Forum, welfare addresses fund allocation concerns

The Tongaat Hindu Unity Forum and Tongaat Child Welfare Society  have denied allegations of mismanagement.

They have explained how the tornado relief fund was being allocated, with particular focus on the challenges of asbestos removal that had delayed repairs to homes in Newtown.

Vedananda Govindsamy, the forum’s chairperson, said as part of the broader Tongaat Disaster Relief (TDR) Action Committee, they received monetary donations to assist victims of the tornado disaster. 

He said the committee was a collaborative initiative formed by the forum, the welfare society, Vishwaroop Temple, the Tongaat Civic Association and other concerned community members. 

“This committee coordinated relief efforts with a shared commitment to transparency, compassion, and community upliftment. Our technical team of professionals, comprising seven engineers, conducted on-the-ground assessments in affected areas, verified damage, and prioritised support based on vulnerability, socio-economic status, and the extent of loss. 

“Our technical team still continues to account for all the damaged properties, especially those uninsured and underinsured, and are having challenges in obtaining compliance for occupation,” he said. 

Govindsamy said while most of the damaged homes which were uninsured were attended to in the areas of Sandfields, Jan Ross and Naidoo Road, the damages in Newtown received no attention from individuals and organisations.

“After our meeting with Tongaat Hulett, the area of Magwaveni was receiving attention from them. Therefore the committee prioritised Newtown as an area requiring assistance since no other individual or organisation focused on the area. 

“While some 40 houses were attended to after the tornado, another 30 houses could not be repaired because of asbestos which were damaged and needed to be removed. Removal of asbestos is a specialised operation which cannot be done by anybody. Our initial quotation from a reputable asbestos removal company was in the region of R500 000, which came as a shock to the committee.  This caused a major delay, as none of the organisations who were part of the committee were prepared to spend more than half of what was collected on asbestos removal,” he said.

Govindsamy said the total amount received for tornado relief efforts was just over R800 000.

“To date approximately R200 000 has been used circumspectly, as we are aware of donors and funders who have been duped into repairing insured homes where the insurance was collected after the repairs were completed by some good samaritans. Therefore we had to be very cautious in our use of funds collected, to ensure that it went towards homes that were really indigent.

“Our outstanding amount which was to be used in the repair of the Newtown homes stands at approximately R600 000. Now that the impasse of the asbestos removal has been resolved work has been scheduled to commence with immediate effect. However, there is a challenge with the sourcing of material for the job, and our technical team is in the process of addressing the challenge,” he said. 

Govindsamy said if there were funds remaining after the repairs to the homes in Newtown, it had been “carefully allocated to ensure long-term impact”.

“This includes supporting destitute and underinsured families of the tornado, building community resilience, equipping first responders and preparing readiness for future emergencies. It is our hope to implement these programmes in the last quarter of 2025.”

Govindsamy said the forum disputed allegations of the misuse of the funds. 

“We have been at the forefront of every community challenge together with our partners from the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, followed by the riots (July unrest) then the floods in 2022, and the tornado last year. 

“We have a proven track record of community involvement together with every one of our partners and we will not run away without accountability. That has never been our modus operandi. We have lived by the motto of the Tongaat Child Welfare, ‘Our community, our concern’. Our very existence is to serve the community in which we find ourselves.

“All decisions have been made with full transparency, community consultation, and professional oversight. Our financials have been audited and given the all-clear.  We remain fully accountable to our donors and the community,” he said. 

 Clyde Pillay, the welfare society’s secretary, said he was unable to provide their financial records due to it currently being audited. 

“Our auditor has advised that we cannot release unaudited financials. However, our audited financials, which will also detail what the monies received for the tornado relief were used for, will be presented at our annual general meeting scheduled for mid-September. The community is invited to attend this meeting. In addition, our financials will be uploaded onto our website, where the community is free to scrutinise. We have nothing to hide.”

Pillay said with the monetary donations they received, they had rebuilt homes in various areas including Sandfields, Naidoo Road, Jan Ross, and Newtown.

“The majority of the work we had done was in the Newtown area. Most of the work includes replacing doors and windows, as well tiled roofs. All we wanted to do was to close the houses, so people could move back in. 

“However, we have been faced with a challenge in respect of some of the homes which have asbestos roofing. Asbestos is a banned product across the world due to it being hazardous and to remove it you need to acquire the services of people who are trained to do it. We also need to get a licence from the Department of Labour. We had approached a company. However their prices were unreasonably high. After looking around for some time, we finally found another company, whose prices were reasonable. 

“However, we were dealt another blow, as we would need to replace the roofs,  but when we approached the hardware stores, we found that there is a critical shortage of fibre cement sheets. While we can proceed to remove the asbestos roofs, what would we replace it with? We cannot leave the people without roofs. It would be unfair. Soon as the fibre cement sheets are available then we will get back to completing the rest of the homes,”  he said. 

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