Recovering from the floods will cost KZN more than R12bn, Zikalala says

Rebuilding and repairs after the recent storms and flooding in KwaZulu-Natal will cost about R12bn, according to premier Sihle Zikalala.

Giving an update on the damage and the funds required, Zikalala said R143m from the Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership Grant and R539m from the Urban Settlement Development Grant were immediately available to assist eThekwini, the worst-hit district.

He said the 630 schools that were damaged will need about R400m to be repaired. The total estimate to repair destroyed and damaged homes is R1.9bn.

“The Community Schemes Ombud Service committed to contribute about R30m subject to approval by National Treasury,” Zikalala said. “The National Home Builders Registration Council pledged to provide technical assessments to determine the extent of structural damage to homes. R100m from the Residential Rent Relief Grant will be reallocated to the disaster relief endeavours,” he added.

The National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) will reallocate R150m from the Residential Rent Relief Grant, and it will contribute an additional R2m from their corporate social investment programme and offer “their project management capacity for the rebuilding and reconstruction of houses in KwaZulu-Natal”, Zikalala said.

The provincial government has also called on the national transport ministry to agree to waive the payment of toll fees on the N2 because motorists do not have alternative routes, he said.

The damage wrought by the flooding in the province is the worst on record; according to the SA Weather Service, the amount of rain KwaZulu-Natal experienced in 48 hours is the normal 60-day total.

Ten districts, including the eThekwini metro, were affected, with the eThekwini, uGu, King Cetshwayo, iLembe, and uMgungundlovu municipalities hit hardest. The floods have claimed 435 lives, affected 116 708 people and 16,672 households, and 72 people are still missing.

After coming under fire from opposition parties and civil society organisations corruption and the allocation of relief funding, Zikalala gave the assurance that the procurement of all emergency supplies and services will be fair, transparent, competitive and cost-effective.

“We are tightening our controls and mechanisms against improper conduct in the procurement of goods and services during this state of disaster,” he said. “The minister in the presidency through the department of performance monitoring and evaluation, the Auditor-General’s Office, the Office of the Public Protector, and the Human Rights Commission will be working together with the province to prevent the misappropriation of funds.

“We have also put on watching brief the National Prosecuting Authority, the SA Revenue Service and the Hawks and Special Investigating Unit who stand ready to investigate and prosecute the crime of corruption,” Zikalala added.

Zikalala also committed to do more to address the challenges of climate change and make it a priority.

“Climate change affects nearly every aspect of our lives and global warming is caused largely by human activities. Scenes of flooding, rainstorms and heatwaves show us just how much climate change can affect our lives. All of these changing weather patterns will become more severe if we do not act to stop greenhouse gas emissions,” he said.

Last year SA updated the target range of its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in terms of the Paris Agreement and brought forward the year in which the country’s carbon emissions are due to decline from 2035 to 2025. The revised NDC is consistent with the Paris Agreement's temperature limit of “well below 2 degrees” and 1.5-degree temperature limit.

“Our country will continue to insist on a just transition to green technologies and clean energy sources. As we treat climate change as a global emergency, we must also ensure that no-one is left behind as we create new jobs that put environmental protection at the heart of how we produce and consume as a nation,” Zikalala said.