Zuma’s promise to fix roofs unfulfilled

Two years later and Mamelodi and Soshanguve residents are still waiting for their roofs to be fixed after a violent hailstorm.

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Pretoria - Promises, including from President Jacob Zuma, to repair all roofs ravaged by a violent hailstorm two years ago in Mamelodi and Soshanguve, have come to nil – apparently due to lack of finance.

On the eve of another rainy season, most of the houses are still covered with plastic sheets provided by the City of Tshwane after the disaster in 2013.

This is despite promises by senior government officials, including Zuma, that all the asbestos roofs would be replaced. Zuma made the promises just before last year's general election in a door-to-door campaign in these areas.

The city declared a state of disaster following the storms that caused extensive damage to thousands of houses. Asbestos roofs, windows, solar geysers, cars and household items were destroyed and the damage was estimated at R100 million.

After the storm, the Gauteng Human Settlements Department said it would replace the asbestos roofs with the steel ones.

But affected families are still waiting because the project was stopped before all the roofs could be repaired. The families said they were told no money was allocated in the current financial year for the repairs.

Simon Mphalala, who was a subcontractor on the project, said he had not been paid. “I can confirm that work has indeed stopped.”

Gauteng Human Settlements MEC Jacob Mamabolo said work stopped because the project contracts ended in March.

The department was reviewing reports on financial and non-financial performance and would release a final report and way forward thereafter, he said.

Dismayed pensioner Lydia Maseko of White City in Mamelodi, said her storm-damaged roof was still in the same state as it was in 2013 after the disaster.

Outside her house, there were steel poles and cements bags, dumped by contractors five months ago. “I have asked around about the whereabouts of the contractor, but no one seems to know,” she said.

Another resident, Thokozile Shaba, who has lived in Mamelodi since the 1960s, had some steel poles delivered at her house five months ago. She recalled the day the storm opened gaping holes in her house roof.

“I was watching television with my grandchildren when the torrent began. It was as if it was a tornado.”

After the storm her four-roomed house was almost submerged in water, and her furniture soaked.

Two years on, she is still reeling from the damage caused by the storm.

The roof with visible holes caused by the tennis-ball sized hail has remained covered with the plastic sheets.

She worries that the summer rains would leak through.

Her meagre monthly pension was not enough to help refurbish her home, she said.

Thembi Sebata, community leader in Khalambazo section, Mamelodi, said the subcontractors complained that only a few houses they had fixed passed the quality assurance test by building inspectors.

Some work done on the houses was said to be shoddy.

Subcontractors bitterly complained that they were paid R800 a house, instead of R2 350 that was agreed upon before the work started, she said.

Sebata said a community meeting organised to provide an update on the project, did not take place.

Pinky Pilusa, community liaison officer in Khalambazo, said there were more than 100 damaged houses identified for repairs in that section, but only 28 of them had their roofs replaced by the end of March.

Pilusa said most steel roofs were strangely delivered to houses that already had corrugated iron roofs, indicating contractors did not do their homework.

White City residents said of the 150 storm-hit houses, only 23 houses had been fixed.

rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za

Pretoria News