R97m drought relief welcome but not nearly enough, says metro

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has welcomed R97-million in drought relief funding announced yesterday, but described it as a drop in the ocean. Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Zweli Mkhize said yesterday the government had made available a total of R433.524-million from the disaster grants administered by Cogta as immediate disaster relief funding for the three most affected provinces – the Eastern, the Northern Cape and Western Cape. Of the full R104.738-million allocated to the Eastern Cape, the Bay would receive R97-million. Of the total drought funding, R348.846-million would be transferred in the 2017-18 financial year, with the remaining R84.678-million to be transferred in the 2018-19 financial year, Mkhize said.

Metro budget and treasury political head Retief Odendaal said the municipality had not yet received formal notification from the provincial government. “We are very happy [about the allocation], although this is just a drop in the ocean,” he said. “However, any help we can get from the national government is much appreciated and will be put to good use to address the deepening drought in the metro.” He said the metro had originally applied for R7-billion. Other areas in the Eastern Cape which have been allocated funding include: In the Sarah Baarman region, Kouga R1.09-million, Koukamma R770 000, Ndlambe R950 000, Makana R810 000, Sundays River R2.09-million, Blue Crane Route R180 000, Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality R468 00 and, in the Amathole District Municipality, Mbashe R1.38-million.