Page 54 - Provincial Treasury Estimates.pdf

Overview of the Provincial Revenue and Expenditure (OPRE) Financial Year 2023/24
Disaster Management and Infrastructure Rehabilitation
Besides the global Covid-19 pandemic, natural disasters are a common occurrence in the Eastern Cape,

often causing loss of life as well as destruction to private property and public infrastructure. Some parts of
the Province are currently experiencing drought whilst others are badly affected by floods. Beyond the
assessments following an incident of disaster, government capacity is generally weak:

x Lack of disaster mitigation strategies and plans
x Funding constraints

x Delayed response by government institutions
x Poor capacity for effective disaster coordination and management

Moving forward the provincial government will need to develop its capacity to respond decisively and
demonstrate better agility in dealing with the two recently declared national disasters, namely, energy and
floods. Disaster management and oversight structures will need to be activated and strengthened.

The Province’s performance on disaster management and responses at the end of 2022 was not

satisfactory,
x 33% of the budget reprioritized for infrastructure rehabilitation was spent.
x Very slow spend on the Municipal Disaster Relief Grant: except at Mbhashe LM, where the project

implementation had started,
x in all other municipalities projects were still at procurement phase.

x Of the 609 damaged roads, only 60 roads rehabilitation projects had been completed,
x Three hundred and thirty five (335) housing units were done and just over 700 temporary structures
were delivered against the needed 2 959.

In order to upscale current and future disaster responses the Province has set aside an amount of R60

million which has been ring-fenced in the Provincial Revenue Fund for immediate responses to any future
disasters. This amount is in addition to the 2 percent allocation of the total infrastructure budget of each
department set aside towards disasters and climate change.

Furthermore, an amount of R592.202 million has been added in 2023/24 to the Provincial Roads

Maintenance Grant for the backlog in refurbishment of provincial roads, for the building of modular steel
bridges (rural bridges) under the Welisizwe Rural Programme. For the two outer years of the MTEF period
funding for rural bridges remains unallocated to allow more provinces to make submissions for their rural

bridges projects. The National Department of Transport and Department of Public Works and Infrastructure
will work together to determine these allocations. Of this increase amount R122 million is added to the same
grant for the carry through costs of repairs of provincial roads that were damaged by the floods following

the April 2022 floods.

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