In order to intensify response to the severe flooding that has devastated seven out of the nine provinces of South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster on Monday. The national state of disaster legislation offers the government more authority, including the ability to sidestep legal limitations on the purchase and delivery of goods and services.
According to a statement from the office of the president on Monday, Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape have been the most severely impacted by the floods, which were brought on by intense rainfall as a result of the La Nina meteorological phenomena. Flooding has also occurred in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, the Northern Cape, and North West.
A national disaster may be declared by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs where disastrous events occur or threaten to occur in more than one province, the statement said. “In agriculture, farmers have suffered crop and livestock losses, and anticipate further losses as the South African Weather Service (SAWS) predicts that current heavy rains will persist,” it added.
The National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) continues to monitor, and coordinate response and recovery measures by the relevant organs of state and stakeholders. This further includes the dissemination of early warnings and advisories on weather forecasts by the South African Weather Service (SAWS).
Forecasts indicate this weather pattern will remain in this state during the early part of 2023, the statement read. Last week, Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster over the ongoing power crisis in South Africa, which is crippling the country’s economy. Additionally, the national disaster act was used in April 2017 to address flooding in the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal and in March 2020 to address the coronavirus pandemic.
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