BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE– “We are certain we will be able to handle these torrential rains to our best capability because COVID-19 taught us how to deal with disasters,”
These utterances were made by the country’s Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Themba Masuku when reporting back on the assessment visit he took to the Northern part of the Lubombo Region.
He had been there to assess how much damage the recent torrential rains had caused, Masuku then mentioned that they were still waiting for a diagnostic report from the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA). The said report will be used to determine if the rains will be declared a state of emergency.
“We are going to be guided by a collective report if these rains can be declared a state of emergency and this is because a lot of things guide the government into pronouncing a state of emergency,” he said.
In addition, he said as a government they got through three years of COVID-19, they can definitely handle the rains and the regional damage they have caused.
“The damage is a lot in some areas and we would like to plead with the public and media to help us locate some of these areas that are badly damaged. The government is ready and willing to help,” he said.
In addition to that, NDMA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Russell Dlamini said a fund is currently being put together to help the victims of the torrential rains. He said the form of help they were currently offering is in form of food parcels and sleeping tents.
