Still no funds allocated to repair flood-damaged Mpumalanga roads
The National Disaster Management Centre requested the provincial Department of Cogta to make formal applications for funding to repair the damages. The province has since done this and is now awaiting feedback.
Repairing the flood-damaged provincial roads in Mpumalanga may take even longer than initially expected, as the latest information from the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) indicated that there are limited funds.
The spokesperson for the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, (Cogta), Lindiwe Msibi, said the NDMC convened a meeting with the Provincial Disaster Management Centres (PDMC) and Cogta to further progress rehabilitation interventions and challenges encountered.
”Public works, roads and transport presented its progress report and highlighted budget constraints in attending to all damaged infrastructure. The NDMC has once again asked the Department of Cogta to make formal applications for funding through the NDMC. The PDMC has since submitted applications. We are all awaiting feedback,” she said.
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She also said NDMC had approved municipal grants based on assessments of damaged infrastructure, but that these would not cover all damaged municipal infrastructure due to budget constraints.
Msibi said some municipalities have already appointed service providers to commence with repairs and in others, repairs have already commenced.
While Mpumalanga awaits the promised grants to fix the provincial roads, current arrangements will stay in place. The R536 between Hazyview and Sabie and the R40 between Barberton and the Josefsdal Border Post, located on the Barberton Makhonjwa Geotrail, will remain closed. The R40 next to Klipkopjes Dam will continue to operate on a stop-and-go basis.
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The NDMC’s spokesperson, Legadima Leso, said it had received the provincial funding request from Mpumalanga to repair damaged roads after the floods in February. He confirmed verification of all the documentation, but due to a limited budget for the 2023/24 financial year, they are trying to secure other forms of funding for road repair.
“We are engaging the National Treasury and the relevant department to explore various other mechanisms of funding the damaged roads. This includes the reprioritisation of funds by the national and provincial departments of transport and the augmentation of the 2023/24 allocation to the NDMC,” Leso said.
He also confirmed that affected municipalities in the province have already received disaster grants to allow them to restore the flood damaged infrastructure.
