Businesses astounded at the lack of support from local government
The severity of the damage has been blamed on the poor and neglected condition of the Ncandu River, particularly where it runs from Fernwood through the taxi rank to the Hardwick Bridge.
Business owners, particularly those in the lower parts of the CBD, are ‘flabbergasted ‘by what they say is a lack of concern from local government – particularly in light of the recent flooding.
Municipal officials, according to one high profile businessman, are yet to visit local businesses or assess the damage caused by the torrential downpours -despite the fact that these businesses contribute significantly to the local economy.
“We had a situation here where the municipal electricity meter box was completely underwater which made it extremely dangerous for our employees, who were inside the factory helping to clear the premises of flood water, “said the businessman who preferred not to be named.
“We contacted the municipality several times, pleading with them to turn off the power before one of our employees is electrocuted or severely injured. This was only done two hours later after several follow-up calls.”
Assessing the past few years, the businessman claimed ‘a lot of the flood damage could have been avoided, had proper service delivery been carried out over the years.’
According to him, he has lived and worked in Newcastle for the past 35 years, and has witnessed tremendous torrential downpours and flooding over time. However, he admitted that this was ‘the worst ever’.
In 2000, Newcastle experienced eight days of torrential rain (280mm) but no flooding. In 2010 Newcastle experienced five days of heavy downpours. (200mm). Minor flooding did occur in the town, but no damage was reported.
Seven years later in 2017, after only three days of torrential rain (220mm), the entire lower CBD flooded, causing his company to suffer over R13 million in damage.
“Our area was immediately designated a flood zone, and as a result, we were unable to obtain insurance for our business, forcing us to insure ourselves from that point forward.”
Following the recent downpours, the lower CBD area was hit by not once but three times by flood waters.
This resulted in a loss of more than R12-million and possibly more depending on the extent of damage done to the factor’ s production machinery, which is still being calculated.
The severity of the damage has been blamed on the poor and neglected condition of the Ncandu River, particularly where it runs from Fernwood through the taxi rank to the Hardwick Bridge.
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