137 rooms in Montclair Lodge, Durban, will be transferred to flood victims who were kept in a flat on Mahatma Gandhi Road, South Beach this weekend.
This was revealed by the Mayor of Durban, Mr. Cyril Xaba after inspecting the area on Wednesday.
Montclair Lodge, which used to be paid monthly by the Department of Human Settlements, was finally bought by the government late last year.
At that time, the department revealed that it will be completely owned by the government, and it will be used to keep those affected by floods if the province is hit by natural disasters.
Xaba said that when the whole place is renovated, it will have 600 rooms. He said that by the end of July this year, they expect that the person given the task of repairing it will have completed 309 rooms.
“This place will be useful for temporarily keeping the affected people while they are waiting for the construction of houses where they will live forever,” said Xaba, who said that he welcomes the completion of the first part of the place.
“The work that has been done in this area is pleasing. It will be very useful in saving taxpayers’ money as those affected by the floods will no longer be kept in private places that pay rent,” he said.
He thanked the government at the national level as well as the province for supporting the municipality to ensure that those affected by the floods are kept in places that restore dignity.