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Eastern Cape Local Government MEC, Mlibo Qoboshiyane, is rolling out a massive operation to assist areas of the Alfred Nzo Municipality that was hit by a massive storm over the weekend.
Ten people were killed, hundreds of people left homeless and 15 schools damaged when the storm rolled through Ntabankulu, damaging roads and other infrastructure.
Qoboshiyane held an urgent meeting with affected municipalities and government departments and urged them to move with some urgency to effect repairs to the damaged infrastructure and provide assistance to an estimated on thousand people.
He says a memorial service will also be arranged for the victimes of the storm.
Eskom is already on the ground attending to electrical infrastructure in the affected areas, which include Ntabankulu.
Human Settlement: will assign at least two contractors in Alfred Nzo and one in OR Tambo. The Department will provide temporary structures to the affected families. Families of the deceased and those destitute will be prioritized in the construction of temporary structures.
Contractors to build the structures were given a clear instruction to be vigilant of any possible cheat to ensure benefit of the needy. The construction of the temporary structures will be completed by the end of February 2014, with the Department committing to speed up construction of permanent structures.
Health: will provide prefabs for nursing home, their maintenance supplier is on site assessing the damage and they will start with renovations and reconstruction of the damaged buildings.
Rural Development and Agrarian Reform: Their officials are on the ground to receive reports to be submitted to the Department for intervention. Mostly affected are homestead gardens. About 571 homestead gardens, were damaged an some livestock strike by lightning, about 100 poultry stock was killed when their structure collapsed, 3 horses died when houses they were sheltering in collapsed and 22 goats were killed.
Social Development: is providing counseling to the affected and deceased families and are dealing with filing reports to the department and SASSA for the approval of relevant grants. The Department is in the process of purchasing uniforms for the affected children and will also assess the two damaged pre-schools and provide quick response to protect the learners. Roads and Public Works has been assigned to assess damage caused by the disaster in other facilities of the department for the prioritization of funds for intervention.
SAPS: will continue to help families of the deceased with the process of getting death certificates. The SAPS helped to protect assets of the households affected by the disaster.
SASSA: Assisted in providing immediate social relief and will help the children of the deceased with the foster care grant owing to the death of their mother. About 50 food parcels have been procured by SASSA to be handed over to the affected communities. SASS will give R2500 to families of deceased help with other material needs they have
