Question NW4178 to the Minister of Finance

Reply:

1. Currently, four provinces (KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Northern Cape, and Limpopo) have declared states of disaster and processes are underway to declare a state of disaster in Mpumalanga province. Requests for drought relief have been made to the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) in the Department of Cooperative Governance (DCOG). An allocation of R364.3 million in 2015/16 was made to the department for disaster relief grant transfers for provinces. The Eastern Cape has also indicated that it is in the process of finalising a request (a)The NDMC is currently working together with the affected sector departments to verify and finalise the funding requests. In addition, the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is also engaging with provinces and the NDMC and the National Treasury to finalise the funding requirements. This process will determine the extent to which financial resources are required over and above the already available disaster relief grant, as well as the extent to which other budgets and allocations can be reprioritised for drought relief assistance. Further details may be obtained from the NDMC, which is responsible for the technical assessment process(i) Requests are being processed and verified by the NDMC (ii) Allocations will be determined on the basis of the outcomes of the NDMC’s process. Otherwise, the existing allocation of R364.3 million that is already within the NDMC/DCOG budget was made at the beginning of the year and is available (b) It is anticipated that the funding requested will mainly be used for supply of water tankers, drilling, testing and equipping of boreholes (for both animal and human consumption) and supply of animal feed.

2. Funding for disaster relief is based on the verified damages and cost of repairs by the provinces and the NDMC. Once the disaster has been declared, the province will make an assessment of what damages occurred and what the cost of the repairs will be. This assessment is then sent to the NDMC, in the department of Cooperative Governance, which verifies the damages and the cost of repairs. After the verification, the NDMC will make a submission for funding to the National Treasury. However, the NDMC may decide that due to the urgency and seriousness of an event, the already available allocation can (in consultation with the Treasury) be made available immediately to assist with relief efforts while a full assessment is underway, as provided by the Division of Revenue Act, In addition the province may, as provided for in section 25 of the Public Finance Management Act (and provided that the legal provisions are complied with), urgently reprioritise funds towards an urgent disaster response while a final assessment is being finalised.