BuaNews (Tshwane)
Sharon Hammond
1 August 2007
Nelspruit — The wildfires that have been raging across South Africa have been described as the worst the country has experienced since the 1980s.
Chairperson of the National Assembly's portfolio committee on water affairs and forestry, Connie September, said this on Wednesday following reports of 17 deaths in Mpumalanga and 13 in KwaZulu-Natal.
"We are shocked to hear of the loss of firefighters and tourists due to this fire.
"Furthermore, people have been left destitute as 200 shacks were destroyed and several citizens have been injured and hospitalized."
She urged all private property owners as well as government to adhere to the National Veld and Fire Act of 1998, to prevent such devastating fires in future.
"Non-compliance to such important legislation (will lead to) much hardship due to the unnecessary loss of life, livelihood and resources," she said.
The Act calls for fire danger ratings, stipulates that private and public land owners prepare and maintain fire breaks, and regulates the establishment, registration, duties and functioning of fire protection associations.
Government's Working on Fire Programme (WoF) has deployed 250 firefighting personnel to fight the fires, and support teams had been flown in from the Western Cape.
The Mpumalanga department of local government and housing has reported that 37 400 hectares of plantation and 15 000 hectares of grazing had been destroyed.
Two timber sawmills near Graskop and Sabie were also destroyed.
Tents, blankets and food have been distributed to eight families who lost their homes near Graskop and Mashishing (formerly Lydenburg).
In addition to this, farmland has been damaged and livestock have been destroyed.
According to WoF spokesperson Val Charlton, the firefighting exercises are expected to cost R10 million.
While the weather was calmer on Wednesday, conditions were expected to flare on Thursday and Friday.
The worst is expected to be over by Sunday, which is expected to be rated "green" in terms of fire risk, instead of the red or orange rating of the past week.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 BuaNews. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
