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Couple left destitute THE desperate Simon Mbimbi and his wife, Modiehi Nkabi, in front of their roofless house in Thabong, Welkom.
Photo: Teboho Setena
Wind blows off roof due to poor construction } Teboho Setena A STORM that wreaked havoc in the Free State and other parts of the country last week has left a couple of Thabong, Welkom, in a desperate situation. The roof of the couple’s home was blown off by the storm and now Simon Mbimbi and his wife, Modiehi Nkabi, have been left destitute. The couple lives in an RDP house in a formalised residence east of Thabong in Ward 15 of the Matjhabeng Municipality.
Mbimbi said the incident occurred in less than a minute while he was watching television with their two children. “The whole roof was blown off in the blink of an eye, and bricks tumbled into the house. Luckily no one was injured. Some of our possessions were damaged beyond repair,” said Mbimbi. His wife, Nkabi, was not present when the incident occurred and returned home to find that their roof had been blown off. The trusses on which the roof was mounted were also damaged.
‘The whole roof was blown off in the blink of an eye, and bricks tumbled into the house. Luckily no one was injured. Some of our possessions were damaged beyond repair.’ – Simon Mbimbi Mbimbi said thieves had already stolen some of their valuables that very same night. They built a temporary shelter from corrugated
iron with the help of their neighbours. Mbimbi said they had been living in their four-roomed RDP house since 2002. He said they were now storing some of their property with their neighbours while awaiting feedback from the Matjhabeng Municipality’s Housing Department regarding the matter. Kodu Ntlele, the ward councillor of Matjhabeng, said the incident had exposed poor workmanship. “The house was near collapse in any case, based on my assessment
of the poor construction. Whoever declared the house fit for occupation misled the Free State Department of Housing. Cracks in the walls and floor bear testimony to poor construction. “The Matjhabeng Housing Department will have to do its own analysis and inform the provincial department about the matter. My analysis is that the house has to be demolished and rebuilt as a permanent solution, otherwise it will be putting the family’s life at risk if they stay there,” said Ntlele.