The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Legislature calls on the KZN MEC for Cogta, Bongi Sithole-Moloi, and the KZN Premier, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, to declare uThongathi a disaster area after a tornado caused enormous damage to homes and infrastructure, resulting in the loss of 12 lives.
After visiting areas such as Sandfields, Fairbreeze, Magwaveni, Newtown, Sea Tides, Greylands, and others, and seeing the extent of the damage, we believe the government must provide immediate shelter to the homeless. We appeal to the MEC and the Premier to declare the storm a disaster and activate all emergency mechanisms.
The uThongathi disaster exposed critical weaknesses in preparedness, highlighting the need for better forecasting, communication, and sustainable land-use planning.
Resilience strategies must consider interlinked environmental and infrastructural systems, and prioritise predefined, multi-agency response plans to prevent confusion and delays.
The IFP commends all first responders and NGOs who acted quickly despite difficult conditions. However, we condemn the reported looting of affected homes.
Traumatised residents need the government to speed up relief aid and help those without insurance to cover their losses.
Most residents will struggle to recover on their own, and clean water and electricity must be urgently reinstated to prevent opportunistic diseases.
Given the dire situation, the IFP urgently calls on the MEC to declare the area a disaster zone and provide relief without delay.
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Contact
Hon. Les Govender, MPL
IFP KZN Provincial Spokesperson for Social Development
082 448 8787
