Media Statement

The African National Congress (ANC) expresses its deepest condolences to the families who have tragically lost their lives due to the torrential rains and widespread flooding that have battered Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Northern KZN since December 2025. Our thoughts are with the hundreds of displaced families, particularly those in the Mopani and Vhembe districts, whose homes and livelihoods have been swept away by overflowing rivers.

The ANC commends the swift intervention of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and South African Police Service (SAPS) Search and Rescue teams. We welcome the proactive leadership of President Cyril Ramaphosa, who visited flood-stricken areas on January 15, to assess infrastructure damage and coordinate the government’s response.

The ANC also commends South African National Parks (SANParks) for its exemplary “safety-first” approach in managing the crisis within the Kruger National Park (KNP). Despite the overflowing of major rivers—including the Crocodile, Sabie, and Letaba—SANParks’ proactive measures have ensured there has been no loss of life within the park.

The ANC welcomes the classification of this terrible occurrence as a national disaster, which reflects a clear and responsible assessment of the scale and impact of the severe weather across affected provinces. This decision underscores the seriousness with which the democratic state is responding to the loss of life, displacement of communities, and damage to infrastructure, while enabling a coordinated and strengthened response across the three spheres of government to support affected communities and accelerate recovery efforts.

In line with our January 8th Statement for 2026, themed the ” Year of Decisive Action to Fix Local Government,” the ANC calls for prioritisstion of the immediate restoration of services. We direct all ANC-led municipalities to:

• Intensify Relief: Accelerate support for over 600 people evacuated from high-risk zones.
• Restore Services: Prioritise the repair of flooded schools, clinics, and critical supply-chain routes.
• Climate Resilience: Transition to long-term “build back better” strategies, ensuring infrastructure can withstand increasingly frequent extreme weather events.

In these difficult moments, we are reminded that our greatest strength lies in our shared humanity and the enduring spirit of Ubuntu. This is a time to look out for one another, as we have done through many trials in our history. The ANC calls on all South Africans: government, business, labour, and civil society—to stand together as a united and determined nation to recover and rebuild. Let us move forward with the common objective of ensuring that no community stands alone and that every citizen is protected as we build the South Africa of our dreams

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