Prefab structure nightmare for family

THE house of an elderly Mdantsane woman destroyed after a truck crashed into it is still not fixed and the prefab given to her is so mould-infested that she has had to move back into the damaged house.

The home of Gladys Nzulu collapsed under the power of a huge construction truck whose brakes allegedly malfunctioned, causing the truck to crash into Nzulu’s home on October 19, three weeks ago.

Nzulu said the municipality gave them the temporary home a week after the Daily Dispatch reported on the incident. Two days later, after the family moved into the prefabricated house, they had to move back out because of its condition.

The door of the prefab cannot lock properly, which leaves the family in danger because there is no fence around the home anymore. The walls, floor and roof are broken and most of the walls are mouldy.

“The structure is damp inside. We are forced to live in our damaged house, and this puts us in great danger because this house can collapse at any time. We have tried reporting this to the municipality but no one seems to be doing anything about it,” Nzulu said.

Last week the municipality visited the family, urging them to sign a contract approving provision of R89 000 by the municipality’s insurance company for the repairs.

However the family said they did not sign the contract as this amount only covered the damaged wall, while the fence, damaged kitchen and furniture were not included in the amount.

“We did not sign the contract because we are afraid that the money provided will not be enough to cover the damage caused.

“The municipality might just fix the wall but what about our fence, our kitchen and furniture?

“They are not included in this amount, so who will fix those things,” Nzulu said.

The family said they were frustrated because they felt like the matter was not being taken seriously after they were given the mould-infested prefab.

BCM mayor Xola Pakati said the incident involved a third party, not the municipality, and anything that had to do with compensation involved the third party and the family.

“If it is true that we sent a defective temporary shelter that is unfortunate and I will have to investigate that.

“If that is true we will have to rectify it.” —