By Penny Fourie.
Police dispersed angry residents from Thuthukani Seatides informal settlement after they blocked the M4 freeway at Westbrook using rubble and burning barricades on Tuesday.
This follows their eviction from the Belvedere Community centre in Tongaat which they had used as a temporary shelter after their homes were destroyed during the downpour on Monday.
The informal settlement at the beginning of Genazzano road is home to about 100 shacks.
When I visited the informal settlement I saw several shacks which had collapsed and many were flooded with water and mud.
There is despair and frustration among the people who have nowhere to go while they wait for flood relief.
The protestors said the local councillor, Geoff Pullan (Democratic Alliance) has ignored their calls seeking disaster relief and has done nothing to support them.
“All we want is shelter so we can sleep somewhere, blankets and food,” said one of the protesters, Senbile Ndusa.
She told me she put everything into making her house a home, and now, it is gone.
“We have nothing, and nowhere to go. Some people are even seeking shelter in the communal toilets,” said Ndusa whose home was swept away in the mudslide caused by the excessive rain.
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