SACP deeply concerned about the condition of workers and poor households and their neglect by the Western Cape Provincial government amidst harsh weather conditions

8 June 2017

The South African Communist Party (SACP) is extremely concerned by the impact that current storm, wreaking havoc across the province, present to the working class. Experts suggest that the current cold front is one of the worst in thirty years. Others, including the DA (“Democratic Alliance”) Provincial Government, point to the positives of the current storm. The Provincial Government has continued to present this contradiction, that much needed rain in the province will assist in alleviating concern regarding dangerously low dam levels.

Regardless of the statistics and predictions, seasonal extremes such as the current cold front bear a momentous burden on the poor in the province. Already the storm has claimed the lives of a number of people after lightning struck their home causing a fire in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Thousands residing in low-lying areas such as the Cape Flats and other surrounding informal settlements are at risk due to freezing temperatures, gale force winds, flooding and the risk of fires.

Cyclical seasonal tragedies affecting the poor are the norm in the Western Cape. A preventative resolution to the countless loss of life, homelessness and despondency has a structural root. Developing impoverished communities on the basis of dignity, safety and basic comfort should be a priority, however the Provincial Government cannot fathom this logic, instead it advances expensive public relations exercises.

As the SACP we would like to urge all spheres of government to assist in developing long-term preventative measures, to ensure that the systemic features and damaging effects of underdevelopment in working class communities are addressed and that relief effort to be undertaken when the storm passes is given optimal priority.

Issued by Benson Nqentsu, SACP Western Cape Provincial Secretary, 8 June 2017