The brave men and women from the Provincial Disaster Management Centres (PDMC) of Gauteng and Mpumalanga were honoured by the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, MEC Sipho Hlomuka during a special two-day visit to these provinces.
The visits which took place on 12 and 14 July, provided the MEC Hlomuka an opportunity to honour the search and rescue teams for their service when the province of KZN was faced with the April floods, which left a trail of death and destruction. It also provided an opportunity to benchmark best practices applied by these provinces.
Speaking during the Gauteng leg, which was held at the PDMC of the Province in Midrand, where MEC Hlomuka handed over certificates and medals to the disaster teams, MEC Hlomuka thanked the teams for their selfless service and dedication.
“The people of KZN are grateful for the services that you provided during one of the most difficult times in our province’s history. We will never forget what you have done for us. Through your efforts, many lives were saved. Many families were able to bury their loved ones all because of your recovery efforts” said Hlomuka who was accompanied by senior officials from the department including the Deputy Director General for Development and Planning Ms Barbara Mgutshini, representing the Gauteng Cogta department was its Acting HOD Itumeleng Mokate.
The benchmark aspect of the visit, saw officials from both provinces interacting and sharing best practices for Disaster Management. This part of the visit provided Cogta KZN officials with valuable insights into how the team from Gauteng deals with disasters in the province.
MEC HLOMUKA THANKS MEC NDLOVU FOR THE ENGINEERS THAT ASSISTED THE PROVINCE
The Mpumalanga leg of the visit took place on 14 July at the Mpumalanga PDMC in Mbombela.
KZN Cogta MEC Hlomuka together with his Mpumalanga counterpart MEC Mandla Ndlovu led the deliberations which centred on deepening ties between the two provinces and sharing best practices on disaster management.
MEC Ndlovu, in his remarks during the engagement, expressed solidarity with the people of KZN for the loss they have suffered as a result of the April Floods.
“As Mpumalanga, we stand with the people of KZN, when the province was facing calamity we could only do that which was in our power to help through sending donations and engineers. We are saddened by the loss of life and pray that the people of KZN rebuild their lives” said Ndlovu.
In this visit, MEC Hlomuka expressed gratitude on behalf of the people of KZN and thanked the Mpumalanga government for coming to the aid of the province through the support that was provided.
An appreciative token was handed over by MEC Hlomuka to MEC Ndlovu.
Ends