President Cyril Ramaphosa to address Parliament on KZN floods

President Cyril Ramaphosa will, address a Joint Sitting of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces on Tuesday on the devastation caused by the devastating floods that wrecked havoc along parts of Kwazulu-Natal.

Over 400 people have lost their lives and it is estimated that more than 40 000 people have been displaced by the floods.

 The flooding has caused extensive damage to houses, businesses, roads, bridges and water, electricity, rail and telecommunication infrastructure.

In a statement, Parliament said that Ramaphosa called for a Joint Sitting of the two Houses of Parliament on a matter of ‘’public importance.’’

‘’The President indicated in his letter that this "humanitarian disaster calls for a massive and urgent relief effort. Given the extent and impact of the floods, Cabinet declared this a national state of disaster. This is to ensure an effective response across all spheres of government,” said Parliament Spokesperson, Moloto Mathapo.

‘’The Joint Sitting will be preceded by separate plenaries of the two Houses of Parliament, the NA and NCOP, for the establishment of an Ad Hoc Committee on the recent floods,’’ added Mothapo.

The Joint Sitting is scheduled for 26 April 2022 at 14:00. The National Assembly sitting is scheduled to take place at 12noon, whilst the National Council of Provinces will hold a sitting at 12:30.

‘’The political parties represented in Parliament will be allocated time to respond to the President address. The President will thereafter respond to the parties accordingly,’’ said Mothapo.

 

PICTURE - PresidencyZA : President Cyril Ramaphosa

Done By: Mitchum George