Riverlands residents demand urgent infrastructure support after devastating floods

Frustrated residents, business owners and small-scale farmers of Riverlands have handed over a memorandum to the Swartland Municipality, calling for inclusivity of infrastructure benefits and budgets, as 100 people continue to live in temporary homes without electricity or a toilet, nearly a year after a flood disaster.

This, while the municipality confirmed that R9.2 million was allocated for funding repairs to roads and to upgrade storm water systems.

The families told the Cape Argus they continued to live in squalor and despair, forced to use the bucket system while anxiously waiting for ablution facilities and electricity from Eskom.

On Tuesday, Riverlands Steering Committee members and residents handed over the memorandum, which was shared with the Cape Argus.

They hoisted placards and burnt tyres to express their frustration.

The memorandum read: “In meetings with government and municipal authorities, it was agreed that the restoration of people’s lives and livelihoods, particularly those of small-scale farmers and directly affected families, would take precedence over infrastructure development. However, we are now witnessing the opposite: infrastructure is being prioritised, while the affected residents remain in dire conditions. We therefore call on all relevant authorities to: recommit to the original agreement to prioritise people before infrastructure, immediately redirect support to those whose lives and means of income are still unrecovered, engage with the community transparently and urgently on the recovery plan.”

Riverlands flood victims started receiving keys to new temporary homes earlier this year and the municipality confirmed that 100 was completed by the end of April.

The flooding was caused by three farm dams which breached near Malmesbury, severely damaging property and infrastructure.

The dams are set to decommissioned, with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development identified as the owner.

Swartland Municipality said they received various memorandums from the residents, including one on Tuesday. 

“The National Department of Human Settlements completed 100 temporary residential units in April 2025, and all were handed over to the affected residents. Water has been restored to all municipal clients who had water connections before the disaster," the municipality said. 

"Eskom is in the process of restoring electricity to their clients who had connections before the disaster and has indicated that they must budget for the remaining residents in the new financial book year..

“The municipality received R9.2 million in funding from the Western Cape Government, specifically for the repair of roads and upgrade of storm water systems. We are currently waiting for wayleave approvals from Eskom before the work can commence and construction will start as soon as we receive the wayleaves. Services such as water, sewerage and solid waste removal are all restored and functioning.”

A few months ago Karel Gailca, 44, and his family, were living comfortably life in their five-bedroomed home and owned their own vehicle and furniture.

Following the floods, Gailca, the breadwinner, is now unemployed and was forced to sell his vehicle for scrap metal, while his family lives in a one bedroomed temporary home, which has no toilet and has to make use of the bucket system.

“We are living in heartbreaking conditions.

“We only have electricity because we have to use a lead to get it into our homes.

“We do not have a toilet, how humiliating is that, we have to use the bucket system.”

Small-scale farmer Wynona MaKriger, 63, told the Cape Argus she lost ten sheep in the floods and is barely able to rebuild her life.

Before the floods, MacKirger was self-sufficient, even selling plants and sheep to make a living.

“Imagine moving into a home where it is just a shell, you do not have a bed or a plate to eat on, that is everything that we have lost due to  the floods,” she said.

“Before the flood, I had 16 sheep and ten of it I lost on the floods and I had to sell the others to survive.

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“Now I cannot farm anymore.

“My tools, my plants, my machinery, everything is gone, I even used to sell fire wood.

“The floods have created so much fear inside my house that my grandchildren’s schooling has been affected. Our lives have been destroyed and all the municipality does is make promises.

The municipality added that they were not responsible for replacing livelihoods and businesses or stock.

Cape Argus