The City of Joburg Speaker Colleen Makhubele, has confirmed that more than 500 families from the Springbok informal settlement, south of Johannesburg, are in need of urgent aid after all their homes and belongings were destroyed during recent heavy rains.
Some of the urgent supplies needed include food and clothing, she said.
“We have seen children who are not able to go to school because their uniforms are wet. They can’t sleep in their houses because their homes are flooded,” she said.
Makhubele together with her office descended on the area to get first hand experience of the dire situation the residents are faced with.
“Our office is committed to reaching out to those affected, it is our mandate to serve the people of the City as we also feel their suffering. As the Speaker of the City, I plead and invite all stakeholders, businesses, and role players to roll their sleeves in helping our people,” she said.
A mother of six Felicia Sawutha said they lost their furniture and their shack was still with water inside.
“My children can’t even go to school because their uniform is wet. We are struggling here. We don’t even have toilets or running water because the water trucks can’t accommodate all of us,” she said.
President Cyril Ramaphosa this week declared a national state of disaster to allow for a cohesive response to the flooding that is affecting seven of South Africa’s nine provinces.
Some parts of the North West, Gauteng, Limpopo, the Northern Cape and KwaZulu Natal have experienced flooding while the most affected provinces are Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape as the result of the wet weather phenomenon called La Nina, which is responsible for the heavy rains experienced in this region since last year.
Declaring a national state of disaster will give the government additional powers to bypass current laws to procure the delivery of goods and services to those affected by flooding.
More rains are expected with the SA Weather Service predicting 60% of rain in Gauteng today.
