President Cyril Ramaphosa
will visit the Province of the Eastern Cape to assess the aftermath of recent
floods that have claimed lives and damaged private property and public
infrastructure.
His spokesperson, Vincent Ngwenya, confirmed that he will visit
Port St Johns at 15:00 tomorrow.
He said the OR Tambo District Municipality in
the Eastern Cape has been affected by torrential rainfall over the
past week, which caused flooding resulting in loss of life, displacement of
communities and damage to infrastructure.
“Severe weather for which the South
African Weather Service had issued early warnings on March 22 and 23 affected
communities in Port St Johns, Ingquza Hill, Nyandeni and King Sabatha
Dalindyebo Local Municipalities. The floods disrupted critical infrastructure
and services to water and electricity supply services, teaching and learning,
as well as roads and bridges that collapsed,” said Ngwenya.
He added that
government has activated a working Special Intergovernmental Committee on
Disaster Management to provide support and relief to the affected communities.
Teams comprising national provincial and local spheres of government have been
assessing the damage and providing emergency support in the form of shelter,
food, blankets and other essentials.
“He will be accompanied by Minister of
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Thembi Nkadimeng and Eastern
Cape Premier Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane to interact with residents and other
stakeholders, and to assess current response and recovery efforts, and further
actions or resources needed to help communities ravaged.”
He confirmed that on
arrival, Ramaphosa will visit the Port St Johns Youth Centre, which is
accommodating residents who have lost homes in the floods. He will then proceed
to damaged roads in the Mthumbane area, close to Port St Johns’ Second Beach
with his delegation.
