News24 | Ramaphosa takes residents’ calls for probe into deadly Mthatha floods on board

Decoligny village resident Thembekile Majeke points to a nearby river in the Mthatha village where a pile of dead bodies were recovered after devastating floods.

• At least 78 people have died in devastating floods that engulfed Mthatha this week.
• Affected residents have rejected the classification of the flooding as a natural disaster and are demanding an investigation.
• A water crisis is now compounding the tragedy as Mthatha businesses and residents face days without supply amid massive infrastructure damage. 

President Cyril Ramaphosa has assented to pleas from residents of Mthatha’s Decoligny village who insist that an investigation is needed into the deadly deluge that has claimed at least 78 lives.

Ramaphosa, accompanied by several senior government officials, visited Mthatha on Friday to assess the extent of the damage caused by floods that have left many homeless in the area.

Ramaphosa was accompanied by Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube, among other officials.

Decoligny, where scores of bodies were retrieved along the riverbanks with others scattered between houses, was the epicentre of the devastating floods.

Resident Thembekile Majeke said the deluge was the first of its kind in the village and needed to be investigated. He told Ramaphosa:

“We do not share the view that this was a natural disaster. We want your office to set up a team to investigate the cause of these floods. We noticed a strange phenomenon when the water was raging through our houses that it was coming from an upward direction rather than going downward as per the direction of the river. We suspect foul play,” a devastated Majeke said.

In response, Ramaphosa called one of the senior officials from the National Department of Water and Sanitation to explain what might have happened to Majeke and other residents. But when the official was not available, Ramaphosa said:

Ramaphosa visited several areas in Mthatha including the bridge on the R61 where 13 schoolchildren from Jumba Senior Secondary were swept away while travelling in a scholar transport vehicle to school on Tuesday morning.

Three pupils were rescued while the rest, including a driver and his assistant, died in the current. The bodies of the driver, his assistant and eight pupils have since been recovered.

Addressing residents at a school in Decoligny, Ramaphosa said help was on the way for those who had lost loved ones.

“So many people have died. I heard some schoolchildren are still missing. This is not normal. We are very disturbed that so many people have passed away, but it could have been worse than this,” he said.

He said the deluge was so massive that the South African government had received messages of support from the leaders of government in Asia and Europe.

“We will make sure that there is help coming after an assessment,” he said.

READ | ‘The water was around my neck’: Eastern Cape death toll at 75 as residents recount escape

Ramaphosa urged residents not to build their houses on floodplains – which was the reason for such a high death toll, Hlabisa said earlier this week. King Sabata Dalindyebo Mayor Nyaniso Nelani said on Wednesday that the municipality had for many years been trying – and failing – to convince people living on floodplains to move.

Ramaphosa said: “This is our new reality as the people of South Africa that we must now be aware that climate change is a real serious challenge that we must deal with. It affects our health, our education, our infrastructure, housing and also our economic infrastructure.”

Mabuyane said the provincial government was planning a provincial day of mourning to pay respect to the deceased.

He added:

Meanwhile, Mthatha businesses have urged the government to expedite the process of restoring water supply in the town.

Businessman Vuyisile Ntlabati, president of the Eastern Cape Chamber of Business, said businesses were struggling without water.

“The situation is bad. There is just not enough water supply to carry out business. Some businesses have been without power since Tuesday,” he said.

Northcrest resident Siyanda Mabusela said they had been without water since Tuesday.

“We need water to be restored as soon as possible. We have really allowed officials [time] to deal with this tragedy. But we can’t survive another day without water,” said Mabusela.

The OR Tambo District Municipality said water was expected to be restored over the coming weekend.