Johannesburg – On April 21, President Cyril Ramaphosa was supposed to visit the Eastern Cape to assess the flood damage around Port St Johns.
The purpose of the visit was to see how much damage the rain caused last week because the EC has registered a few fatalities.
The EC had massive damage to property and infrastructure (roads, houses, and bridges) during heavy rain that left many communities stranded and homeless.
However, the president was expected to visit the most and hardest-hit regions in the province to show support to heavily affected societies and state what the government will do to help rescue the situation.
Ramaphosa was in KwaZulu-Natal last week as it is also one of the provinces that are facing serious flood damage. He assured the Zulu nation that the government will do all its best to make sure that they step in to address the situation immediately and rapidly.
Video: Bongani Mbatha/African News Agency (ANA)
His visit to the Eastern Cape would have been also a similar one to the KZN to share a message of support.
A state of national disaster was declared after KZN recorded 200 and 400 mm of rainfall in a 24-hour period on April 11 and 12. Ramaphosa further mentioned in his speech in April that they are working with the City of Cape Town to provide shelter and relief to the affected families.
The KZN floods are said to be the worst natural disaster that the country has experienced in recent years. With reports of the damage, the government will have to spend billions of rands to restore the province to a normal state.
Furthermore, the presidency said in its statement that the postponement will allow provincial authorities to continue assessments of community needs and gather data that will inform a future engagement between the president, the province, local government and other stakeholders.
"A new date will be announced in due course," the statement reads.
kamogelo.moichela@inl.co.za
Political Bureau
Current Affairs