Action group warns that slow govt response could lead to protests in eThekwini

Presenter Africa Melane chats to eThekwini Secure chairperson Imtiaz Syed.

• Emergency flood funding has still not been released in KZN, according to action group eThekwini Secure

• eThekwini Secure chair says failure to restore basic services in the region could see widespread protests "very, very soon"

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The community action group eThekwini Secure has warned that a slow response in fixing flood-hit areas in eThekwini could lead to protest action.

Devasting floods in KwaZulu-Natal caused major infrastructure damage to various parts of eThekwini last month.

The deadly floods claimed 448 lives with another 88 people still missing.

Nearly 7,000 people have been left homeless and are being housed in 91 shelters in the region.

Of the 27,069 houses that were affected, 8,584 of them were totally destroyed.

The damage to public infrastructure is estimated at R25 billion.

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eThekwini Secure chairperson Imtiaz Syed claims flood relief funds have still not been released despite the national disaster declaration in KZN.

He says emergency funds are needed to urgently restore water supply to various areas facing water shortages.

Money is also required to begin restoring other basic services such as sanitation, electricity, and housing.

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It's been more than a month without basic services in various parts of eThekwini and Syed fears that the government's slow action could spark protests across the metro.

"People are getting frustrated and people need answers," he warns.

The challenge that we have is that the president has declared it a national disaster, however, funding from national hasn't come through as yet, therefore we're between a rock and a hard place in terms of prioritisation.

Imtiaz Syed, Chairperson - eThekwini Secure

The cause for concern for us, as eThekwini Secure, is that if these things are not addressed very soon, we are going to see protests rolling out across the entire eThekwini area very, very soon because people are getting frustrated and people need answers.

Imtiaz Syed, Chairperson - eThekwini Secure

As much as the mayor, deputy mayor, and all of these people are going around and trying to keep people calm, it doesn't really speak to what they need which is basic services. Water and electricity need to be reinstated everything else is by the way.

Imtiaz Syed, Chairperson - eThekwini Secure

We're facing some major water shortages up in the north and that's going to take anything from four to six months to recover from... We're seeing that the leaks along the line now need to be repaired and that's now the second stage of priority that's coming into play.

Imtiaz Syed, Chairperson - eThekwini Secure

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