#KZNisBurning: Municipal infrastructure must be protected
13 July 2021
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has called on CoGTA Chairperson, Zinhle Cele, to convene an urgent portfolio meeting in order to perform vital oversight over threats to critical municipal infrastructure and the response plans of disaster management, including fire services.
The DA in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) is increasingly concerned by the current number of reports of acts of sabotage or planned sabotage against critical municipal infrastructure in the province.
Should rioters begin to target water, sanitation and electrical infrastructure there will be further instability. This includes the risk of loss of life as serious health and safety issues arise and basic needs are not met. There have already been several reports of these type of incidents taking place.
In addition, we are concerned that KZN’s already under-capacitated fire and disaster management services are not able to cope with the scale of destruction taking place in towns and cities across our province.
Hundreds of businesses and thousands of hectares of agricultural land have been burned while many people are at risk from man-made disasters. There must be a proper response plan.
As a responsible oversight body, the DA is calling on KZN’s CoGTA portfolio committee to convene an urgent meeting to obtain clarity on plans around these two important functions.
Regrettably, when we first suggested this to the Chairperson, our proposal was snubbed as political opportunism. This despite members of her own party supporting the call. The DA notes that Honourable Cele has since been vocal on social media in her support of Jacob Zuma and is closely aligned to the ANC faction that started the movement that led to the destruction.
The DA again calls on Chairperson Cele and the ANC members of this portfolio committee to finally approve the DA’s request.
We cannot be caught off guard and must plan ahead for any eventualities. Poor planning and a lack of leadership are precisely what has led to the point where we are now. The Rule of Law must be upheld and there must be an immediate end to the current chaos.
Issued by Chris Pappas, DA KZN Spokesperson on CoGTA, 13 July 2021
