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With 51 people confirmed dead and many unaccounted for in the devastating downpours and floods in KZN, the DA is calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to immediately deploy the army in the province to assist with rescue operations.

This province has experienced a tragic loss of life and damage to property and infrastructure over the past two days and the task of rescuing possible survivors, tending to the injured and managing an restoring the devastating destruction is overwhelming.

The DA believes that the province is in a state of emergency and it is crucial for the president to step in and announce the deployment of army resources. The failing KZN ANC-government and eThekwini are wholly incapable of managing this crisis. As it is, KZN’s Disaster Management Agency is shockingly underfunded with only R64 917 million allocated for 2019/2020 despite an expenditure of R76 234 million in 2018.

At  time like this, it is the responsibility of every South African to assist their fellow citizens, but it is especially the responsibility of government to do whatever is necessary to save lives, to support those who have suffered tremendous losses and to rebuild property and infrastructure.

President Ramaphosa has visited the flood-stricken areas today and made no concrete announcement of any significant intervention or assistance.

We call on him to do what is right and deploy the army without delay.

Issued by The DA