Durban - The eThekwini municipality says it will need an estimated R250 million to repair the houses damaged during the recent storms.
This will include:
- R13.3 million for the construction of semi temporal structures in informal settlements;
- R9.2 million to repair roofs of RDP houses;
- R194 million for the subsidy of houses to be provided by the department of Human Settlements; and
- R25 million for retaining walls.
The city also revealed that an estimated R5 million will be spent to restore water and electricity infrastructure which was damaged during the recent storms.
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These stats were revealed by the city’s head of disaster management, Vincent Ngubane while briefing members of the executive committee during a special meeting held on Monday morning.
The meeting was convened to take stock of the storms which pounded many parts of the city last week. Ngubane said the estimated cost to reinstate water infrastructure was R2.3 million while electricity infrastructure will cost an estimated R2.6 million.
The report said that a total of 2 934 households had been affected by the storms. The majority of those (2 247) were in the south of the city.
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A total of 230 fallen trees were also attended to by the parks department in the aftermath of the storm. Roads and stormwater systems were also severely affected. The report shows that there were:
- 54 landslides;
- 67 damaged roads;
- 135 potholes;
- 52 missing manhole covers; and
- 49 reports of roads being washed away and road closures.
In the report the city says the bulk of the damage to the roads and stormwater systems will be covered by the operating budget.
“Most of the work is expected to be complete in two weeks time. Additional resources have been employed on the gravel road network in the south and north regions. Councillors are being consulted on the nature and extent of the repairs that are necessary. A programme of work will be prepared when the full extent of the damage is known,” said Ngubane.
The mop up operations continue in various parts of the city.