While the City of Johannesburg investigates how a private developer was allowed to build over 100 houses on a wetland in Protea Glen, dozens of homeowners across the city were picking up pieces following a trail of destruction caused by flooding.
At least 2,000 households have been affected by flooding, according to human settlements minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, who visited various flood-hit areas in Soweto. The city reported that sinkholes had appeared in roads leading to their closure and some bridges were swept away. More than 60 people who were displaced by the flash floods from Nancefields were accommodated at a community hall.
Rebaone, a 56-year-old government employee and a resident of Ext 4 in Protea Glen, was at work on Friday when heavy rains flooded her house and damaged her property including her fridge, washing machine, cupboards and stove. She said flooding was common in her neighbourhood whose streets do not have a drainage system and whose land does not quickly absorb moisture.
“This is the fourth time that our homes have been flooded. The last time was in January last year. We have asked the municipality so many times to build a wall that separates our houses from the wet land. We are not safe. We should be relocated,’’ she said. She's lived in her house for 20 years.
Rebaone said the damage has inconvenienced the festive plans as they will now have to use their money to replace the damaged items.
The water also broke windows at the house of her neighbour Suzana Muianga, 43. The force of the water also damaged her plasma TV and fridge. A sellotape has been used to mend the broken windows.
“The windows in my children's bedrooms are also smashed and I had to repair them with the tape as a temporary measure. We're scared because our houses will be damaged even further if another flood comes,’’ said Muianga.
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The area has about 100 formal houses made of brick and mortar with remote-controlled gates. In some of the houses, cupboards and couches were still wet
City of Johannesburg officials said they did not know who within the municipality approved development plans for the houses in the area.
Housing MMC Mlungisi Mabaso said: ''To be quite honest with you, we don’t know [how the building plans were approved]. We still have to check because this is a private development and it is on a flood line.
“If you look at the streets here, they do not meet Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) regulations. There is still a lot that the city has to do in terms of assessing the extent of work that was done here. We need to check who gave permission or authorisation for this development. Who was the developer and how they obtained approvals.
“I will engage with the MMC for development planning because they are the ones responsible for that [approvals of plans]. This [private development] dates back to 10 years ago. It tells you the amount of work that still needs to be done to get to the bottom of what happened here,’’ said Mabaso.
Mabaso said the city’s development and planning department is responsible for the approval of development plans. He said studies are submitted and entities concerned make inputs.
Kubayi also said the area did not meet the minimum requirements for property development.
“These people are already swimming in water. This area doesn’t meet the minimum requirements of a place that should have been developed. We need to find the developer so that we can start a process to relocate these people. It can’t be government’s liability to relocate these people because they have paid somebody who made profit out of this area,’’ she added.
Public safety MMC David Tembe said 339 people were affected by the floods in the weekend with 269 houses and shacks swept away. Eleven houses in Klipspruit were destroyed, leaving 73 people affected, while in Dobsonville 10 houses including shacks were knocked down and 48 people were displaced. Another 52 homes in Meadowlands were swept away.
Tembe said the city’s disaster management team has established a hybrid joint operation centre to monitor and assess the situation for relief.
Meanwhile, the South African Weather Services said chances of flooding still remain high as rainy conditions are set to continue throughout the week.
Forecaster Tokelo Chiloane said people living near rivers, wetlands and low-lying areas should beware of flooding this week.
“There is likelihood of more flooding because the ground is saturated, as a result of the rains we experienced in November and our drainage systems are blocked. So any amount of rain that comes will likely lead to flooding even though the rain is not severe,” she said.
“This coming week in Gauteng we are looking at 60% chances of showers and thundershowers for most of the week. We are going to start seeing it subside a bit from Saturday and Sunday with 30% chances of showers and thunder showers.”
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