Government has hit back against claims made by the Democratic Alliance (DA) that National Treasury is refusing to release funds to the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) provincial government for disaster relief.

Government Communication Information System (GCIS) spokesperson Phumla Williams said the allegations are “mischievous and unwarranted” as government and society pull together to rebuild the lives of those affected by the floods.

KZN was recently hit by devastating floods that claimed more than 400 lives and caused severe infrastructure damage.

The Disaster Management Act caters for the reprioritisation of funds in the event of a disaster such as the recent floods.

The reprioritisation of funds is also in line with government’s budgeting system.

Williams explained that government embarked on a phased approach following the floods, beginning with immediate humanitarian relief and moving on to reconstruction and repair.

“The R1-billion referred to by President Cyril Ramaphosa relates to funding that is catered for in the 2022 Division of Revenue Bill for immediate response through the Provincial Disaster Response Grant and the Municipal Disaster Response Grant,” Williams said.

While the reprioritisation of funds from budgets was used to fund immediate needs, Williams pointed out that there were processes that must be followed to unlock these funds.

This includes provinces and municipalities making applications for these funds to the National Disaster Management Centre and Department of Human Settlements, which will process them before submitting the applications to Treasury.

Further, the procuring departments will have to ensure that procurement and supply chain processes are strictly followed.

Government has also put in place additional monitoring measures, through the Auditor-General of South Africa, to ward against corruption.

Williams said government urged all stakeholders and commentators to engage with factual information and not create panic and confusion.