South African Families Endure 13-Year ‘Temporary’ Housing Nightmare
In a stark case of delayed development and broken promises, dozens of families in Durban are marking a grim anniversary: thirteen years living in a transit camp they were told was a temporary stopgap. Relocated to make way for a housing project that remains little more than an empty field, the residents of the Amaoti Transit Camp now accuse the eThekwini municipality of systemic neglect as their living conditions deteriorate beyond measure.
A Legacy of Leaks and Overwhelmed Sanitation
The reality of life in the camp is a far cry from the temporary solution residents were promised. Many of the prefabricated units are leaking, a problem that becomes a full-blown crisis during the rainy summer season. Residents live in constant fear of their furniture and belongings being destroyed by water seeping through compromised roofs.
The situation is even more dire for sanitation. Approximately 360 people share just 12 ablution blocks housed in old shipping containers. Most of these facilities are now vandalized, smelly, and plagued by overflowing toilets. With communal toilets rendered unusable, many residents have no choice but to relieve themselves in the surrounding bushes, creating a severe public health risk. To make matters worse, regular garbage collection is inconsistent, adding to the squalor.
Empty Promises and an Overgrown Field
Two years ago, the eThekwini municipality publicly stated that families would be relocated in phases once new houses were built as part of the Amaoti Cuba housing project. However, a recent visit to the proposed site reveals a different story. Only a single, lonely showhouse stands on the land, surrounded by vast tracts of overgrown grass. There is little to no evidence of any imminent construction activity, leaving residents to wonder if they have been forgotten.
Community leader Linda Mfeya expresses the collective frustration and sense of betrayal. “We were forcefully moved from our houses by the municipality. Now we are still waiting for our RDP houses that were promised to us,” Mfeya stated. “The sad thing is that we were not living in shacks. We had proper houses. I sometimes go away for weeks to work in Johannesburg and worry about my family because one day this house will fall on us.”
A Painful Trade-Off
For residents like Noncedo Mrali, the municipality’s failure to deliver is a particularly painful blow. “I tore down my three-room house when the municipality promised to build us new houses,” Mrali explained, highlighting the devastating trade-off families made on the basis of a promise. “The municipality dumped us here to suffer, and we are not even allowed to build proper houses next to the transit camp.”
Municipality Points to Feasibility and Land Constraints
When confronted for comment, eThekwini municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana indicated that the project is still in its preliminary stages. She stated that the City is “currently doing feasibility checks for the high-density housing project” and that a precise budget cannot yet be provided.
Blaming the years-long delay in rehousing the families, Sisilana cited “limited developable land and other constraints” as the primary obstacles. For the hundreds of people waiting in the crumbling transit camp, these explanations offer little comfort as they enter a fourteenth year of what they call a forgotten existence.
Source: Original reporting from GroundUp.