Africa-Press – South-Africa. The ministry of water and sanitation and the OR Tambo and King Sabata Dalindyebo municipalities have denied claims made in videos circulating on social media that the Mthatha Dam caused the recent flooding in Mthatha.
In a joint statement, water and sanitation minister Pemmy Majodina, OR Tambo municipality mayor Mesuli Ngqondwana and King Sabata Dalindyebo municipality mayor Nyaniso Nelani said the claims were “unfounded and devoid of the truth”.
They expressed concern about the spread of false information, especially during a time of crisis.
“The dam does not have sluice gates, but designed spillways automatically release water when it reaches full capacity,” they said.
The department of water and sanitation said as soon as the incident happened on Tuesday, it deployed engineers to assess the situation and found heavy rainfall in the area caused the Mthatha River to overflow.
“Heavy inflows were experienced from the tributary into the Mthatha River, downstream of the dam, which resulted in the river banks overflowing.”
Majodina and the mayors condemned the spread of fake news: “We urge the public to be vigilant to such and refrain from inflicting more pain to those affected by the disaster.”
They extended condolences to the families who lost loved ones in the floods.
The ministry said it was working with OR Tambo municipality to restore the Thornhill water treatment works, which was affected by the floods, to supply the town with clean water.
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
