By Sandile Dudu Saki
The Pyks family of Hooggenoeg, who have been stranded in the community’s derelict hall for six years, are finally about to receive a temporary structure built on their plot in Hoeggenoeg’s 5th Avenue where their house burnt down in 2017.
Poppie Pyks sitting on her bed in the derelict Hooggenoeg Community Hall on 11 October 2023. Photo: Sandile Dudu Saki
One family member, Poppie Pyks, is confined to a wheelchair after suffering a stroke. The Makhanda Action 4 Accountability (A4A) reported in June this year that the Pyks family was forced to remain in the Hooggenoeg Community Hall for six years after the community moved them in following the fire, because they had nowhere else to go.
The ruins of the Pyks’ house were finally demolished in October 2023 to make way for the new temporary structure. Photo: Ruvesen Naidoo
Grocott’s Mail visited the family three times since August this year and found sewage spills around the outside toilet at the community hall, and the family living in a bad situation. But on the third visit on 11 October, the newspaper noticed that the ruins of the burnt-out house had been demolished and a temporary structure was finally being erected.
However, Pyks had mixed feelings about the new dwelling, which is made of thin concrete panels with a layer of polystyrene between them.
“I feel a little bit happy, but not too happy because that is not the house I was expecting. I was expecting a proper house, not a temporary shelter” said Pyks.
A team from Gqeberha came to erect the prefabricated shelter, which is made of thin panels of a concrete-like material with a thin layer of polystyrene sandwiched between the panels. The panels are then painted. Photo: Anna Majavu
For the new structure to be a replacement home, it should have been built with proper material, such as bricks, she added. “The yard is, of course, my home but the structure is not satisfactory. I am happy though that I will move out of the community hall”, said Pyks.
Pyks did not know when the toilet, ablution facilities, and electricity would be installed. “The material arrived today [11 October], and they said they will complete the construction today. In the interim, my child will be staying there as there will be no electricity and no toilet or ablution facilities. They also said they were going to come back and fix these things. I can’t just move in there without these things,” she told Grocott’s Mail.
The prefabricated panels are painted, attached to a metal frame, and erected atop a wooden platform. Photo: Sandile Dudu Saki
Pyks added that she had not been informed by the municipality that she would get a temporary structure and only realised this when she saw the truck delivering the pre-fabricated panels for the dwelling.
“The last time they [Makana Municipality] visited us was when they brought four blankets for us, and they came thereafter bringing two more blankets. Even then, they did not say when the house would be built,” Pyks said.
Hoogenoeg resident, Poppie Pyks, seen in August 2023 in the derelict Hooggenoeg Community Hall where she had been stranded with her family for six years after their house burnt down. Photo: Ruvesen Naidoo
Prior to the prefabricated materials arriving, Naomi Berry-Swartz, a local DA activist said “We as the DA have moved these people ourselves into the hall. Nothing has been done since then, even the toilet isn’t working and we have reported many times hoping to obtain building materials for the house. We have been applying for a sponsorship for them because this is a community hall. Patience is waning now.”
Also before the prefabricated materials arrived, Grocott’s Mail spoke to Makana Municipality who referred us to the Ward One councillor, Phumelele Peter of the ANC.
Peter said that they as Makana municipality, in conjunction with the Sarah Baartman District Municipality, had managed to secure the temporary structure for the Pyks. However, the question remains: when will the Pyks family receive a proper house? This question remains unanswered.
