Western Cape Minister for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Anton Bredell is set to approach the provincial cabinet with a request to motivate for a formal disaster declaration, as the province grapples with the combined impact of widespread wildfires and an intensifying drought, reports Cape town Etc .
Bredell confirmed the move during a briefing by the Knysna Joint Operations Committee, saying the scale of the crisis now requires extraordinary measures.
A disaster declaration from the National Disaster Management Centre will allow us to focus across line functions and also to move funding quickly between programmes if and when needed, The George Herald quoted him as saying.
