Ramaphosa calls for proactive response to flooding and better town planning

Government has flagged town planning as a concern for most townships as weather-related disasters continue to hit parts of the country.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said he is concerned about how town planning is not looked at carefully. 

Ramaphosa visited Mpumalanga, which has been severely affected by recent flooding.

“Town planning in our country we must all admit has actually gone down we now need to increase our town planning capability and get more young people to take up the town planning course and also get our municipality to enforce those laws.”

Last week, Ramaphosa paid a visit to Limpopo, which has also been affected by inclement weather. 

The severe weather has resulted in the loss of lives as well as severe infrastructure damage.

Ramaphosa said there is room for improvement in ensuring that the response is proactive rather than reactive.

“All these things we’ve got to do all at the same time, improve our response capability, warn people in time but also make sure that buildings are not put up near where there are flood plains.”