Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister Thembi Nkadimeng classified several flood-stricken parts of KwaZulu-Natal disaster areas this week.
The move, announced on Tuesday January 23, will enable the government to access additional funding from provincial and national departments to start repairs as soon as possible.
According to reports, the disaster areas include Ilembe, Ugu and uMzinyathi municipalities and the hardest hit were the eThekwini Metro and uThukela District, which suffered about R2 billion in damages. Ms Nkadimeng said that classification is done while processing for the declaration is under way.
“Heavy rains have ravaged KwaZulu-Natal since mid-December, spilling over to the new year. Ladysmith, which falls under uThukela District, has recorded 26 fatalities due to inclement weather during the festive season,” said CoGTA in a statement.
Meanwhile, Ms Nkadimeng emphasised the need to find a lasting solution for the flooding of the Ladysmith Central Business District (CBD) by channelling water towards preservation dams or catchment areas to avoid flooding.
She led a multidisciplinary intergovernmental team on a visit to the uThukela District Municipality, specifically in the Alfred Duma Local Municipality last Friday (January 19). The Minister was accompanied by Deputy Minister Parks Tau and KZN CoGTA MEC Bongi Sithole-Moloi.
The leaders engaged various stakeholders from across all sectors of society representing a wide range of communities.
“The engagements and the assessment showed the devastation caused by flooding, especially on lives and livelihoods resulting in extensive damage to properties and critical infrastructure collapse – leaving affected families homeless,” added CoGTA.
The department believes that the impact of natural disasters is made worse by the ongoing climate change, which has brought unprecedented weather patterns.
“The minister stressed the need for all role players including communities to ensure better-integrated planning to mitigate the impact of such adverse natural disasters. She made it clear that disaster risk reduction and adaptability are the only way to reduce the impact of climate change,” CoGTA said.
Ms Nkadimeng expressed her appreciation for the ongoing work and urged that other additional planned interventions in the municipality geared to improving mitigation against floods be accelerated. She advised that government through the Disaster Management Centre, assist to mobilise resources to rebuild and rehabilitate the damages to infrastructure. The Minister also conveyed her sincere condolences to all who lost their loved ones in the recent heavy rains.
She also took the time to thank communities who assisted those who were displaced by floods.
“The selfless and compassionate actions by ordinary members of our communities and civil society organisations in support of humanitarian aid efforts including search and rescue as well as search and recovery symbolises the true meaning of a caring nation that South African is. We are immensely grateful to everyone for pulling together and showing Ubuntu,” said Ms Nkadimeng.
