Ladies and gentlemen of the media
Thank you for availing yourselves for today’s media briefing.
BACKGROUND TO DISASTERS
On Monday, 22 April 2019, as we returned from the long Easter weekend, we woke up to the news of yet another terrible tragedy caused by a natural disaster that adversely affected various communities in the eThekwini, Ilembe, Ugu and King Cetshwayo municipalities.
At that time, we were still recovering from an unprecedented disaster that claimed the lives of 13 congregants who had passed away tragically near Empangeni when a portion of their church building collapsed on them in the midst of a violent storm, as well as that of a motor vehicle that killed five people, also in the district of King Cetshwayo.
As we were attempting to come to terms with these terrible developments, we were struck with another devastating blow, namely a ferocious storm with the epicentre along the coastal areas of KZN. Mother Nature unleashed her wrath again when catastrophic floods cut a swathe of destruction in these regions, claiming to date, 69 lives in eThekwini and the neighbouring coastal areas of uGu and King Cetshwayo districts.
PURPOSE OF THE MEDIA BRIEFING
While the full scale of the devastation to lives and properties caused by the flooding and mudslides continues to be assessed, the Provincial Executive Council convened a Special Sitting on Friday, 26 April 2019, where we received reports on the impact of this latest disaster.
The purpose of today’s briefing is to give you the latest update and to inform you of the decisions taken by the Provincial Executive Council to guide the province as we respond comprehensively to this tragedy.
OVERVIEW OF CASUALTIES AND OTHER VICTIMS
Before I commence, it is important that I give you the latest update as I have been briefed by our line function Department of CoGTA which is coordinating our response plans.
● The death toll at this point has increased to 69, as yesterday one more body of a young male was recovered in eTshelimnyama near Marianhill. A total of 64 of those who passed away are from the eThekwini metro and 5 from the Ugu district.
● A total of 1469 people found themselves displaced by the floods and had to be provided with temporary accommodation in community halls and by their neighbours and relatives.
● Over 50 people were injured and had to be treated in hospital. We continue to search for the two citizens that are still missing. Our search and rescue is still continuing in this regard.
It was indeed hard to believe what we saw as we observed houses and walls collapsing on and mudslides, killing some instantly. We again express our sincere and heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families for the huge loss of their loved ones. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the victims of this terrible disaster.
DAMAGE TO INFRASTRUCTURE
This disaster also caused massive damage to infrastructure, both public and private. Railways, roads, houses full of furniture and personal possession were damaged and sometimes destroyed entirely. The estimated damage currently stands at R1.1billion with the EThekwini damage alone estimated at over R685-million.
We have recorded a total of 235 damaged private homes in eThekwini and this figure continues to rise as new homes are being added to the list. Many families have been rendered homeless. In addition, to displacement, many people’s lives were interrupted by power outages, the majority of which have been attended to.
GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION
Government continues to provide speedy responses.
● We have provided immediate humanitarian support in the form of food, blankets, mattresses and other key necessities;
● We have also received a lot of support from various NGOs and private sector institutions which have partnered with government and volunteered their staff to distribute immediate help to the many of our citizens in their hour of need;
●We would specifically like to thank the thousands of volunteers who gathered on Durban beaches over the weekend to clear the plastic debris washed into the sea by the storm.
The eThekwini metro has also set up a dedicated support desk at the eThekwini Disaster Management Centre for all the bereaved families. The desk includes a hotline, the details of which are as follows: 031 367 0094. Three mortuaries, namely Gale Street, Pinetown and Phoenix, have stationed dedicated staff to assist the bereaved families.
A task team has been appointed to coordinate all the support including the burials. We want to once again request the next of kin of all the deceased to visit the mortuaries for identification process so that there are no delays from the government side that will impact on the funeral dates. I am advise though that this processes is going well under the watchful eye of Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo.
IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS FOR THE VICTIMS
The Department of Home Affairs is assisting with the issuing of temporary IDs and certificates and all relevant documents to all affected family members who, of course, will undergo a thorough authentication process. SASSA and the department of Education are supporting victims including ensuring that children get uniforms to go to school.
PROVINCIAL EXECUTIVE RESOLUTIONS
As you can see, the government is doing everything necessary to provide urgent assistance to the victims and affected families. The Provincial Executive Council has also resolved to assist all the families with resources to bury their loved ones.
1. Request for Classification
● The KwaZulu-Natal Cabinet at its specially convened meeting resolved to seek for the classification of the Provincial State of Disaster. We requested National Government to invoke Section 41 of the Disaster Management Act No.57 because the Province alone cannot cope with these incidents.
● The Provincial Executive has also resolved that relevant stakeholders must ensure infrastructure that will be utilized for elections is restored to normalcy without further delays.
● In that regard, the NDMC is hereby requested to support the KZN PDMC to apply for any emergency funding opportunity that may be readily available given the magnitude of the disasters.
● Also, as a mark of respect to honour our fallen compatriots, the Provincial Executive Council has resolved to declare Thursday, 3 May 2019, as the Provincial Day of Prayer and Mourning to show solidarity with the bereaved families and to pray for those who have passed away as well as for an end to these tragedies in our province.
We invite all citizens, inter-faith formations and all sectors of society to participate in this important day of prayer and mourning. The main event will take place at Curries Fountain Sports Field this coming Thursday from 9H00AM. More details will be announced in due course.
WISHING MOURNERS INVOLVED IN A BUS ACCIDENT A SPEEDY RECOVERY
As if what we are going through is not enough, yesterday we received shocking news of a bus accident which overturned in KwaCeza while ferrying mourners to one of the mass funerals we had yesterday. I wish to add my voice on behalf of government in wishing a speedy recovery to all those injured and affected by this latest accident. Indeed we need prayers and the almighty intervention now. At this stage I’m informed that there are no reported deaths from this incident and we pray that we don’t lose any more lives.
ETHEKWINI STRIKE AND THE WATER CRISIS
It will be remiss of me if I do not comment on the concerning situation around the EThekwini Municipality involving strike actions by some municipal employees in the water department and which has resulted in an outcry and a huge inconvenience where most of the areas around the city are going without water whilst we are in the midst of this disaster. It is a view of the Provincial Government that this strike, which occurs at a time when our province is in such a situation, can be described in no other terms other than being totally immoral.
During the struggle against Apartheid we used our right to strike to fight the regime but we never used this against our people. Water is life as enshrined in our Bill of Rights which says all South Africans have a right to life. When people are facing the magnitude of this devastation of the floods, you decide to deny them water, where is morality there? Water is essential. This is immoral. We call on everyone involved in this practice to think again,
CONCLUSION
I wish to conclude by thanking in the first place the President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency Cyril Ramaphosa, who in light of this disaster and the scale of the devastation to the lives of our fellow citizens, decided to cut short a critical international mission and return immediately to the country to support the collective response to this national tragedy.
We also wish to thank the humanitarian agencies, the media, the national, provincial and local disaster emergency and response teams, the security agencies, medical personnel and all members of the public who have shown exemplary acts of compassion and care to the victims and affected families in providing assistance and support, both moral and material.
We ask our good Lord to grant comfort to the victims and their families at this time of grief and may the souls of all those departed fellow citizens rest in peace!
I thank you!