Durban - The EFF in KwaZulu-Natal has called on the provincial government to find better land for people to reside to avoid incidents of flooded houses across the province.
The call comes after a visit by the province’s top brass to Pietermaritzburg this past weekend, following floods that caused damage to a number of homes last Wednesday.
In some parts of Pietermaritzburg – including the Peace Valley, Imbali and Sobantu townships – homes were flooded in Wednesday afternoon’s heavy shower, with a number of households in the areas badly affected.
EFF KZN secretary Nkululeko Ngubane, who went on the visit to the KZN capital, expressed the party’s belief that last week’s disaster could have been avoided.
“The fact is that we know that climate change is here to stay and, as we have seen in Durban in April this year, when it strikes it affects poor communities living in low-lying areas and riverbanks. Government should act to avoid this,” the provincial secretary said on Sunday.
The EFF provincial secretary insisted that, if the government acquired land in safer areas for communities, such disasters could be avoided in many parts of the province.
Ngubane stressed that communities had demonstrated the ability to build for themselves, but needed government assistance in the form of safe places where they could build their homes.
He warned that failure to act swiftly would mean more loss of properties, and even lives, because of dwellings being located in dangerous areas.
“For instance, in the uThukela district we may have a flooding of houses very soon because some communities are located in areas that are just not suited for human habitation,” the EFF secretary said.
He called on the provincial government to be more alert and move swiftly to help affected communities, especially in municipalities that did not have the capacity to respond urgently to emergencies.
Msunduzi Municipality indicated that 30 families comprising 78 people had been affected by the heavy rains, but no fatalities or injuries had been reported.
The municipality pointed out that about 19 families who were badly affected by the flooding had been relocated and given shelter in places of safety.
According to the SA Weather Service, most parts of KZN are set to experience more rain this week.