Small farmers hardest hit by floods

Developing farmers were the worst victims of the floods that have hit various parts of the country following heavy rains over the past two weeks, a parliamentary committee said on Monday.

“Some are unable to continue repaying loans to the banks, such as the Land Bank and other financial institutions, that support farmers,” chairperson of the portfolio committee on agriculture, forestry and fisheries Salamuddi Abram said.

In a statement issued following the committee’s visit to the Northern Cape on Sunday, Abram said overflow of the Orange River had caused more damage than the rain.

Floods wreak havoc in Northern Cape

The M&G travelled to the Northern Cape where farmers are struggling to pick up the pieces after the Orange River broke its banks two weeks ago.

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“The damage includes the erosion of vineyards and livestock, leaving more than 24 000 farm workers of commercial and developing farmers without work as there is no production,” said Abram.

The committee has asked the Northern Cape agriculture department to submit a report about the damage caused by floods, while the ministry of agriculture works on an assistance plan.

The ministry promised that the plan would be finalised before the end of this week.

Northern Cape is one of the eight provinces covering 33 municipalities that were declared disaster areas by the department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs on January 17.

The other provinces are the Free State, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, North West, Limpopo, Kwazulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape.

Monitoring water levels
Due to heavy rains, the government was closely monitoring the rise in water levels in four of the country’s largest dams.

Five floodgates had been opened in the Vaal Dam, which was 99% full on Monday afternoon, spokesperson Linda Page said in a statement.

This brought the outflow of the dam to 600 cubic metres a second, from the 400 cubic metres reported earlier on Monday.

Bloemhof Dam was currently 96% full, with an outflow of 200 cubic metres per second.

The outflow would be increased to 400 cubic metres by Monday afternoon and would rise to 1000 cubic metres by Tuesday morning.

The Gariep Dam was 109% full with the outflow at 1 200 cubic metres per second.

“At the Vanderkloof Dam, the capacity is currently at 110%, the inflow is 1 400 cubic metres per second and the outflow is 1 650 cubic metres per second,” said Page.

The department would increase the outflow of the dam to 1 700 cubic metres per second.

The predicted flow in the Lower Orange River was 3 150 cubic metres per second.

More rains
Weather SA has issued a warning for more heavy rains in the Free State, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, North West and Limpopo.

Cellphone network Vodacom has donated R500 000 towards flood victims throughout the country and invited its customers to contribute towards the cause.

“The Vodacom Red Alert initiative provides a technology-based platform through which customers can donate R5, R10 or R20 towards a specific natural disaster,” the company said in a statement.

To donate R10 via the Vodacom Red Alert SMS platform, Vodacom customers could send an SMS from their cellphones with the word “Aid” to 38416.

Customers could also dial *120*243# from their cellphones, and follow the prompts to donate.

Money raised through the initiative will given to the South African Red Cross Society

To contribute blankets, clothing and food the public could call Salvation Army on 011 718 6746. — Sapa