The Mamelodi Flood Victims today protested outside the event where the Gauteng Premier, Mr David Makhura, hosted his State of The Province Address (SOPA) at the Sefako Makgatho Health and Science University in Garankuwa.
The Flood Victims were displaced last year 6 December 2019 after they lost their shacks due to heavy flooding that went on for a couple of days.
The victims lost a lot of their belongings in the process and had to be placed in churches (Mamelodi Baptist church) and community halls around the Mamelodi area.
They spent their December holidays in those shelters and most of them still reside in the churches to this point.
With today’s protest, the residents said they believed marching to the venue would be the only way they could receive attention from the premier to keep his promise to provide them with shelter.
One of the protesters from Mamelodi East said since the Premier promised them shelter in December last year, there has not been any feedback and that is the reason they came to get his attention.
Tinyiko Shivambu, who has been staying at the Mamelodi Baptist Church said, “many government officials promised us land but we are still waiting to this day and living at the church is very difficult”.
The residents said they hope for better results from the premier as it is difficult to not have a place of their own. They said that they can tell that the church is tired of having them around there.
“We have to get up early to prepare our children and ourselves from the church and I can tell you that there is no joy in that as we do not have privacy,” they said.
In radio interviews, Mamelodi residents who called in said they do not support the actions of the Flood Victims and accused them of trying to jump the queue of people who have been waiting for housing for more than 20 years.
