Flood-hit Eastern Cape families await housing assessment as Simelane heads to OR Tambo
The Human Settlements Minister visits Buntingville and Mqanduli on Friday to gauge damage to homes and decide what the Emergency Housing Programme can deliver.
The Minister of Human Settlements, Thembi Simelane, visits flood-affected areas of OR Tambo District Municipality in the Eastern Cape on Friday, 30 October 2026, leading a departmental team to assess damage to residential properties.
The visit is scheduled for 09h00 at Buntingville and Mqanduli. Its stated purpose is to establish the extent of the damage to homes and to identify interventions under the Emergency Housing Programme.
That programme is the instrument the department would use to respond. According to the government record, it allows the Department of Human Settlements to intervene by providing Temporary Emergency Accommodation, Temporary Residential Units and building materials, among other forms of assistance.
What the assessment finds will determine which of those forms of help apply, and to whom. The document does not state how many households have been affected, how many properties were damaged, or what has already been delivered in the district.
Enquiries on the visit are directed to Tsekiso Machike, spokesperson to the Minister of Human Settlements, on 077 410 5050 or at Tsekiso.Machike@dhs.gov.za.
This report is based on the government’s media advisory for the visit, published by South African Government (www.gov.za) at https://www.gov.za/news/media-advisories/government-activities/minister-simelane-visits-flood-affected-areas-or-tambo. The advisory is a summary of the planned visit rather than a record of the damage assessment itself.
