- Hon. Speaker, the MF offers condolences to those families who have lost loved ones.
- Thank you, Hon. Premier, for this statement.
- Hon. members –one of the objectives of the DORA Act is flexibility in responding to emergencies whilst the legislative mandates of National is infrastructure developments; Province is roads and housing and municipalities is water, sanitation, electrical reticulation and roads.
- The R1 billion given to KZN must be ring-funded and overseen by a multi-party adhoc- committee for 1 year to ensure this money is properly used.
- As can be seen all 3 spheres have failed KZN on the backdrop of the 2019 storm disaster which was one third the severity of 2022.
- The Nature Geoscience Journalin December 2021 published a UKZN study that revealed that further severe tropical cyclones could hit KZN in the future.
- The MF had stated in the 2019 storm disaster debate that:
a) The Planning Commission needs to work with our academia,
b) Municipalities need to set up a full-time Disaster Management unit with contingency funds, overseen by multi-party and departmental representatives,
c) A skills audit needs to be done in Municipalities, Human Settlements, Public Works and Conservation. The MF welcomes moving dwellers away from flood plains. - The MF has asked for green specialists to be appointed and the Climate Change agent for KZN to account for Climate Change aid received. Currently, danger chevrons or markers need to be erected on affected structures.
- Hon. Premier, the Hon. President is everyone’s President but a multi-party delegation was excluded in his visit.
- Politicising the storm disaster by any party in this Hon. House will not help the people of KZN.
- A few councillors who are supposed to be closest to the people are aggressive and arrogant. The ward 25 councillor must appear in front of the eThekwini Ethics Committee for his bad behaviour and be suspended for 2 years until he understands the orientation programme he’s just attended.
- Thank you.
Hon. S. Thakur-Rajbansi