Dlamini-Zuma urges traditional, Khoisan leaders not to allocate land in flood lines

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has urged traditional and Khoisan leaders not to allocate land to their communities in flood lines.

She says they should take into consideration the risks of climate change.

Dlamini-Zuma was addressing the national leaders following the opening of the House by President Cyril Ramaphosa in the NCOP.

“Some of our communities are now faced with challenges from disasters such as the recent floods and some droughts. Again, we would need to work with you as partners to address disasters, including ensuring that the assignment of land use is informed by the appreciation of the possible climate risk that may exist. I would really like to plead with you that when you give people stands, can we make sure that they are not on the flood lines,” says Dlamini-Zuma.

“Traditionally, people knew where to put stands. They knew that you don’t put stands on the flood lines. But now, we see something new that people, not only in towns, (but) also in some of the rural areas … I think that’s one of the things we should be looking at,” emphasised the CoGTA Minister.

Flooding continues to wreak havoc in Kwazulu-Natal:

Mud houses

Dlamini-Zuma says mud house in rural areas also pose a challenge to communities during disasters.

“And I think as part of the rural master plan, working with us, we should maybe take a decision that we are going to do away with mud houses, because every time there are floods, we hear so many mud houses were destroyed. They can still be there, but there must be a house that is secure and resilient, that the family can move into if they see that there is a problem with the mud house.”

President Ramaphosa says rural areas are the most affected by the devastating floods that hit certain parts of the country. In his address to Traditional and Khoisan Leaders hosted in the NCOP, he also told the House that their election and gathering took place at a time when the country is facing many challenges.

He says these include effects of COVID-19, poverty, unemployment, rising living costs, inequality, gender-based violence, femicide and the devastating floods.

“Earlier, we were talking with Minister Dlamini-Zuma about the horrific floods that are devastating many parts of our country and the devastation is to be felt in our rural areas where many of our people live, where the infrastructure is not that well-geared to sustain the type of floods that we are having.”

KZN flood victims narrate ordeal after severe thunderstorms and heavy downpours:

Disaster strikes Deelpan residents as floods hit again: