Durban - As days move closer towards the anniversary of the floods that wreaked havoc in Durban and other parts of KwaZulu-Natal in April last year, members of Parliament will on Tuesday conduct an oversight visit to Richards Bay in a bid to determine the progress made in carrying out repairs to the infrastructure over the past months.
The standing committee on appropriations will visit Transnet in Richards Bay from March 28 to 29 to assess the state of refurbishments and repairs to infrastructure hit by the April 2022 floods.
The rains, which started from April 8, battered many parts of KwaZulu-Natal, but it was eThekwini that suffered the most, with roads, bridges and houses collapsing, resulting in the loss of more than 400 lives. This led to many people being housed in shelters, halls and tents for months, prompting calls for assistance from the national government and many pledges of relief in the process.
MPs are also expected to engage with Transnet leadership and organised labour in order to get an understanding of the capacity and ability of Transnet to contribute to South Africa’s development and economic growth.
In addition to this, they will also check the progress in piloting private sector participation in the rail network and interventions undertaken to improve access to freight rail as well as revenue and infrastructure investment.
The committee’s Jabulani Majozi indicated on Monday that the visit was meant to ensure that the funds that had been set aside for the repairs were used appropriately.
“As the committee that approves the appropriations to various entities, it is important for members to satisfy themselves that the public funds are used for their intended purpose,” he explained on Monday.
The committee, he added, was set to meet with the auditor-general on Monday afternoon to get an update on Transnet and the areas which they need to focus on when engaging with the entity’s leadership.
The oversight visit in KZN is part of a week-long programme that will also include a visit to the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) later in the week.