Floods in Limpopo have caused damages worth an estimated R80 million to infrastructure, roads, households and destroyed agricultural operations. Farmers are desperate for help from government and accuse authorities of not prioritising them. Popular football club Kaizer Chiefs even took time off the pitch to lend a helping hand.
By Montsho Matlala
Limpopo Premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba says the provincial government, in partnership with disaster management teams, is working around the clock to help and assess the needs of communities impacted by floods. Dr Ramathuba acknowledges the dire situation caused by recent floods, highlighting the devastating impact on communities and the destruction of vital economic activities. The premier has even postponed the much-anticipated annual Marula Festival, which is held during the brewing season of marula beer and was due to take place from 27 February to 8 March.
Deadly Floods Damaged Infrastructure
According to Dr Ramathuba, it will take some time to rebuild large parts of the damaged infrastructure in the province in the aftermath of the floods and torrential rains that started pounding the province in December last year and intensified at the beginning of this year.
“As it stands, 27 fatalities have been reported, while approximately 3 194 homes have been severely damaged and 439 roads, measuring 600km, have been rendered unusable.
“In response, the provincial government has allocated R800 million towards recovery efforts while we await the response from the National Disaster Management Centre. Preliminary assessments indicate that we may require close to R10 billion for comprehensive recovery initiatives. However, we remain hopeful that we will successfully rebuild Limpopo Province,” she said during a media briefing held at her Mowaneng offices in Polokwane on Thursday 5 February.
Also read: Floods turn hope into heartbreak for Limpopo farmers
Farmers Cry Foul
With the aftermath of the floods still wreaking havoc despite hot temperatures in some places, Eric Mlambo, spokesperson for the Mopani Farmers Association, says not a single government or municipal official has visited their farms to check on the destruction caused by floods and heavy storms.
“I want to know which model these officials are using to do assessments of the damages because they [did not come] to us after we sent them reports of damages.
“All we are asking is for the premier to bring Dikgerekgere Wednesday – which is a campaign involving the deployment of road graders and related equipment to repair roads in villages on Wednesdays – to also extend to farms to open access roads.
“We are currently still not working, and once a farm spends three weeks at a standstill, you must know that the farmer and the farmworkers have no income. We are facing a disastrous situation, with government officials doing assessments on desktops,” laments Mlambo.
He adds, “We need these individual assessments and support mainly in [respect of] damaged yields, crops, seedling livestock, farm infrastructure and general advice on replanting and rebuilding urgently to mitigate the huge economic losses we are experiencing.”
The Provincial Government’s Responses Not Clear Yet
Contacted for comment by African Farming on the grievances of farmers, Ndavhe Ramakuela, the spokesperson for the Limpopo Provincial Government, referred the enquiries to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
In response, Mosupologo Mothotse, communications director at the Limpopo Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, repeated on Friday 6 February what she said last month: that the recorded number of farmers in distress remained at 129.
Mothotse had not responded to further queries, including the type of help being given to the affected farmers or the reasons for the apparent lack of an increase in the number of farmers in need of support on the department’s books, at the time of publication.
Also read: More than food: A Limpopo farmer’s legacy of jobs, skills and hope
Marula Festival Postponed
The devastating floods have also forced the postponement of Limpopo’s annual Marula Festival, in which marula beer is showcased alongside the diverse cultural activities of the province and beyond. The festival was scheduled to be held in Phalaborwa in the Mopani District Municipality from 27 February to 8 March.
Although marula beer is currently being brewed and consumed in various parts of the province, the routes leading to Phalaborwa, the venue for the festival, have been severely damaged and many homes have been destroyed.
“The festival has been postponed to next year and all the funds initially budgeted to finance the event will be directed to support and provide relief to all residents in Phalaborwa affected by the floods,” says Dr Ramathuba.
She stresses that the government is committed to repairing roads, restoring electricity to areas still experiencing difficulties and bringing back the water supply.
“With 15 water treatment plants in the greater Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality having been negatively affected by the floods, short-term intervention measures such as water tankers are in place, while bigger plans are yet to be implemented,” Dr Ramathuba explains.
But residents of Boelang Village near Phalaborwa say the government seems to have forgotten them, as they lack drinking water and cannot travel to their destinations, including schools, because the roads have been damaged by floods.
Kaizer Chiefs in the Play
Before getting into a CAF Confederation Cup clash with Egyptian outfit Al Masry at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Sunday 8 February, Kaizer Chiefs players travelled almost 200km from Polokwane to Mphagani Village near Giyani in the Mopani District Municipality on Friday 6 February to hand over food parcels to victims left dry, thirsty, hungry and homeless by the recent floods.
Dr Ramathuba and her entourage, including mayors, joined the Phefeni Glamour Boys, as the Soweto soccer giants are affectionately known, and Kaizer Chiefs manager Bobby Motaung as he led his team on a corporate social investment (CSI) drive to communities in need.
Several nongovernmental organisations are also lending a helping hand, providing food, makeshift shelters and medicines to some flood victims in the Mopani and Vhembe districts, where heavy rains struck nearly a month ago.
Also watch: WATCH | Are we getting too much rain?
