EDITORIAL | Eastern Cape could learn from KZN’s response to climate disasters

As nature unleashed its wrath this week, five people reportedly died in an accident after the driver tried to avoid a tree that fell on the road in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday. Elsewhere, a scholar transport minibus was swept away by surging waters at the Efata Bridge in Mthatha en route to Jumba Senior Secondary School.

While inclement weather gripped the entire country, our failure to prepare for disasters in the event of harsh conditions is leading to needless deaths. We are once again confronted with this brutal reality.

During the scholar incident, three pupils were seen clinging to trees in an attempt to stay alive. They have since been rescued.

A part of managing disasters is to make determinations when and where it is unsafe for children to venture to schools. That it is exam time doesn't mean the adults, especially those in government, must just play it by the ear.The collective responsibility we have towards the safety of children is paramount.

Meanwhile, some infrastructure in KwaZulu-Natal has been affected by bad weather with some major roads closed . Siboniso Duma, KZN transport MEC, ordered that there be no activity between Kokstad and Pietermaritzburg, Tacoma and Reit to “save lives”. This is commendable.

If airlines knew to cancel flights and disrupt their business to save lives, why could the leadership of the Eastern Cape not take stringent measures to ensure the safety of all?

Heavy vehicles were stranded and traffic disrupted as snow continued to fall. Commendably, graders were on standby to avert a disaster, while Road Traffic Inspectorate officials monitored major routes such as the N3 and N2 in collaboration with the South African Weather Service.

These preventive measures have shown decisive leadership and are a sign that the province has learnt its lesson from last year’s snow that left many motorists stranded on the province’s roads. This picture is different from the Eastern Cape’s response to the severe flooding. 

Not even the skies were safe as the flooding at the Mthatha Airport forced AirLink to suspend all flights. From deaths, rescue delays and travel disruptions, the province is showing poor leadership when it comes to protection of lives. The woeful unpreparedness screams of a collapse.

Questions abound. Where is the accountability? What protocols were in place for bad weather? Why was the bridge not closed? Why are pupils forced to go to school even when their lives are at risk?

It is becoming increasingly clear that we are powerless against extreme weather due to a lack of strategic leadership. What compounds the problem is that the disasters disproportionately affect those already living the reality of negligence and inequality.

If airlines knew to cancel flights and disrupt their business to save lives, why could the leadership of the Eastern Cape not take stringent measures to ensure the safety of all?

When will rains stop being a threat and snow an indication of a looming disaster, and when will our infrastructure be disaster-resistant?

The scholars deserved better, the people in that accident did not have to be victims of bad weather. Clearly, the Eastern Cape leadership is complicit in the avoidable loss of lives.