Residents who pitched in after floods deserve applause

Much has been said in recent months about Nelson Mandela Bay’s ability and preparedness to respond to disaster.

This in the wake of devastating floods — first in June then again earlier in October — that resulted in thousands being displaced. At least three people also lost their lives.

And the widespread flooding could have been prevented, if ward councillors are to be believed.

Speaking at a special council meeting, where acting city manager Mandla George presented a report detailing significant infrastructure damage caused by the flooding, ward councillors voiced their frustration saying their call for the cleaning of specific problematic stormwater drains ahead of the heavy rain last week was ignored and the city was once again caught napping.

Amid all this negativity around the floods, there has been at least one good news story — one of a community pulling together under trying times.

In Kariega, a group of residents took it upon themselves to clean the streets that were damaged by last week’s floods.

Tired of waiting for the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality to clean up the streets, residents and businesses began cleanup campaigns last week and at the weekend in different parts of the town.

One of the initiators, Raaif Coetzee, said they were cleaning the corner of Gibbon Street and the whole of Durban Street as it was one of the busiest roads.

He said they had managed to mobilise 30 people to form part of the campaign and were cleaning stormwater drains and removing sand and rubbish from the streets.

“Since the municipality was not doing anything, we decided to take ownership of the mess on our streets because we’re the ones who have to use them every day,” Coetzee said.

“We hadn’t heard anything from the municipality about cleaning our streets and therefore we couldn’t wait for what we didn’t know.” 

We all know by now that the immediate aftermath of natural disasters such as the floods in the Bay often brings about confusion, loss and overwhelming need.

And while it is largely the responsibility of officials — at whatever level of government necessary — we know from experience that they are just unable to cope on their own.

So the role of communities at desperate times like this is invaluable.

In moments of crisis, South Africans have shown time and again that working together, we can overcome even the most challenging obstacles.

And when we do, we recognise — and applaud.

HeraldLIVE