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KZN Premier Thami Ntuli
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli says he plans to make it compulsory for all municipalities to set aside part of their budgets for disaster management after the province continues to be severely affected by climate change.
He was speaking at the launch of the Summer Disaster Risk Campaign in Harding.
The summer season brings higher temperatures but also heavy rainfall that can lead to disasters like flooding and mudslides.
KwaZulu-Natal residents have come face-to-face with the elements in recent years.
Erratic weather patterns like storms and, more recently, tornadoes are putting lives and livelihoods at risk.
In April and May of 2022, the province was hit by two climatic weather events.
Areas along the coastline are among the hardest hit. The government says it is racing against time to urgently strengthen its disaster response systems.
Ntuli says, “It is very important that our communities pay attention to the alert from the radio, television and newspaper, and even the community leaders, the traditional leader. They must play the role, they need to encourage our communities to pay attention to the changing climate so that we can be able to save lives, not only react to the budget and to the post effects of climate change.”
Local communities say the government needs to strengthen its early warning system.
One resident says, “We don’t hear any early warnings from government or our municipality. Even if they announce on the radio or TV, we will miss it because of network problems in our area.”
Another resident says, “We’ve experienced disaster with the last rain; some of our houses were flooded with rain, but we did not hear any warning before the rain came.”
The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) has urged municipalities to be proactive in their responses.
COGTA MEC Rev Thulasizwe Buthelezi says they will assist and monitor municipalities in creating a disaster fund and using these funds effectively.
Government says the plan is to minimise risk and to ensure a quick response to prevent tragedies before they happen.
