The OR Tambo district municipality will be investing around R60-million in the next four years towards constructing a state-of-the-art disaster centre in Nyandeni municipality.
Municipal spokesman Ayongezwa Lungisa told the Saturday Dispatch that the facility would be built near the Thabo Mbeki residential township in Libode. “It will be done over four phases,” he said, adding that, “in the 2018-19 financial year[starting on July 1], the district municipality has set aside R15-million for the disaster centre.”
The spokesman said Libode had been chosen because it was more central in its location to all five local municipalities within OR Tambo, namely King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD), Ingquza Hill, Mhlontlo, Port St Johns and Nyandeni. As such, it would make it easier for fire and disaster personnel and their vehicles to access the R61 route which cuts through almost all the areas.
He said KSD already possessed the required infrastructure for such services, although it needed to be rehabilitated and re-modernised, but the area was notorious for traffic congestion which made it difficult to respond to emergencies quickly.
Lungisa revealed that KSD, Mhlontlo and Nyandeni were prone to natural disasters, adding that the disaster centre would comprise offices, a multi-purpose conference centre, fire station, disaster management information system, helipad, office for water and sanitation( billing), municipal health and community safety.
Preliminary designs have already been done but the final design is still being worked on.
Lungisa said the contractor to build the centre would be decided upon through competitive bidding. The vision of the new disaster centre was first introduced to local communities by district mayor Nomakhosazana Meth during her annual state-of-the-district address last week.
She said the centre will serve all five local municipalities.
She said the district municipality’s disaster management turnaround time had improved tremendously in recent times as evidenced by its response to the disaster which befell KSD in January last year.
At the time the Dispatch reported on how hundreds of residents, especially those in villages near Mthatha, had been left homeless after a killer storm.
Last week Meth said following the incident they had built satellite centres in Mhlontlo and Ingquza Hill which had already been completed and will be handed over soon. “The KSD satellite centre will be constructed in Mqanduli and the site has already been identified,” she added.— sikhon@dispatch.co.za..