Western Cape MEC for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell, on Thursday confirmed that National Treasury has approved an amount of R114million to be released from the Municipal Disaster Response Grant for damages suffered during the severe floods in September 2023.
“We appreciate this allocation, and I want to thank all the role players who worked together to do damage assessments, drafted the disaster classification application, and worked together with our colleagues at the National Disaster Management Centre to satisfy all the regulatory requirements to qualify for this disaster relief.
“It is important and necessary funding to help us deal with the significant impact that the flood had on our province,” said the MEC Bredell.
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He added that although the province applied for relief of more than R700 million, they appreciate the amount received “and will now focus on spending the money wisely.”
The five municipalities identified for relief programmes are Theewaterskloof, Langeberg, City of Cape Town, Overstrand and Stellenbosch.
MEC Bredell said the intense flooding of 2023, and the current wildfire season, is a wakeup call for all levels of government.
“A new mindset is needed for infrastructure development and how we interact with nature. We cannot repair roads and bridges to be washed away in the next flood. We must design and construct with the future in mind where we should anticipate more extreme weather events,” he emphasised.
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