After floods, eThekwini Metro Municipality says it needs billions to fix aging infrastructure
Durban has been hit by three separate flooding incidents in less than two weeks time.
The aftermath of the recent heavy rains in Adams Mission, KwaZulu-Natal. Picture Nhlanhla Mabaso/ Eyewitness News
DURBAN - The eThekwini Metro Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal says billions of rand are needed to fix its aging infrastructure following more floods in the city.
Durban has been hit by three separate flooding incidents in less than two weeks.
While the two previous incidents claimed around 11 lives, the third one damaged public infrastructure.
When asked about aging infrastructure, Mayor Cyril Xaba admitted there were infrastructure issues.
"Our infrastructure was built to cope with one to ten years of floods but what we are getting now is one to 100, in some cases 1 to 120 years, and the regularity of these floods happening, they damage our infrastructure, they’ve caused a backlog - I must admit there is a backlog."
Xaba added that the city needed more money to fix its infrastructure.
"So with the recent events, it’s clear that the city will need billions of rand to be able to bring our infrastructure to a level where it copes with the environment."