President Cyril Ramaphosa says the immediate task of government is to house people who have been displaced by the floods in KwaZulu Natal and parts of the Eastern Cape.
Four hundred and forty-three people have been confirmed dead while 48 others are still missing. More than 40 000 people have been left homeless in the province.
President Ramaphosa announced the declaration of the National State of Disaster on Monday night in an address to the nation.
He says the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure is also identifying suitable state land that can be used for resettlement.
“Preparations are underway to provide temporary residential units and it is expected that construction of these should begin by the end of this week. Financial assistance through a voucher system is being made available to assist households to rebuild partially damaged houses. A national team of project managers and engineers has been deployed in the province to assess the damage and to advise on the rebuilding.
Solidarity Fund to set up a bank account for flood disaster
Ramaphosa says that the leadership of the Solidarity Fund has acceded to his request to make its capacity available to assist with the disaster presented by the floods in the two provinces.
He says the Solidarity Fund Board has agreed to assist with humanitarian and other forms of relief in partnership with government, the private sector and various other non-governmental and community-based organisations.
Ramaphosa says the National Treasury will make initial funds available as part of its efforts to the Solidarity Fund to implement these support measures.
“The Solidarity Fund has effectively managed the resources that government, the private sector and many South Africans made available to them to manage the COVID-19 effort as well as the July 2021 unrest assistance measures. The Fund will now set up a separate bank account for the Flood Disaster. This account can be used by South African and foreign donors who want to contribute to relief efforts. The bank account details will be available during the course of tomorrow (Tuesday) on the website of the Solidarity Fund.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech on the floods in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape:
