Western Cape granted R114m in disaster relief following September floods

25th January 2024 By: News24Wire

 Western Cape granted R114m in disaster relief following September floods

Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell

The Western Cape has been awarded R114-million in disaster relief funding following extensive flooding in September.

In one of two disaster declarations submitted last year, the province applied for more than R700-million, said Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell.

In November, the National Disaster Management Centre issued a disaster declaration for the Western Cape and Eastern Cape after the September floods caused significant damage in the two provinces.

News24 previously reported the Western Cape received its first disaster declaration following severe flooding in May and June.

The provincial government estimated the May/June floods caused unfunded damages to the tune of more than R700-million.

Bredell said National Treasury had approved the R114-million funding from the Municipal Disaster Response Grant in response to the September flooding.

Funds have yet to be released for the May/June flooding.

"We appreciate this allocation, and I want to thank all the role players who worked together to do damage assessments, drafted the disaster classification application and worked together with our colleagues at the National Disaster Management Centre to satisfy all the regulatory requirements to qualify for this disaster relief.

"It is important and necessary funding to help us deal with the significant impact that the flood had on our province,"  Bredell said.

He added the funds would go towards 24 projects in the Theewaterskloof Local Municipality, 16 in the Overstrand, 11 in Stellenbosch, 13 in Langeberg and six in the City of Cape Town.

"A new mindset is needed for infrastructure development and how we interact with nature.

"We cannot repair roads and bridges to be washed away in the next flood.

"We must design and construct with the future in mind where we should anticipate more extreme weather events," Bredell said.

In 2022, Treasury awarded the Western Cape almost R290-million to fund damage caused by heavy rains and floods the previous year.