Gong Gong residents believe they are living in ‘no man’s land’, where they were not given any forewarning and were left stranded after their homes were flooded when the sluice gates were opened.
GONG Gong residents believe they are living in “no man’s land”, where they were not given any forewarning and were left stranded after their homes were flooded when the sluice gates were opened.
Community members said they were left scrambling for help in an attempt to prevent their belongings from being damaged by the rapid rising water of the Vaal River.
“We were told to help ourselves. A chicken farmer from Ghana was sitting on the bed with her two children as the water levels flooded her house.”
Farmers had to release livestock and chickens into the veld to prevent them from drowning.
Shadrack Williamson added that his home was flooded after reassurances were given that there was no danger.
“I was advised by disaster management to put my bed on my head at 10pm on February 23. Where was I supposed to arrange for transport at that time of the night and where was I supposed to go?
“Everything in my house, including the tiles, has been damaged. I built my home three years ago and it will have to be rebuilt.”
Simon Mothebogi narrowly escaped injury after he managed to flee before his home collapsed on February 27.
“Luckily the children had already left because the entire structure came crashing down. We have lost everything.”
Chriselda Nero added that she had to seek accommodation with relatives as no alternative shelters were provided.
“I want to move our house to higher ground but there is no available land or electricity connections.”
Christine Scheepers said that they were even unable to make use of their pit latrines.
“They are full of water and it is not safe for us to relieve ourselves in the veld as we might get raped or bitten by the snakes.”
She added that they had run out of food supplies.
“The flour that we bought was spoiled as we placed our groceries in a wheelbarrow and it fell into the water on the way home.”
Jacobus Alexander added that the community was advised to seek help from the PA councillor although it was an ANC-run ward.
“We were arrogantly chased away when we went to the municipality. The majority of us are unemployed, we do not know about the R350 grant.”
Residents stated that ambulances were unable to reach them, while high school pupils had to navigate a muddy, slippery road that was full of thorns and rocks.
“They have to wake up at 4am to walk about five kilometres along the river because the bus driver refused to collect them along the treacherous terrain. Most of us could not travel to work because of the floods.”
Pre-school children were kept at home for most of the week.
The chief financial officer at Dikgatlong Municipality, Chris Mokeng, stated that six households were affected by flooding in Gong Gong.
“The municipality assisted with transporting their furniture on February 23. One family that did not want to move was assisted on Monday. An access road was scraped to provide an alternative road for children to attend school.”
He added that the Frances Baard disaster management team had conducted an assessment so that temporary housing structures could be erected.
“So far, the affected households indicated they have made arrangements to stay with relatives. The Department of Social Development was also approached to render assistance.”
Mokeng pointed out that while Gong Gong was a communal property association (CPA) that had not signed a service level agreement with the municipality, they had provided them with assistance
“The CPA has not approached the municipality for any assistance.”
Frances Baard District Municipality communications manager Gerline Roman said yesterday that Dikgatlong Municipality was instructed to assist in evacuating affected communities.
“The access road to the Gong Gong area was flooded. Two houses on the river bank were flooded and five mud houses collapsed.”
She added that WhatsApp groups had been created to alert Barkly West, Gong Gong, Pniel and Longlands as soon as the Department of Water Affairs issued a notification that the sluice gates of the Vaal Dam would be opened.
“Water levels were monitored daily.”
Roman stated that a disaster team was dispatched to warn communities staying downstream of the river to immediately evacuate to higher ground on February 22.
“The alert was also shared on the WhatsApp groups.”
She added that the contingency funds would be used to procure temporary shelters for those affected by the floods.
“The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) and the Red Cross are working together with the district municipality to assist the community of Gong Gong.”
Northern Cape Department of Education spokesperson Geoffrey van der Merwe said there had been minimal disruptions to schooling due to the floods along the Orange and Vaal rivers.
“Our major concern at this stage is about Frances Baard District, the Dikgatlong municipal area, particularly in Gong Gong.”
He indicated that 177 pupils made use of learner transport on a daily basis to and from Barkly West, where the road was inaccessible from Gong Gong.
“Learner transport operators were unable to collect the learners and transport them to school on Monday and Tuesday.”
Van der Merwe added that learner transport operators were able to make use of alternative routes to access communities in the ZF Mgcawu District.
“We are monitoring the situation very closely in the Keimoes and Kakamas areas, where a significant number of schools may be affected by flooding.”
