Several flood-stricken parts of KwaZulu-Natal have been classified disaster areas by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister, Thembi Nkadimeng.
The move will enable government to access additional funding from provincial and national departments to start repairs as soon as possible.
According to the SABC, the disaster areas include Ilembe, Ugu and UMzinyathi municipalities and the hardest-hit eThekwini Metro and uThukela District, which suffered about R2 billion worth of damage.
“Nkadimeng says the classification is done while processing for the declaration is underway,” the public broadcaster explained.
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.
Meanwhile, the Minister also 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.
Nkadimeng led a multidisciplinary intergovernmental team on a visit to the uThukela District Municipality, specifically in the Alfred Duma Local Municipality on Friday.
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 which has resulted in extensive damages to properties and critical infrastructure collapse leaving affected families homeless.”
The department believes that the impact of natural disasters is made worse by the ongoing impact of climate change, which has brought unprecedented weather patterns.
“The Minister emphasised 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.
Nkadimeng also appreciated the ongoing work and urged that other additional planned interventions in the municipality geared to improving mitigation against floods be accelerated.
The visit by the Minister, the department said, is an expression of government’s commitment to elevating integrated disaster management and the promotion of risk-averse behaviour among communities in keeping with the ethos of a caring government.
“She advised that government through the Disaster Management Centre, will 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 as a result of 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,” Nkadimeng said.
