Category Archives: Kennedy Road

The Mercury: R31m ‘insult’ has residents fuming

Sihle Manda, The Mercury

Durban – Large families crammed into a controversial temporary housing project in Durban have reacted with disbelief that their tiny 2m x 2m shacks cost R35 000 each, describing living conditions there as “inhumane”.

Speaking to The Mercury at the weekend, several residents at the Kennedy Road informal settlement said the price tag on their homes was “a lie” and an insult.

The city built the transit camp last year after hundreds of shacks were gutted in a fire that left thousands homeless. Continue reading →

Mercury: Durban’s R35 000 shack shame

http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/kwazulu-natal/durban-s-r35-000-shack-shame-1.1955561#.VmViEXYrLDd

Sihle Manda, The Mercury

Durban – A damning forensic investigation has found that city officials fraudulently colluded with bidders who eventually spent about R35 000 per shoddy 2m x 2m room in a 700-unit temporary housing project.

The price of the unit is roughly R10 000 less than what it would have cost the city to build a fully fledged low-cost house. It would have cost the city about R7 000 to buy a similar-sized wendy house and from R4 000 to R6 000 to buy a corrugated iron zozo hut. Continue reading →

Kennedy Road shack settlement burns again leaving over 2000 people homeless

5 June 2014

Abahlali baseMjondolo press statement

 

Kennedy Road shack settlement burns again leaving over 2000 people homeless

At about 19:15pm last night Kennedy Road shacks were on a huge flame of fire which left at least more than 2000 people without shelter etc. The fire is believed to have been caused by an unattended paraffin stove. It is fortunately that there were no injuries or death reported. Women and children are the most affected by this fire. Many of them lost all their belongings inthis fire including foods, furniture, clothing (including school uniforms), IDs and building material.

We are sad that after years of our struggle this community remains in such difficult and in fact life threatening conditions. In December 2005 former eThekwini Mayor Obed Mlaba made a public promise to house Kennedy Road residents in Cornubia. Cornubia is a biggest new greenfield housing development in the province. Today the same Cornubia has been given to other people and the list was made at night in other settlements. We were later told that you have to be the volunteer of the ruling party in order to benefit.

Continue reading →