Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government has declared a provincial state of disaster due to the magnitude of the damage caused by the recent civil unrest.
The resolution was taken during a recent Provincial Executive Council meeting, chaired by Premier Sihle Zikalala, following deliberations on the state of the province after the civil unrest.
The Provincial Executive Council received a detailed progress report, as most of the organs of state have conducted their preliminary assessments to determine the magnitude of the damages and cost implications. According to the KZN Provincial Government, the current estimated costs of damages and relief required for the sector departments is R1 534 026 832,96, whereas the municipal damages need R47 733 460,37. With the interim financial implications being R1 581 760 293,33.
The Executive Council also noted that the financial implications for the damages and recovery costs were still not final. It was resolved that with the work done so far, the situation is beyond the provincial and municipal capacity to deal with the cost of public riots and unrest as reported.
As such, the Executive Council recommended submitting for classification to the national disaster management centre in terms of section 23(1)(b) of the disaster management act. The declaration of a provincial state of disaster will support the reprioritisation of budgets to implement the repairs and recovery programmes.
The Executive Council also conveyed the sincerest appreciation to President Cyril Ramaphosa, the South African National Defence Force and South African Police Service, to secure peace in KwaZulu-Natal and the country.
The KZN Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) MEC, Sipho Hlomuka, has welcomed the move, following the unrest that left billions of Rands in public and private infrastructure damages. On Thursday afternoon, 29 July 2021, MEC Hlomuka was joined by the Head of Department, Thando Tubane and senior officials in tabling a comprehensive report on the impact of the unrest on the province’s 54 municipalities to the CoGTA Portfolio Committee at the KZN Legislature.
The report indicates that municipalities suffered R 74 million worth of damages due to the unrest, while the public sector (government departments) suffered R 2 billion worth of damages.
According to MEC Hlomuka, the loss suffered by municipalities could run into hundreds of millions of Rands in lost revenue because of the commercial properties gutted by fire which will now need to be re-evaluated. This will affect municipal budgets and revenue collection.
Similarly, the loss of jobs will mean fewer people able to pay for services.
During the meeting, MEC Hlomuka informed the Committee of the Executive Council’s decision to commence with the process of requesting the national government to classify the riots as a provincial disaster following section 23(1) (b) of the Act.
According to Hlomuka, the purpose of processing this declaration is to harness financial resources required to repair the damaged public infrastructure as well as implement the Provincial Economic Recovery Plan through:
- Harnessing additional financial resources from the national sphere of government, namely Treasury; relevant state departments, etc.
- Supporting the affected departments to reprioritise their budgets and plans to meet the demands of fixing property and stimulating the economy in line with Sections 15 and 25 of the MFMA and PFMA.
- Facilitate the process of reallocation of the existing grants from national and provincial departments in line with Section 20(6)(a) – (e) of the Division of Revenue Act.
The province will be required to put other service delivery plans on hold to repair and rehabilitate the affected public infrastructure to stimulate the economy. Part of the interventions necessary will be to roll out humanitarian assistance to those who lost their jobs and income and implement measures for stimulating the rural and township economy.
Impact of unrest in local government
During the meeting, MEC Hlomuka expressed his concern at the toll the unrest has had on municipalities, who were already struggling under the burden of the novel Coronavirus, which had already put a strain on their limited resources.
One of the most affected municipalities is the Ugu District, where a large group of protesters gained entry into its fleet offices and a farmer’s market, and started looting and burning municipal property, which included:
- Two excavators
- Two graders
- 12 Water Tankers
- 18 Service Delivery Vans
- One open Bin Truck
- Two TLBs
- One bus
- One small vehicle
- Offices, storage garages and guardhouses.
“This destruction of the assets belonging to the District comes at a time when the Ugu District is dealing with severe water shortages and the destruction of its fleet puts severe strain on its ability to render this essential service,” said Hlomuka.
Similarly, within the Mtubatuba local municipality, disaster management emergency service offices were vandalised and burnt. The MEC adds, “The impact of the unrest was that in some areas, service delivery was severely affected particularly in terms of access to municipal services as municipalities had to withdraw services due to the risk of more damage.”
Community Service Centres were also damaged during the unrest, such as the Mpungose (Traditional Administrative Centre), CeleNhlangwini (Traditional Administrative Centre), Dududu, Bhamshela and Impendle.
MEC Hlomuka has committed his department to working closely with municipalities in dealing with the aftermath of the unrest. He has already deployed senior officials from the department’s Development and Planning Business Unit to assist municipalities with the planning processes as the province’s gears up to rebuild the damaged towns.
What are your thoughts on the situation? Share your views in the comment section below.
RELATED NEWS
