Visiting the flood-stricken area on Tuesday, Ramaphosa said municipalities needed to come up with strong and proper plans when building towns to mitigate the effect of natural disasters.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said municipalities need to strengthen their town planning.
This comes after recent floods in Port St John’s in the Eastern Cape.
The coastal town has seen flooding twice this year.
After his assessment, Ramaphosa said part of the problem lies with town planning.
The president said municipalities needed to come up with strong and proper plans when building towns.
“We also have to be more alive to town planning, because a number of people have built in wetland areas and slopes. So, our town planning at the municipal level needs to be a lot better than what it is.”
Ramaphosa said there needed to be strategies in place so that when disasters like this occur, there is less damage to infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Port St John’s residents have expressed hope for proper housing from the government.
By: Nhlanhla Mabaso
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