Residents of Fynbos suffer due to lack of services

Issued by Kevin Mileham – EC Premier Campaign Spokesperson for Basic Services
18 Apr 2019 in Press Statements

The residents of Fynbos in East London are suffering in inhumane living conditions because of the uncaring attitude of the failing ANC government in the Buffalo City Metro.

Yesterday, 17 April 2019, I was joined by DA Team One South Africa Spokesperson for Secure Borders, Jacques Julius, in conducting an oversight inspection at the Fynbos temporary accommodation site. (Pictures attached here, here and here)

   

These residents were accommodated in temporary houses (locally referred to as “fridges”) while permanent housing was secured for them. The temporary arrangement was supposed to last no longer than 6 months – but some residents have been in Fynbos for over 7 years.

The two room temporary shelters have no running water or toilets and little ventilation or natural light. They are also built right on top of each other. Residents report that in winter they are freezing cold, and in summer the heat is unbearable.

The toilet facilities (14 toilets servicing hundreds of residents) are frequently out of operation and flood the shelters in the immediate vicinity with raw sewage. None of the toilets have doors, which results in residents opting to use buckets in their shelters, and disposing the waste in the veld across the road. Water supply is intermittent and of poor quality.

The residents have been on the waiting list for houses for years, but outsiders receive the houses they are entitled to before they do.

It is unacceptable that 25 years after the dawn of democracy, South Africans are still forced into these kinds of camps and then forgotten.

The DA undertook to raise the matter in parliament and pressurise the failing ANC-led Buffalo City to prioritise proper housing for these citizens.

A DA government will build One South Africa for All by delivering quality housing and speeding up basic services.

On the 8th of May, citizens have an opportunity to bring about change that delivers houses, water, sanitation, electricity and other basic services to all.