'We were warned about seven years ago': Cogta minister says govt had time to prepare for floods

The KwaZulu-Natal government hopes President Cyril Ramaphosa will declare a state of disaster in areas devastated by the recent floods because the affected municipalities are in no position to cover the repairs themselves. 

"We would appreciate it if the president could declare a state of disaster in the affected municipalities because the costs are already in excess of billions, which these municipalities cannot afford," said Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi in a statement issued during a site visit to some of the flood-affected areas on Sunday. 

In a joint statement by national and provincial Cogta, Sithole-Moloi indicated that the affected municipalities had already been classified as disaster areas, and all that remains is a presidential declaration of the areas as disaster zones to expedite the release of emergency funding required for repairs.