S Africa's deadly floods shine spotlight on housing crisis

THULISILE Ntobel, once lived in an apartment, but when her rent went up 25 per cent, the unemployed mother of 5 could no longer afford and moved out. She found a piece of vacant land in Durban and put up a shack.

That was 5 years ago and much cheaper than paying rent, which had gone up to 200 rand (S$17.60).

Hers was among the 87 homes - shacks made of corrugated iron - that vanished in seconds when the ground, over-saturated with flood water - crumbled at the informal settlement of eNkanini, on a hilltop residential area of central Durban. Once covered in trees, the settlement of eNkanini formed in 2016 is now dotted with hundreds of shacks.

Nearly 13 per cent of South Africa's 59 million people live in shacks, locally referred to as informal settlements, according to 2019 government statistics.

In 1995, the housing backlog was estimated by a UN report to be 1.5 million units. Despite more than 3 million government houses being constructed since then, the shortfall has ballooned to 3.7 million homes, according to the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa.

The less desirable locations on floodplains have now also brought deadly consequences.

Rescuers searching for the missing have said poor infrastructure with no consideration of the terrain put the houses at greater risk. Many of those still standing in eNkanini are teetering half a metre from the edge of cliffs, vulnerable to future storms.

Government housing officials said they were beginning to clear land in the nearby Ndwedwe town to erect temporary housing for the victims of the flood, which claimed 435 lives. Longer term solutions are still being investigated. AFP