A technical team from the UN on Tuesday began a full inspection of the devastation caused by the floods in KwaZulu-Natal, bolstering efforts by the government and civil society in the province.
The more than 12 members from the UN office in SA will meet with the provincial disaster management centre officials and those of the eThekwini municipality to assess areas of need.
“We have been supporting the province following the floods in 2019 and the civil unrest of 2021 and will continue to support rebuilding efforts to ensure that no-one is left behind as part of the memorandum of understanding that we have in place with the provincial leadership in that province,” said Ayodele Odusola, the acting resident co-ordinator for the UN in SA.
As mopping up and restoration efforts continue in the most affected districts, so too has the construction of thousands of temporary residential units, housing thousands who were left homeless by the floods.
“Our plans are to ensure that as from the end of the week we will set up 4,396 temporary residential units,” premier Sihle Zikalala said, adding that further sites are being assessed for their suitability for temporary housing.
Zikalala said the latest assessments indicated that 121,687 people from 17,438 households had been affected by the disaster.
The death toll stands at 435 people while 54 are still reported missing. Of the homeless, 7,245 people live in shelters in eThekwini, 245 in KwaDukuza shelters and the rest in Umzumbe, Ray Nkonyeni and Umdoni.
The DA’s leader in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature, Francois Rodgers, welcomed Zikalala’s commitment to provide temporary housing by next week. “The premier has set a massive target for his provincial government within the next seven days. It is, however, a step in the right direction. Government’s top priority must indeed be those who have lost their homes.”
The DA’s main concern is that these temporary structures could end up becoming permanent fixtures. Families cannot still be living in these units five years from now, it says.
“This is particularly relevant given that there are already thousands of people living under shocking conditions in KZN’s transit camps while they wait in vain for government housing promised to them years ago.”
Water and sanitation minister Senzo Mchunu said the devastation in KwaZulu-Natal has highlighted the urgent need to address dysfunctional infrastructure in communities.
The floods laid waste to critical water infrastructure in key districts including the port city of eThekwini, which was the worst affected.
“We are aware that many communities are without water and [there are] those who are exposed to sewerage leakages due to damaged sanitation infrastructure. We want to assure them that we are working with the municipalities to address these,” said Mchunu.
“Overall, renewal of water and sanitation infrastructure will be attended to and prioritised in the province. It is unfortunate that the floods accelerated this and negatively affected residents, but we want to assure the residents in the affected areas and in KZN as a whole that we are attending to these repairs. In the meantime, we ask them for their patience, co-operation and understanding.”
He said a water and sanitation “war room” has since been established and is dedicated to prioritising costs and repairs to water and sanitation infrastructure in eThekwini, uGu, iLembe and uMgungundlovu. The department has allocated R45m to provide freshwater tankers to affected municipalities. Umgeni Water has advised of a number of sites where repairs will be done.
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