By Johnathan Paoli
Four people have died following the floods in the Nelson Mandela Bay region. Eastern Cape cooperative governance spokesperson Pheelo Oliphant told Inside Politics that three people passed away following accidental exposure to live wires, while the fourth victim drowned.
A 76-year-old man woke up in his house submerged in water to knee level, and while lifting an object he touched a live wire.
Two women from Missionvale attempted to switch off the main power and similarly exposed themselves.
The last victim, a 35-year-old man attempted to cross a river and was subsequently swept away by the floods.
Oliphant said that both the local and provincial governments were currently assessing the situation in order to determine the impact of the damage.
He said the government was working with community-based organisations to house stranded community members, supplying toiletries, basic care products, blankets, non-perishable foods and other essential resources.
Oliphant confirmed that over 3000 people had been evacuated and accommodated in community halls within the region.
In relation to businesses, he said Kariega which was an important economic hub where Volkswagen was situated, had also been impacted by the floods.
In June this year, the metro also experienced widespread flooding. And the municipality was still busy fixing that damage when it was “caught sleeping” this time round.
“The June floods seriously damaged infrastructure,including roads and electric pylons and substations, with debris all over the city,” he said.
Oliphant said the reason for the metro’s unpreparedness lay with the inadequate support from the national government as well as a failure by municipalities to adhere to warnings from cooperative governance MEC Zolile Williams.
He warned during an oversight visit less than a month ago that the draining system was blocked and seriously hindering the outflow.
Following the June disaster, Oliphant said President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged R3 billion to help rebuild the city.
However, only R600 million had so far been awarded, which meant Gqeberha was unable to fix damages and prepare for other floods.
Also, although a contractor had been approached and paid, effective work on the system had not started, thus leaving municipalities unprepared to handle any floods.
Gift of the Givers is on the scene assisting disaster management teams.
INSIDE POLITICS
