President Cyril Ramaphosa will tomorrow visit the Eastern Cape to assess the aftermath of the recent floods that have claimed lives and damaged private property and public infrastructure.

The President and his delegation will visit Port St Johns from 3pm where upon arrival they will go to the Port St Johns Youth Centre, which is housing residents who have lost homes in the floods.

They will then proceed to damaged roads in the Mthumbane area, close to Port St Johns’ Second Beach.

“President Ramaphosa will be accompanied by Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Thembi Nkadimeng and Eastern Cape Premier Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane to interact with residents and other stakeholders, and to assess current response and recovery efforts, and further actions or resources needed to help communities ravaged,” the Presidency said in a statement on Monday.

Over the past week, the OR Tambo District Municipality in the Eastern Cape province has been affected by torrential rainfall, which caused flooding resulting in loss of life, displacement of communities and damage to infrastructure.

The South African Weather Service had issued early warnings on 22 and 23 March affected communities in Port St Johns, Ingquza Hill, Nyandeni and King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipalities,

The floods disrupted critical infrastructure and services to water and electricity supply services, teaching and learning, as well as roads and bridges that collapsed.

“Government has activated a working Special Intergovernmental Committee on Disaster Management to provide support and relief to the affected communities.

“Teams comprising national, provincial and local spheres of government have been assessing the damage and providing emergency support in the form of shelter, food, blankets and other essentials,” the Presidency said.

Source: South African Government News Agency