Cornubia flood victims say new homes were handed over with defects

Nomthandazo Nama moved into her new home at the Cornubia housing development near Phoenix, north of Durban, in June. Less than five months later she was struggling to fix gaps around her windows and under her doors, where water leaked in and damaged her belongings whenever it rained. “The contractors didn't install a gutter,” she said. Her cement floor also began to crumble soon after she moved in, and the unemployed mother said she had to use her social grant to buy paint to seal it.

Nama's family was among the thousands who lost their homes in the April 2022 floods, and many beneficiaries are still waiting for their houses to be completed. Muzi Ngongoma, a pensioner who uses a walking stick, said he was allocated a double-storey house despite his mobility problems and struggles to go downstairs to the bathroom and kitchen. “Officials even asked me if I'd be able to walk up the stairs, because I'm unable to walk a distance. I ended up having to accept the house that was given to me,” he said.

Last week President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the development, accompanied by KwaZulu-Natal premier Thami Ntuli, human settlements minister Thembi Simelane and eThekwini mayor Cyril Xaba. They visited phase 2A, where the first 113 homes were handed over in May after lengthy delays. Ramaphosa said 145 houses were under construction and that 460 would be built by mid-2027, and handed over two houses to flood victims.

After the delegation left, several residents approached GroundUp to describe how quickly their homes had deteriorated. Thandiwe Mnqayi, who moved in around June, has built a cement platform outside her house to redirect rainwater, and said multiple leaks she reported to the municipality have still not been fixed. Her shower leaks and the family has to put down a bucket to catch the water so the drain does not overflow. Residents also said pavements were finished in a hurry about a week before the president's visit, while areas between the houses and the roads remain unfinished with piles of dirt and rubble.

Addressing the media in Phoenix, Ramaphosa acknowledged that many houses built by government in the past were located far from jobs, transport, schools and hospitals, and said government must ensure housing developments do not fall into disrepair. Municipal spokesperson Senzelwe Mzila said drainage issues were being assessed and that reports of flooding or defects are investigated and addressed, with defects such as leaking windows handled through the defects management process. He said the case of a double-storey home allocated to a disabled beneficiary could be investigated. Questions sent to provincial human settlements spokesperson Ndabezinhle Sibiya had not been answered at the time of publication.