Mpumalanga premier hails Good Samaritans donating homes to flood-hit families

Mpumalanga premier Mandla Ndlovu has announced that two Good Samaritans have offered to donate houses to families affected by the recent floods.

This comes as government leaders assess the scale of devastation caused by severe weather across several provinces.

Ndlovu said one of the donated houses will be built for a flood-affected family with construction expected to be completed within two months.

“A Good Samaritan is going to build the house for that family and the commitment that the contractor has made is that we must give him just two months. We are going to complete that house,” said Ndlovu.

He added that another donor has pledged to build a house for a family affected by disaster in Bushbuckridge.

“There is also another Good Samaritan that is donating the house to us to one family that is also affected by disaster in Bushbuckridge,” he said.

According to Ndlovu, a contractor has already been appointed and work is under way on site and housing designs have been finalised.

He made the announcement during an oversight visit to flood-affected areas on Saturday with minister of co-operative governance and traditional affairs Velenkosini Hlabisa and other government officials.

The government has declared a national disaster after widespread damage caused by severe weather in parts of Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and North West.

Hlabisa said the declaration was necessary given the extensive impact of the floods across multiple provinces.

Areas visited during the oversight included Msholozi and Bushbuckridge.

Two residents lost their lives after being swept away by a flooded stream in Msholozi, which was the first stop on the minister’s visit.

Fifty-year-old Monica Pretty Singwane, the sister of one of the victims, Ester Aminah Mathenjwa, 45, said her sister was on her way home at about 7pm when she was swept away by floodwaters.

“She arrived at the place where they usually cross and they found that the water from the current was too strong. The other people who were with her said maybe they should wait for the water to subside but she insisted on crossing because she had a small child waiting for her at home,” said Singwane.

“That is when she tried to cross and the water took her.”

Singwane said the family was devastated as her sister was the sole breadwinner at home as her husband could no longer work after suffering a stroke.

Ndlovu said the death toll from the recent floods has risen to 20.

Responding to criticism over the government’s lack of presence on the ground, Ndlovu said provincial leadership had been actively co-ordinating interventions with MECs over the past few days.

“I know that sometimes you think that the premier is not there, that the premier is loafing. I have been interacting with the MECs for the past four, five days where we’re planning and I’m happy that there is already an intervention here, temporary and permanently,” he said.

He added that temporary infrastructure would be put in place to restore access while permanent repairs were planned.

“We’re going to erect a temporary structure so that our people will be able to use this road while the department will be finding a permanent solution,” Ndlovu said.

The premier thanked private sector donors and civil society organisations for responding to the province’s call for assistance.

“I want to thank our business people in the province, the Givers Foundation and all these other foundations that have come to the province to assist us. They heard our call when we requested them to come and assist us,” he said.

Ndlovu also welcomed the national government’s support, noting President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent visit to Limpopo.

“We saw the president in Limpopo. So I want to thank them for the support that they gave from national. By the way, the people don’t differentiate between local and the national government. They see government as one and we are working as a team.”

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