The widespread flooding during the month of April in KwaZulu Natal (KZN) called for help from all parties who could assist the province in any way possible. Support came in all forms including shelter, food, etc. The government departments hauled flood damage inspection and support from the Honourable South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, the Cabinet Ministers, Premier Sihle Zikalala, Mayor of eThekwini Cllr Mxolisi Kaunda, His Majesty King Misuzulu KwaZwelithini as well as CAF President Patrice Motsepe.
The humanitarian disaster affected more than 40 000 KZN residents which has put the lives, health and well-being of people and the economy at risk. With the Port of Durban being one of the most vital shipping terminals for our country’s economy, urgent relief efforts are needed to rehabilitate the port.
Flood Damage Inspections on the Port of Durban were done by the South African cabinet members to assess and seek areas of possible collaboration with all provincial stakeholders to ensure that the operational duties along the Durban Terminals continue as per usual. On the 13th of April, the Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, visited the harbour and rail sites along the Durban Harbour. Gordhan was with the Transnet Group Chief Executive, Portia Derby as well as the Transnet senior leadership.
“When we look at the harbour in the future, we need to find ways of ensuring that debris does not come in and disrupt the harbour. As things stand, we have 40 ships coming and going and that number continues to grow each day,” Pravin Gordhan said.
The minister said Transnet was able to act in response to consumers’ demand for fuel by utilising the Bluff area. Trucks were permitted to pull through Bluff to access Island View, where the petrochemical services are located.
As part of the EDTEA’s joint flood damage inspection and stakeholder engagement, On 16 April MEC Ravi Pillay and Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams visited Wilson Wharf and other areas around Durban to quantify the devastation caused by the latter floods
Referring to the damage, Minister Ravi Pillay told local television channel Newzroom Afrika it had “exceeded the 10 billion mark at this point”.
“It is very unfortunate because … we are coming back from a very traumatic two and a half years, and we had been building very nicely January, February, March in terms of our tourism numbers,” he said. “We were looking forward to that proverbial bumper Easter, but it was not to be.”
As per the KwaZulu Natal Government communique, The Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) is working on a programme to support businesses affected by floods and work has started to also clean the beaches.