Government will launch its social relief system aimed at giving support to those severely affected by floods, lighting and other forms of natural disasters on Monday.

Rural Development and Land Affairs senior manager, media liaison, Mtobeli Mxotwa said: “We will be embarking on an extensive R27-million social relief for rural disaster stricken communities throughout the country.”

He said the social relief drive will be unveiled at Amajuba district in KwaZulu-Natal, before it is taken to the Eastern Cape on 15 March, where many people were killed by lighting.

Mxotwa said the social relief system for rural communities will be concluded on April 26, in Sedibeng district, Gauteng.

He said the natural disaster victims will be provided basic needs such as emergency houses, gel stoves for cooking, oil lamps, solar lights, solar radios, so they would be aware of pending inclement weather conditions, and lightning conductors to protect them against lightening strikes which had recently killed many people in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

Unyielding lightening strikes killed more than 30 people in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, while several homes, bridges and roads were washed away.

Many families were left destitute, without food or shelter. The heavy rains had affected several communities across the country. The department will provide social relief for rural communities and farm workers.

“In the short term, it will provide emergency housing in eight provinces, with each province getting 100 emergency houses.

“Eight provinces will be provided with 800 lightning conductors, 800 solar lights, 800 solar radios and 800 oil lamps will be given to the disaster stricken communities,” he said.

For medium term, he said the department plans to unleash its rural infrastructure development unit to build gravel roads, build permanent houses for the needy and rebuild schools that had been damaged by incessant heavy rains.

Mxotwa further said a service provider has been appointed to undertake all these stop-gap measures for the disaster stricken communities.

During the departmental post disaster assessment, it was observed that the majority of houses are made of mud motar and bricks or mud altogether.

“Due to persistent rains, the walls have cracked and pose a hazard to the families who lived in those structures. The rural social relief programme of the department operates under the aegis of the National Disaster Management Centre,” he said.

In Kwazulu-Natal, the department will provide relief to Amajuba and Uthukela district villages starting from tomorrow until March 11.

In the Eastern Cape, the department will service the villages of Mvezo in OR Tambo and the Amathole district villages of Sheshegu, Ngxakaxha, Doti and Gqugesi between March 14 and 17.

In the Free State, rural social relief will be provided between March 22 and 23 in the Qwaqwa villages of Thabo Mofutsanyana District.

The social relief drive will kick-off the Limpopo trail from March 28 to 30, concentrating on Sekhukhune, Vhembe and Mopani districts.

From the April 4 to 8, the Tlapeng one and two, Longangeng, Matsheng and Molelema villages in the Dr Ruth Sekgomotse Mompati district in North West will receive social relief.

The Northern Cape villages of Blikkiesdorp, Majeng, and Pokkies Islands in the local municipalities of Dikgatlong, Magareng and Khara Hais will be provided with rural social relief from April 11 to 15.

In Mpumalanga, two villages, namely Vlaklagte and Tweefontein will be assisted with social relief from April 18 to 20.

The villages of Barrage and Tshepiso in the Sedibeng district of Gauteng will also be provided with assistance from April 23 to 26 after the recent floods caused extensive damage to houses in the areas.

A child development centre and houses will be provided for Dyselsdorp in the Western Cape through the rural social relief programme.

The criteria used to provide social relief to households ranged from indigent households, unemployed, child headed homes, old pension, and disabled people, those who rely on social grants, displaced people, and status of household infrastructure and when house or mud house had collapsed.

– BuaNews