Taung
5 April 2006
The North West Provincial Legislature will be sending a delegation of MPLs
to the Taung area from Wednesday to Friday, 5 to 7 April 2006, to witness the
extent of the devastation in the region due to the massive floods that have
taken place in the past month. Official assessment of the flood damage in Taung
in the North West began on Monday, 3 April, and is expected to be completed
soon. The North West Provincial Legislature Portfolio Committees for
Developmental Local Government and Housing, Health and Social Development and
Transport and Roads will be on site during this process undertaking an
oversight visit.
The North West Provincial Legislature will be visiting some of the affected
villages in a visit aimed at seeing first hand the damage inflicted by the
unseasonable floods.
âWe are not going there to point fingers about why this happened or whose
fault it is. Our reasons for going there are twofold,â said the leader of the
delegation, Hon Leroy Mahlakeng. âFirstly we are going there to commiserate
with our citizens and constituents. We need for them to know that we are there
for them and visible and accessible always, especially in times of need.
Secondly we are going there on an oversight visit to establish the kind of
devastation that has taken place so that we can report back to the House,â
continued Mahlakeng
âAs Mayor Boitumelo Mahlangu said, the extent of the destruction has to be
assessed and communicated to the provincial government so that funds can be
made available for reconstruction. These funds will be discussed and debated at
our provincial parliament and we feel that we can better motivate and support
our colleagues in the relevant government departments by confirming what we
would have seen with our own eyes.â
About 1500 houses, numerous bridges, and roads were damaged or washed away
by flooding. Up to 12 Taung villages were left devastated by the heavy rains
which destroyed thousands of mostly mud-houses, bridges and roads, leaving
residents stranded and cut off from the rest of the country. The hardest hit
village Ntswanahatshe will be one of the places the delegation will visit.
The Department of Local Government and Housing was still distributing food
and supplying clean water to affected areas. Taung has received about 700mm of
rainfall since February and there are fears that the disaster could be repeated
if more rain falls this week. At least 1 000 families are living in makeshift
tents in the villages.
âPeople tend to think that oversight is a negative role played by the
Legislature but in fact, especially in instances such as these, it is a
positive one. We are all pulling for our people who have endured so much
suffering and hardship as a result of the floods. We are going to Taung to
assist our colleagues in government motivate for the funds for the substantial
reconstruction which will be required,â concluded Mahlakeng.
Enquires:
Roberta Makhambeni
Media Liaison Officer
Cell: 082 779 4641
Tel: (018) 392 7158
E-mail: roberta@nwpl.org.za
Issued by: North West Provincial Legislature, North West Provincial
Government
5 April 2006
