Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Rebuilding Wupperthal delayed for assessment
Fire trucks given to rural municipalities
NO BURNT houses in Wupperthal have been demolished yet because they are historic buildings.
An assessment of the significance of some of the homes gutted in the blaze is under way.
Disaster manager for the West Coast Municipality Franquin Petersen said the outcome of the assessment would pave the way for rebuilding, but this would first be discussed and negotiated with the residents of Wupperthal.
“Please bear in mind the rebuilding process must be done in consultation with the Moravian Church, residents as well as the Cederberg Municipality. It is an ongoing process.
“Part of the historic value of this mission station in Wupperthal is the cultural significance, hence the delayed response in rebuilding the town,” said Petersen.
Wupperthal is recovering from a fire which broke out on December 30 and left 53 families homeless and destroyed almost 60 homes.
Between eight and 11 “critical infrastructure” buildings were also destroyed in the blaze, including the school hostel which burnt down completely.
Various government departments, including Local Government, Social Development, the Cederberg Municipality, NGOs and many other roleplayers have joined forces to assist affected families and to rebuild the Moravian Mission Station.
Petersen said the process of safely removing asbestos was well under way and has been expedited.
“The residents of Wupperthal have been cautioned to stay clear of the area and as, soon as the process is finalised, the safe removal of asbestos will be actioned,” said Petersen.
The school bell has finally sounded for the pupils of Wupperthal who returned to school only on Monday.
Part of the school had been used as a storage area for donations, which have now been moved to a storage tent.
Petersen said the pupils had been given the relevant materials for school and the Department of Education would be assessing the children’s uniform needs.
Boarders will be accommodated at a nearby lodge as part of the hostel was destroyed in the blaze.
Petersen said despite the devastation the best thing to have come out of this disaster was the way in which all the town’s people and stakeholders had been united to rebuild Wupperthal.
Meanwhile, MEC for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Anton Bredell handed over a new custom-made firefighting truck to the Hessequa municipality (Stilbaai) this week.
The provincial government has handed over 10 fully equipped firefighting vehicles to rural municipalities in the province.
Bredell said the trucks represented an investment of R10 million.
These were deployed to the Cederberg, Matzikama, Bergrivier, Witzenberg, Kannaland, Overberg, Hessequa, Laingsburg, Prins Albert and Beaufort West municipalities.
“This project represents a significant strengthening of the firefighting capabilities in these rural areas.
“The Western Cape is now the only province where every municipality has access to a modern and well-equipped firefighting vehicle able to provide a firefighting service,” said Bredell.
Head of department for the Provincial Department of Local Government Graham Paulse said the firefighting vehicles were part of a three-year project in which R37m would be invested in the improvement of rural firefighting capacity in the province.