Ramaphosa calls for day of mourning following Eastern Cape floods

MTHATHA – A day of remembrance must be declared to mourn those who died in the recent natural disasters in the Eastern Cape. 

That’s the call made by President Cyril Ramaphosa after his visit to Mthatha, where dozens of people perished during this week’s floods.

Ramaphosa has promised the government will do everything in its power to ensure people’s lives return to normal. 

READ: Ramaphosa links Eastern Cape fatal floods to climate change

He visited the area days after devastating floods wreaked havoc on communities in OR Tambo District Municipality.

Government has often been criticised for its slow response time in assisting victims of natural disasters and addressing key infrastructural and humanitarian challenges.

But Ramaphosa lauded some of the efforts made in Mthatha.

“I want to give thanks to the national, provincial, and local government departments for the way they responded to this disaster. That, to me, demonstrates the capability of our government in responding to disasters like these, and as the Premier says, it could have been much worse than this,” Ramaphosa explained.

READ: Death toll in Eastern Cape floods rises to 78

The teams and organisations providing aid are expected to remain on the ground while OR Tambo District residents continue trying to make sense of the tragedy.

By: Ronald Masinda