Still no sign of flood relief funds as NGOs step in to do ‘work of govt’

It has been more than two months since floods wreaked havoc on several districts in the eThekwini municipality, resulting in extensive damage to infrastructure and leaving thousands of people homeless. In the aftermath of the floods, the government announced that the National Treasury would provide R1bn in relief funding.

The funding, however, has yet to be made available. Finance minister Enoch Godongwana says the province has failed to submit an application which would kickstart the process of releasing the money. KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala denies this, saying recently the province had submitted all the necessary paperwork timeously via the relevant national departments. He said the province had also applied for close to R18bn for both the municipal and provincial response.

It is estimated that about R25bn is needed to rebuild and repair the damage caused by the floods.

Francois Rodgers, leader of the DA in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature, has called the situation untenable. “Two months after the floods, thousands are still living in community halls, citizens have been left to fix their own roads and NGOs have been forced to do the work of the government. KwaZulu-Natal is going to take years to recover, even with the reprioritisation of existing provincial budgets, a move which is set to create further negative consequences when it comes to service delivery.”

Zikalala insists that efforts to rebuild are being prioritised with 730 projects approved, including roads. Repairs to Bayhead Road, which provides access to the Port of Durban, is on track. Rail agency Prasa has said the Umlazi and KwaMashu rail lines will resume service in September.