The Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr. Seiso Mohai, has expressed encouragement at the speed of recovery efforts following the devastating floods in Mthatha, while also acknowledging serious concerns at a local mass care centre.
Mohai, accompanied by a delegation including a representative from the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, conducted an oversight visit to the area this week to assess the damage to infrastructure and basic services.
The visit included stops at the Thornhill Water Treatment Works, the Maydene Farm construction site, and a mass care centre operating out of the Oama Hall.
While satisfied with the overall progress, Minister Mohai described the conditions at the Oama Hall care centre as “a cause for concern.”
“We will be dealing with those matters of detail,” Mohai stated, emphasizing the need to engage with state entities like Eskom to reconnect services that were disrupted by the disaster. “Our priority is to ensure that services are regularized and that, in the long term, people’s lives are adjusted.”
The floods, which left over 100 people dead and displaced more than a thousand, caused extensive damage to critical water infrastructure. Communities were without water for over two weeks, though officials confirmed that issue has since been resolved.
A significant focus of the recovery is the construction of temporary residential units (TRUs) at Maydene Farm. Mohai reported rapid progress on the project.
“We’re really encouraged by the progress and the speed in which the contractors are moving,” he said. “We have given them a target that by Friday we should have finished 100. We already have 25 in one day.”
The Deputy Minister outlined an ambitious timeline, suggesting that the first group of displaced families could begin moving into the temporary structures as early as Monday. The national Department of Human Settlements has set a goal to move all displaced victims from community halls into these temporary units by the end of September.
Mohai underscored the urgency of moving people out of community halls, which he stated are unsuitable for long-term accommodation.
“Obviously, we will never wish anybody to stay in a community hall because that facility is not meant for people to sleep in,” he said. “Very basic issues that affect human dignity get compromised easily. We believe that they will soon be out of that condition and be in dignified units.”
The government’s plan is to use the lessons learned from similar disaster recovery processes in other areas like KwaZulu-Natal to ensure efficient and dignified relief for those affected by the Mthatha floods.