Government welcomes humanitarian aid from Qatar

• Published date: 29 May 2022
• Publication title: South African Official News

Government has welcomed much-needed humanitarian aid from the State of Qatar, as it is expected to bolster efforts in response to the devastating floods that recently hit KwaZulu-Natal.

The humanitarian aid delivered by the State of Qatar on Sunday comprised,among other things, foodstuff, clothing, generators, water purifiers, ventilators, tents and medical supplies.

Addressing a media briefing on interventions and the much-needed humanitarian aid from the State of Qatar following the devastating floods, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, said government has prioritised finding shelter for people who have been displaced.

'We have started moving some of them to temporary residential units and the process has been a bit slow because we need to get new land. We can't put them on the floodplains where their houses were washed away by the floods,' she said at a briefing in eThekwini on Sunday.

To date, 459 people have lost their lives in the floods that took place in April and April. According to police, 88 people are still reported missing.

KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Sihle Zikalala, said more than 131 temporary residential units have been constructed.

'The province has started building temporary residences for affected families on State-owned land parcels that have been identified in KwaZulu-Natal for possible resettlement.

'Our rebuilding does not only involve the construction and repair of major infrastructure but also the construction of houses and damaged infrastructure. Houses will be rebuilt within suitably located areas. We are implementing measures to protect residents from such adverse weather events in the future,' Zikalala said.

'Critical infrastructure like schools, bridges and roads were also destroyed, with damage to public infrastructure currently standing at R25 billion, whilst businesses incurred damage estimated at R7 billion.

'These costs exclude new ones emanating from the May floods. Some areas of our province have been transformed by the floods into inaccessible 'islands',' the Premier said.

He said the humanitarian aid will help lighten the burden of meeting the humanitarian needs of the over 4 000 citizens housed in community care centres.

'About 45 000 working people are temporarily out of employment because their places of employment are temporarily not operational, as they were affected by the floods.

'Government is providing burial assistance, death certificates, identity documents...