. Duma was mindful that since the dawn of democracy in 1994, efforts to provide housing for the needy people of Sea View had evolved significantly but with many complex challenges. 'After 1994, the government prioritised housing for those living in the area since 1981,' Duma said. He noted there were past initiatives led by prominent figures in the early 2000s, aimed at relocating families from this community to improved housing in Welbedacht, Chatsworth. However, the MEC lamented the unfortunate reality that some families returned to the vicinity, perpetuating new informal settlements. Sibiya said the current conditions at Sea View Cemetery were troubling, with families crammed into makeshift shacks. 'It's a troubling situation that we are working to address,' he said. Sea View resident Doris Zeka, 50, said she moved from Kokstad to th e cemetery about 30 years ago. She said many residents were from the Eastern Cape. Zeka acknowledged that living in a cemetery was 'not okay', but they were desperate. 'We don't have the means to leave and rent elsewhere,' Zeka said. She said her informal structure is built around a grave, and they placed a table on it. 'We want to leave because of the heat. It's too hot here,' Zeka said. On service delivery, she said they have illegally connected electricity, which officials disconnected at times. Zeka said the last time officials visited the area was last year, and they took photographs. Another resident, Buyelwa Ncedo from Tsolo, Eastern Cape, said she arrived in the area in 1995. She said that relatives of those buried in the graves they built on top of, realised it was a hopeless situation. 'They got tired because they realised there was no way they could see their relatives' graves,' Ncedo said. She said they had never attacked them or taken any action against them because they realised the place had become their home. The eThekwini Municipality's spokesperson, Gugu Sisilana, clarified that the Sea View Cemetery did not fall under municipal jurisdiction; the urgency of the situation has prompted outreach efforts. 'It is important to clarify that the Seaview Cemetery is not owned or managed by eThekwini Municipality,' said Sisilana. DAILY NEWS
