While communities are still battling with the after-effects of the floods across Mpumalanga earlier this year and having to live with severe damages to infrastructure, National Treasury has still not responded to the financial request from the province for much-needed repairs.

As much as R2.3b is needed to undo all the flood damages. The province had submitted all the necessary documents needed and is still waiting for any response. The spokesperson for the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Lindiwe Msibi, said all they can do now is to wait for treasury to approve the budget and to make the funds available so they can start rebuilding the damaged infrastructures.

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“Mpumalanga submitted the relevant documents to the National Disaster Management and National Treasury.
We await a response for the requested funds to be made available. After that, we will start with the processes of securing service providers,” she said.

Msibi said all disaster-damaged infrastructure has been prioritised, with water-damaged ones topping the list. “With a small budget, they have managed to repair some of the minor damages,” she said.

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However, some of the major roads, such as the R536 between Hazyview and Sabie, remain closed, as does the R40 between Barberton and the Josefsdal Border Post, located on the Barberton Makhonjwa Geotrail. The busy R40 next to Klipkopjes Dam continues to operate on a stop-and-go basis.
The National Treasury promised to respond to Lowvelder’s queries by Tuesday, but nothing had been received by the time of going to press.