The Democratic Alliance (DA) in AbaQulusi Local Municipality today calls on Provincial Departments to urgently provide relief to communities affected by the recent severe thunderstorms that have left many residents homeless and critical infrastructure in ruins.
The town of Vryheid and surrounding areas, including eMondlo, have been severely impacted by heavy storms. The first incident was in December last year and now we have had this one that took place last week. Many families have been left devastated, with their homes destroyed and essential services disrupted. Despite ongoing efforts by the municipality to seek assistance, there has been no communication from relevant provincial departments on plans to provide the necessary support to the municipality.
While we welcome assistance provided by KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) MEC Rev. Thulasizwe Buthelezi, key departments including Human Settlements, Social Development and the Department of Transport, have showed little to no intention to provide relief.
Adding to the crisis, provincial government departments owe the already struggling AbaQulusi Municipality millions in unpaid service fees. The Department of Public Works alone owes R8 million, Rural Development another R8 million, and the Ingonyama Trust owes R5 million among other outstanding debts. This failure to pay, hampers the municipality’s ability to deliver services in disasters.
We call on the MECs and heads of these departments to urgently address these outstanding payments. The people of AbaQulusi cannot be abandoned in their time of need.