A provincial state of disaster has officially been declared in KwaZulu-Natal following devastating floods and landslides.
China Dodovu, chairperson of the select committee on cooperative governance and traditional affairs, water and sanitation, said the declaration by the provincial and national governments would ensure that funds are unlocked to assist affected communities.
Noting the saddening loss of life, destruction of property and livelihoods, Dodovu said on Thursday: “We hope the local, provincial, and national governments will move with speed in the spirit of cooperative governance as encapsulated in the constitution to initiate the process to unlock necessary funding to assist the people of KwaZulu-Natal.
“We are also calling for the speedy repair of critical infrastructure to ensure that the people receive water and sanitation in the affected areas.”
He said there is a need to urgently put in place relief measures to prevent the repeat of the disaster. Such measures, he said, should include improved planning of towns and building processes to “ensure that communities reside in areas that are relatively safe from mudslides”.
Businesses have also been encouraged to contribute to the recovery of areas they operate in: “At the centre of these calls is the need to ensure the safety to communities and to ensure that economic recovery, which is essential for the sustenance of livelihoods in the affected areas, is unlocked.”
By Thursday morning, the floods had claimed at least 306 lives and displaced thousands of people. Many others are still missing.
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