The KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance Department has refuted claims suggesting it failed to set up contingency measures to mitigate the impact of floods.
This is in response to criticism voiced by the Democratic Alliance (DA) following a series of natural disasters that killed several people in parts of the province.
On New Year’s Eve, three people died when disruptive rainfall hit Pietermaritzburg while at least 22 people have been killed by the Christmas Eve flash floods in Ladysmith.
Communities in KwaZulu-Natal are still reeling from the April 2021 floods, which killed more than 400 people and destroyed billions of rand worth of critical infrastructure.
Since then, there have been several natural disasters in the province.
Despite these disasters claiming dozens of lives provincial Cogta Spokesperson Siboniso Mngadi said that the KZN government has not disregarded its mandate of ensuring that the impact of such disasters are mitigated.
“We did issue a warning where we alerted residents that there would be heavy rains and we urged people to stay at home. It is unfortunate that we receive these distressing calls where people have been swept away,” said Mngadi.
He also pleaded with communities to refrain from ignoring alerts warning of potential heavy rains and floods.
-EWN
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