KZN floods: SAHRC to keep an eye on government’s humanitarian aid

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said the State must ensure that humanitarian aid actually reaches those that need it after the floods in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and is not lost to corruption or maladministration.

To ensure this happens the SAHRC said it is finalising a plan to monitor the distribution of the aid.

“The Commission will monitor, amongst many others, the provision of alternative housing, food, water, healthcare and other immediate concerns for affected victims of the floods,” the SAHRC said.

“In the provision of immediate relief, monitoring will be implemented to ensure that human rights are observed.”

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Although the SAHRC welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s commitment to provide aid to communities that have lost their family members and homes during the floods, it said the State must not let any of the relief measures go to the wrong people.

“The Commission calls on the State to ensure that every measure is taken to ensure that all resources dedicated to aid affected communities and people, actually reaches the intended parties and is not lost to corruption or maladministration,” it said.

‘Lessons must be learnt’

The SAHRC also called for more attention to be given to the impact of climate change on human rights.

“Lessons ought to be learnt from this tragedy”, it said.  

It said everyone on South Africa needs to work together to “correct the compounding service delivery and infrastructure challenges in local municipalities throughout the country and particularly in the KZN province”.

The SAHRC also had some tips for government to prevent these kinds of disasters in the future.

This included tackling climate change head on, monitoring spatial planning, increasing the building of formal housing around the country.