Premier and Cabinet Respond to Drought and Disasters

Disasters:

From April 2004 to 18 January 2005 there were 376 disasters (fire and flood) affecting 12 351 families and displacing 52 283 people with 45 deaths in the Western Cape. These took place in many poor parts of the city of Cape Town and rural areas such as Grabouw, Khayamnandi, Clanwilliam, De Doorns, Doringbaai and Bredasdorp.

Cabinet received and used the following DFID definition of a disaster as a starting point: "A disaster is a severe disruption to a community's survival and livelihood systems, resulting from people's vulnerability to hazard impacts and involving loss of life and / or property on a scale which overwhelms their capacity to cope unaided."

The Asian Tsunami has redefined the world's understanding of disasters. The Province will continue to support national initiatives to support Tsunami stricken areas and communities, especially in Africa. Announcements will follow in this regard.

The Premier and Cabinet reviewed Government's responses to Saturday's serious fire in the Joe Slovo informal settlement and agreed that the rapid, integrated interventions in partnership between the Provincial Government and City are the correct model.

Cabinet endorsed the call to prevent the re-occupation of the site so that it could form the start of the N2 redevelopment programme.

Donors:

Premier Rasool calls on donors to direct their support to the transitional accommodation areas to help communities in the interim period until formal housing is provided. The temporary houses in these areas will remain as a resource for Government to use in support of citizens as they are relocated from inappropriate land and informal settlement areas to new human settlements.

Ensuring firebreaks in informal settlements:

The Premier and Cabinet agreed to adopt a strict approach to the compliance with and enforcement of the 3 metre firebreak rule for informal settlements with Local Government co-operation and in consultation with community leaders. Fire hydrants will be similarly policed and kept accessible. Ultimately such safety will be inherent in the design of such settlements. This will be a developmental process.

The cost of enforcing the 3 metre rule and maintaining fire hydrant access will be less than the expected cost of R10 million that Government will incur in direct response to the Joe Slovo fire alone.

Drought disaster:

In terms of the drought gripping the Province, the Premier has resolved to approach the President to declare drought stricken parts of the Western Cape as disaster areas in terms of the s26 of the Fundraising Act (107 of 1978). This is in order to raise an additional R26 million to supplement the feed of livestock in order to facilitate keeping farm workers on farms.

The Departments of Social Services and Poverty Alleviation will conduct a social assessment of the extent of need and to determine criterion for assistance in order to sustain livelihoods.

Climate change - kick-starting our response:

The Cabinet has noted the increasingly self-evident manifestations of climate change. We are a water scarce continent, country and province. The UCT's Climate Analysis Department indicates that rain patterns are changing with longer dry periods interspersed by shorter concentrated periods of rain and that we are also currently in the middle of a 20-year dry cycle. Recent rainfall has been between 50- 75% below average.

The impact of this on the Western Cape in terms of water sources, crops, flora and fauna, economic and infrastructural planning, energy needs and attitudes must be understood and integrated in all Provincial activities.

Only one more significant dam can be built in the Province, which could be on the Olifants River. This will exhaust our current surface water catchment abilities.

The Provincial Government has allocated an amount of R2 million for an urgent investigation into alternative water sources including the evaluation of desalination and other aquifer systems and crop alternatives as a response to the impact that global warming is having. The Province's alignment with the Kyoto protocols will form part of this assessment.

Day of Prayer:

The Premier will meet with faith leaders from the Province to join him and Cabinet in a multi-faith Day of Prayer for Rain. Details of this will follow.