Around 70 voting stations across the Eastern Cape were affected by last week’s killer floods, and now the provincial government is trying to get the South African National Defence Force to help fix washed away bridges and roads, in preparation for the May 8 elections.
This was revealed by provincial government spokesman Sonwabo Mbananga in a statement sent out on Tuesday.
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He said the office of premier Phumulo Masualle had set up a joint operations centre (JOC) to co-ordinate disaster relief efforts across the province.“The Eastern Cape Independent Electoral Commission has confirmed to be 70 the number of voting stations that have been affected in the floods, including schools and pre-schools.“Early assessments of the damage caused to infrastructure, which has been possible after water levels receded in flooded towns and villages, has revealed collapsed bridges and damaged roads in some parts,” said Mbananga.OR Tambo, Alfred Nzo and Joe Gqabi are reportedly the hardest hit provincial districts.Mbananga said the provincial government was preparing an urgent report to the national government asking it to consider declaring some of the affected areas disaster-stricken.The priorities included ensuring the 70 voting stations were ready for next week’s general and provincial elections.The work would include roping in the defence force to assist with repairs to washed away bridges and roads.So far 11 deaths had been reported due to floods in the Eastern Cape, while two people are still missing.He said the department of home affairs would deploy two mobile trucks to the Alfred Nzo and OR Tambo districts to help with the issuing of identity documents to those who lost them in the floods.The Daily Dispatch reported on Wednesday that in OR Tambo alone, damage is estimated at more than R200m, according to a preliminary report discussed at a council meeting at the OR Tambo district municipality on Tuesday.The district council wants the area to be declared a disaster zone...