KZN floods ANC

The ANC has been accused of failing to properly maintain water infrastructure in KZN – Photo: TheSouthAfrican

KZN floods latest: Did these ‘ANC failures’ WORSEN the damage?

Although no political party can be held directly responsible for the KZN floods, some DA members believe the ANC ‘made things worse’.

KZN floods ANC

The ANC has been accused of failing to properly maintain water infrastructure in KZN – Photo: TheSouthAfrican

As the dust settles on a traumatic and devastating episode, attempts to hold officials accountable for the widespread damage caused by the KZN floods have already begun. Several members of the DA believe that poorly-maintained infrastructure – which falls under the remit of local ANC governments – is to blame.

‘Tenderpreneurs, dodgy contractors made things worse’ – Shadow Minister

Around 253 people are understood to have been killed by this latest natural disaster. Although the ANC can’t be blamed for an Act of God, some politicians believe they can be accused of contributing to the extensive damage.

Rescue teams attempt to save locals from rising flood waters – Photo: NSRI / Twitter

Emma Louise Powell is the Shadow Minister for Human Settlements. She has pulled no punches this week, and suggests that there is a direct link between the RDP homes that were swept away in the KZN floods and a set of ‘dodgy contracts’ handed out to construction firms.

“The damage caused to RDP homes is a direct reflection of the incapacity of the dodgy contractors appointed to build these homes by the ANC-run Municipality, year after year. The DA has long called on eThekwini to ensure that capable contractors are hired to build structurally sound dwellings for the most vulnerable.”

“We know rows of unsafe multi-story houses were built on sandy slopes at KZN’s Kennedy Road informal settlement, with almost no structural integrity. Repeated contracting of tenderprenuers who build houses with scant regard for the most basic architectural and engineering safety standards have directly contributed to the destruction.”

Emma Louise Powell

KZN floods ‘exacerbated’ by ANC policy, DA man claims

Meanwhile, the DA’s provincial leader Francois Rodgers also lambasted regional structures of the ANC for failing to properly service structural systems, such as stormwater drains and the water reticulation networks.

He feels that there hasn’t been enough emphasis on securing water infrastructure, stating that the KZN floods were worsened as a result of ‘crumbling structures that needed repairing’.

“If your structural systems won’t work in service deliveries, stormwater, sewer, water reticulation. Then everything you build on top of that is going to crumble. There’s not enough emphasis and there is not enough budget to ensure that we got the infrastructure to be able to handle this type of disaster.”

Francois Rodgers
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