Loss of
life and infrastructure destruction by flooding, has hit our province hard
during the past weeks. Millions of rands in damages were caused to the
province’s road infrastructure.
DA representatives in the
provincial legislature have written to the Chairperson of Roads & Public
Works portfolio committee to request an urgent meeting for the department
officials to brief the committee about the short and long term plan to
normalize the situation.
DA members of the provincial
legislature have also written to Premier Noxolo Kiviet offering the DA’s full
support at Provincial and National level to lobby funds for the reconstruction
of our devastated roads network. Provincial Leader, Athol Trollip, will also
introduce a member’s statement later on this week in Parliament on this matter.
Municipalities and the province do not have sufficient resources to fix these
roads alone. National intervention is critical.
Our roads network is the
lifeblood of our economy and reconstruction needs to begin as a matter of
urgency. Our Province’s already high unemployment rate will be affected
negatively by this recent disaster. Speed is therefore critical in
reconstructing our Province’s roads so our economy does not suffer more damage.
The DA would like to express
its condolences to all families and friends who have lost their loved ones
during the recent devastating floods. The DA would also like to thank all
NGO’s, public representatives, department officials and all other individuals
who played a role in assisting our affected citizens.
I hope that politicians will
react swiftly like the citizens of our province who assisted each other; so
that we are not faced with a situation such as in the past where there were
floods a few years ago and we are still to this day waiting for a budget to
repair the infrastructure damage that occurred to our roads.
We need leadership now!
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