As the official death toll from the devastating Eastern Cape floods continues to climb, the province faces repair costs of R5.18bn to fix broken roads, collapsed bridges, destroyed schools and other critical infrastructure.
It is a hefty bill. However, it remains unclear how much funding the Eastern Cape will ultimately receive.
But in a province where relief funds have been slow to reach those in need, any request must be carefully scrutinised.
Plans need to be put in place to ensure the work is done quickly and efficiently.
The floods that struck on June 10 in the OR Tambo district displaced thousands of people. Entire communities now depend on donations and makeshift relief.
Almost 5,000 families are without homes, hundreds of schools have been disrupted, and health services have collapsed in many districts.
The repair bill was revealed during a briefing on Tuesday, when the national and provincial co-operative governance departments updated the parliamentary portfolio committee on their flood intervention efforts.
In Nelson Mandela Bay, the clock continues to tick for the municipality to spend the millions of rand allocated in response to floods that hammered the metro in 2024.
One example of the official foot-dragging is that work on the damaged Matanzima Bridge in KwaNobuhle only started earlier in June.
The bridge was damaged in October — eight months ago — and the council approved the incorporation of the repair funds into the city’s capital budget on December 12.
The same tardiness by officials in getting work started in the Bay should not be tolerated in OR Tambo.
Co-operative governance minister Velenkosini Hlabisa said the national department was working closely with its provincial counterpart to assess progress and guide interventions in the flood-ravaged district.
However, the provincial and national government departments would do well to learn from the failings in Nelson Mandela Bay, where slow spending left communities vulnerable for far too long.
Corruption and incompetence must not profit from this tragedy. Tight oversight is needed.
The Herald
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