14th September 2007, Page 1 - Edition 198

The Midlands

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HERALD Number 198 • 14th September 2007 Tel. 033-330 6000 • Fax: 033-330 6950 • P.O. Box 1500, Howick, 3290 e-Mail: [email protected] • Proprietor and editor: Russell Barnes

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Fire disaster shock

The municipality has refused to support an application for desperate need for financial relief after the devastation of the fires of 25th June. Acting municipal manager Bertus van der Merwe stated in Council’s meeting last month that fire is not uMngeni’s function and therefore is not its responsibility; hence the municipality is not prepared to apply for the relief. uMngeni officials have been severely criticised by farmers for its role — or lack thereof — following the fires, which amounted to an estimated over R1 billion in damage to farmers and residents of smallholdings. Municipal manager Dumisani Vilakazi,

attending an ANC conference in Pretoria, refused to return when alerted of the disaster and when he called a meeting three days after the fire it was clear that officials had not yet been out to assess the damage. The chairman of the Howick and District Land Owners Association, Bobby Hoole, confirmed that uMngeni’s disaster management officer had not communicated with the two farmer organisations Kwanalu or HDLA. He has written to the MEC of local govt asking whether uMngeni takes the situation seriously. In terms of the Disaster Management Act, both the local and district municipalities are required to pass a resolution declaring it a

disaster area. “The farm labour are asking questions regarding the progress,” he told The Herald yesterday. “It seems as if uMngeni Municipality does not want to assist them.” He said that 121 homes were destroyed in the blaze, most of them belonging to farm workers. The fire burnt out just under 21 000 hectares of land, or 14% of the municipal area, according to information supplied on the assessment forms that had to be filled in to apply for emergency assistance. 40 sheds were destroyed, one farm school, Continued on page 3

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