Residents of Relela Village in Bolobedu, outside Tzaneen, had to stay away from work and school after floods damaged the main road. Photo: Alex Japho Matlala
Valuable infrastructure in Limpopo, damaged by recent floods, will be fixed after funds were made available by the National Disaster Management Centre, said Basikopo Makamu, Limpopo MEC for cooperative governance, human settlements and traditional affairs, yesterday.
Makamu, who is also the province ANC deputy secretary, said his department was working with the National Disaster Management Centre to address the damage caused by the floods, estimated at R340.5 million.
From last October to March, Limpopo received torrential rain that filled dams and burst river banks. Houses were destroyed, roads turned into dongas and electricity and Telkom poles were knocked over by strong winds.
All the province’s five regions, Sekhukhune, Waterberg, Vhembe, Peter Mokaba and Mopani, were hardest-hit. Lives were lost and it made many families destitute, while others lost furniture, groceries and clothing. Makamu said the National Disaster Management Centre had allocated emergency disaster relief grants to 11 municipalities, which applied for them and met all the required conditions.
He urged the municipalities to move swiftly in implementing the grants, adding the intensity of disasters had increased in Limpopo, which made it necessary for the province and municipalities to build capacity to mitigate and respond to disasters timeously.
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“I have been eating from hand to mouth since … cyclone Freddy,” said Khepekana Rakgolela of Rwanda Village, Mopani. Khepekana’s three-room house was flooded up to the level of the windows.
He lost groceries, clothing, furniture and cooking utensils. “This rendered me into a beggar, who hopped from house to house asking not only for food, but a roof over my head as well.
Although my house was not damaged, I lost all my food and clothes during Cyclone Freddy,” he said, heaving a sigh of relief on hearing about the availability of the funds.
Soon after the floods, Kagiso Thuu Sekokotla of Lephepane/ Rasebalane left his house in a pool of water and went to Johannesburg to look for a job.
“I had nothing, except for the clothes I was wearing,” he said. “My aim was to get a job so I can buy new corrugated iron sheets to renovate my house.
I also wanted money to buy new clothes and blankets because winter is approaching. If Makamu is right about addressing the aftermath of the disaster, then I am coming home,” he said.
A fortnight ago, Makamu tabled an annual budget of R2.6 billion. The budget is slightly smaller – 0.91%– than the previous financial year’s budget.
READ MORE: Limpopo remains on high alert amid heavy rain, flood warnings
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