Pretoria – Fires wreaked havoc in KwaZulu-Natal, at the weekend, claiming lives and causing extensive loss of livestock and damage to property.
This morning, MECs for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nomusa Dube-Ncube and Agriculture and Rural Development, Cyril Xaba, visited the affected communities and led the distribution of much needed humanitarian relief to the victims of the recent fire disasters.
Kokstad and Abaqulusi remain the hardest hit areas.
“Today after conducting a detailed assessment on the impact we can confirm that there were 200 households which were affected across the province and a total of six people lost their lives (four in Kokstad and two in Abaqulusi/Vryheid Municipality), a total of six people were injured,” said MEC Dube-Ncube.
MEC Dube-Ncube said a Joint Organising Committee was activated and disaster teams worked tirelessly to assist the victims.
She said at this stage, the cost impact of the overall disaster incidents cannot be confirmed as more detailed assessments are still being conducted to include the impact on the agricultural sector.
The MEC further said there is no consideration for declaring the affected areas as disaster areas.
MEC Dube-Ncube expressed condolences to the bereaved and affected families and assured them that government is working around the clock to give them all the necessary support in order to mitigate the impact and the untold suffering they are going through.
According to the MEC, the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) and the Department of Home Affairs are on board, while Human Settlements will respond on houses.
She assured residents that all provincial departments are providing a co-ordinated response and communities will immediately be issued with Identity Documents and Birth Certificates.
MEC Dube-Ncube further warned that the province is still experiencing high levels of humidity and strong winds and remains on the high risk of exposure to veld fires.
She further called on members of the community within the province to remain on full alert as the fire index remains on an extremely dangerous zone.
MEC Cyril Xaba also expressed sympathy to the farmers and described the incidents as a “setback to rural development as more money will be needed to rebuild the destroyed infrastructure”.
He vowed to support the farmers with emergency feed until all processes have been concluded.
“The families that have been affected by the fires are currently receiving assistance and disaster relief kits have been dispatched to the families. Households have also been evacuated in areas where there is a possibility that the fire could cause further damage.
“The priority at this stage is to contain the fire and where possible rescue people. Once we move to a ‘green zone’ in terms of the fire index, we will then embark on a programme to take stock of the damage,” he said. - SAnews.gov.za
