By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Western Cape premier Alan Winde has confirmed that all schools across the province will be open on Wednesday, April 10.
Numerous schools in the province were closed on Monday and Tuesday, due to adverse weather conditions.
Winde said the weather conditions in the province have since stabilised.
He said 132 schools have reported damage, ranging from minor to significant, and these are being assessed and repaired.
“Schools in the Overberg and Cape Winelands education districts remain closed today (Tuesday), while schools in the Helderberg basin reopened. The Western Cape Department of Education will make a decision later today as to whether further closures will be needed in the coming days.”
David Maynier, Western Cape MEC of Education, said that the department will formally communicate the decision to schools.
“There may be schools that request closure due to severe infrastructure damage or inaccessibility,” Maynier explained.
“This will be considered by the department on a case-by-case basis through the normal procedures for requesting school closure. Schools with the necessary permission to close will communicate with parents.”
Winde added that Eskom is busy restoring power in affected areas.
“Last night, I phoned the general manager of the Eskom Coastal Cluster to offer any resources that they may need to respond to the outages, as I am deeply concerned that some Eskom customers have been without power since the beginning of this disruptive weather.”
He said officials continue to assess the damage to Infrastructure and housing.
“Heavy rains and strong winds have wrought havoc across the Stellenbosch, Drakenstein municipalities, as well as the West Coast and Cape Town metro, damaging homes and other structures.
“Officials from the Western Cape Department of Infrastructure are still assessing the impact on housing.
“The department is closely liaising with the national Department of Human Settlements to urgently deliver fire kits to informal settlements ravaged by fires over the weekend.
“Healthcare facilities remain largely operational despite intermittent power outages at some sites,” added Winde.
Meanwhile the City of Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink has called on motorists and pedestrians to avoid flooded roads.
Following heavy rains, several roads and low-lying bridges were flooded in the capital city. Emergency services have already responded to several incidents and assisted residents in difficult situations due to the weather conditions, Brink said.
Earlier on Monday, a team rescued a female driver who was trapped on a flooded road by the low-lying bridge at Rabie and End Street in Centurion.