KNYSNA NEWS - A Hornlee resident, Rolene van Rooyen, approached Knysna-Plett Herald with a complaint about a lack of assistance from the municipality to address the problem of her leaking house.
She says for years, water has been coming in through the walls when it rains, but despite the municipality being aware of the problem, it has done nothing to help.
"The past mayors and the current one are fully aware of the situation," she said.
"They only keep promising that they will address the matter but nothing is being done. The current mayor recently was there for a community meeting and I raised the issue and he promised to come back but that has never happened."
She says her mother has passed away due to the continual damp in the house, but the municipality does nothing to help.
According to Van Rooyen, there are also other houses in the area that have the same problem.
"When it is raining we know that we are in trouble. The municipality used to provide us with sandbags to stop the water from coming inside the houses. But now we have to ask for the sandbags," she said.
'Vital steps'
In reaction to her complaint, Knysna communications manager Christopher Bezuidenhout said the municipality "is taking vital steps to ensure it is ready to respond to housing-related emergencies brought on by seasonal floods, fires, and storms".
He said there have recently been policy changes at national level that resulted in an updated Emergency Housing Response Framework, which offers municipalities a clearer path forward, "though not without challenges".
He also confirmed that the municipality does still supply sandbags upon customer request.
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