The recent heavy rainfall, that has left some parts of Mpumalanga in a disastrous state, has not spared Nkomazi, the largest subregion in the province.
On Saturday, Mpumalanga News came across rubble, massive potholes, damaged roads, roofs that had been blown off, and wrecked houses in Nkomazi.
Both public and privately owned parks in areas such as Schoemansdal, Buffelspruit, Driekoppies, KaMaqhekeza, and Masibekela have been badly damaged.
⚠️Yellow(L1) warning: Disruptive Rain: 24/02/2021 05h00 TO:24/02/2021 23h00 – is expected over Gauteng, the southern Highveld and the escarpment of Mpumalanga, the central and Eastern parts of North West and extreme NE Free State tomorrow (Wednesday).
— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) February 23, 2021
Last week, the subregion experienced heavy rainfall accompanied by strong winds that uprooted trees.
At Malalane’s Inkwazi Shopping Centre, a tree fell on top of a vehicle after it had been uprooted by the wind.
Even though at the time of going to press there were no precise figures of the damage caused by the extreme weather in this subregion alone, estimates may lead up to millions of rand.
The premier, Refilwe MtshweniTsipane, recently told the media that the government is going to need more than R425 million to repair the damage in Mpumalanga.
She said these figures were most likely to go up as they were still busy visiting more affected areas and assessing the extent of havoc caused.
Mtshweni-Tsipane is expected to give a detailed report with figures and timelines when she delivers the State of the Province Address next Friday.
Nkomazi’s executive mayor, Johan Mkhatshwa, has appealed to the masses to be tolerant and patient as the government is still gathering all the necessary information and assessing the damage.
“The recent heavy rainfall has affected all of us and it is happening at a time we are faced with Covid-19. We are aware that people’s lives have been disrupted by this disaster, however, we are working around the clock to ensure that we repair all the wreckage caused by the rain,” said Mkhatshwa.
-The Citizen
In other news – Isibaya actress Zinhle Mabena’s hubby lodges application to have protection order against him set aside
Robert Ngwenya, the estranged husband of Isibaya star Zinhle Mabena, is set to contest a protection order granted against him by the Pretoria magistrate’s court in December.
Ngwenya’s lawyer Shani van Niekerk confirmed that the matter will be heard before the Pretoria domestic violence court on Thursday. The warrant was issued by the Pretoria magistrate’s court on Friday authorizing police to arrest Ngwenya in accordance with having violated a protection order issued by the family court on December 12 after a complaint laid by Mabena. Learn More