CoGTA Minister must declare State of Disaster for three provinces devastated by fires
23 October 2020
The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, to urgently declare and gazette a state of disaster for fire-ridden areas of the Free State, North West and Northern Cape.
More than 200 000 ha, by last estimation, have already been destroyed by fires on farms in these three provinces. The DA has received reports that farmers and volunteers were still battling blazes at 04:00 this morning, with the strong wind fanning the flames and making it extremely difficult to extinguish.
A declaration of a state of disaster will enable the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to be on standby to immediately assist when the fires flame up again and make helicopters and other vital equipment needed to fight these fires, available.
At the moment farmers and volunteers have to drive for kilometers on end to refill their water tanks in order to fight the fires. And there seems to be little help from municipalities in combatting the flames, leaving members of rural communities to face the danger and destruction on their own.