PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a national state of disaster following heavy rains that wreaked havoc in KZN and partly in the Eastern Cape as forecasts heavy rains could spread to other parts on inland.
Ramaphosa addressing the nation on Monday April 18 night said Cabinet has decided to upgrade the provincial disaster declared in KZN last to a national disaster to ensure an effective response across all spheres of government to the extreme weather events that have occurred in several parts of the country.
The president revealed a trail of destruction in KZN as a result of the devastating floods with 443 dead, 48 others missing or unaccounted for, 40 000 people displaced, 600 schools damaged with some inaccessible, 4000 homes destroyed and 8300 homes partially damaged.
"The damage caused to businesses in the area have not been fully quantified, but assessments so far suggest that the Ethekwini Metro accounts for nearly half of all the reported damage.
"There has also been extensive damage to public infrastructure, including schools, health facilities, police stations and magistrates’ courts. It is estimated that over 270,000 learners have been affected. Sixteen of these schools cannot be accessed due to damage to connecting roads and bridges.
"Extensive work is underway to restore basic services – such as water, electricity, sanitation and waste removal – to various areas in the province. These efforts are being hampered by to damage to main supply systems and the inaccessibility of some areas," he said.
The president said the national government will be responsible of coordinating and managing the disaster wena will be working closely with provincial government and local municipalities
This, he said, will enable mobilization of more resources, capabilities and technical expertise in providing relief, recovery and rehabilitation of affected communities. The approach to responding to the disaster will be done in three phases.
Firstly and immediate will be humanitarian relief and ensure all affected people are safe and their basic needs are met. Secondly the government will focus on stabilization, recovery, rehousing people who have lost homes and restoring their basic services.
"Third, we will focus on reconstruction and rebuilding. This will not only involve the construction and repair of major infrastructure. It will also involve the construction of houses in suitably-located areas and measures to protect the residents of these areas from such adverse weather events in the future.
"Several national government departments have already been working with their provincial and local counterparts to ensure an effective response in the allocation of financial resources and technical expertise to the emergency," he said.
Ramaphosa cautioned against money meant to help the needy finding its way into the pockets of corrupt individuals, saying there will tight measure put in place to make sure the funds are channeled where they should go.
He said the funds will be controlled by the Solidarity Fund which was established during the coronavirus pandemic and a separate account for Flood Disaster to allow donors to contribute.
The finance department has already indicated that R1 billion was immediately available but Minister Enoch Godongwana will be approaching parliament for the allocation of additional funds.
The Solidarity Fund board agreed to assis with humanitarian and other forms of relief in partnership with government, the private sector and other various other non-governmental and community based organizations.
Some of these organizations, said Ramaphosa, we're already on the ground helping the needy.
Ramaphosa said he will be approaching National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula next week and request a joint sitting to propose that MPs whorls directly involved to oversee the assisting of people and rebuilding.
"A comprehensive assessment of the economic cost of these floods still has to be made, but it is clear that it will run into billions of rands for the rebuilding of infrastructure and loss of production.
"It will be critical, as we undertake this work, that all the resources we mobilise are used for their intended purposes and reach the intended recipients. There can be no room for corruption, mismanagement or fraud of any sort.
"Learning from the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are drawing together various stakeholders to be part of an oversight structure to ensure all funds disbursed to respond to this disaster are properly accounted for and that the state receives value for money," he said.
