Western Cape weather damage will cost over R9 billion to repair, says Winde
· Citizen
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde provided an update during the Western Cape Government Cabinet meeting on Wednesday on the cost of ongoing recovery efforts following a series of severe weather events that affected the province in May 2026.
Winde said the scale of the damage and losses amounted to R9.979 billion, with the cost of repairs and recovery expected to exceed the Western Cape government’s current financial capacity.
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As a result, the Western Cape will need to reprioritise provincial budgets to ensure that critical recovery work can continue.
Financial constraints
Cabinet noted that the Western Cape Department of Local Government had submitted a funding application to the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), through the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC), seeking financial assistance to address the funding shortfall for identified infrastructure repairs and restoration work.
Further communication had also been submitted, requesting that the Western Cape government’s funding application be tabled before the relevant National Treasury committee for consideration under the national provisions relating to unforeseeable and unavoidable expenditure.
An emergency fund
Cabinet also approved the financial commitments to various provincial government departments amounting to R480 million from the province’s 2026-27 Unforeseen and Unavoidable Reserve.
“As a province, we cannot wait for lengthy disaster relief processes from national government to be finalised,” Winde said.
“We must act decisively,” he added.
“We have excellent financial management mechanisms in place and a contingency reserve which we now have to exhaust because our economy and communities cannot be held [to] ransom by damaged infrastructure,” Winde noted.
Recovery efforts
He explained that this funding will enable departments to intensify their response and recovery efforts while the Western Cape Government awaits confirmation of additional funding from the NDMC.
“The funding allocation will continue to support critical interventions needed to restore essential services and public infrastructure,” Winde said.
Winde said that the magnitude of this disaster requires hard work to secure every available rand needed to rebuild damaged infrastructure and support affected communities.
“The financial aspect extends across multiple departments, which adds urgency to our response,” Winde noted.
He reiterated the department’s commitment to doing everything possible to ensure that recovery efforts continue without delay.
Risk management before destruction
Winde stressed that the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events, against the backdrop of a changing climate, require the government to strengthen its preventative measures and become more proactive.
“We cannot only respond after disaster strikes.”
“We must also do more to reduce the risks before these events happen,” he emphasised.
Winde said this included accelerating preventative measures such as cutting and maintaining firebreaks, clearing invasive alien vegetation from waterways and water bodies, improving stormwater systems and strengthening the maintenance of critical infrastructure.