CAPE TOWN - Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen says recovery from the devastating provincial floods will require a coordinated effort across multiple departments.
He spoke after touring flood-hit farms in Witzenberg Municipality.
Steenhuisen said farms have been hit hard and it will cost billions to recover.
"It's not only in the Western Cape, we were badly hit in the Eastern Cape in the Gatoos valley in the Kouga area. Citrus farms are very, very badly affected . Now, Hortgro is putting the numbers together. There are losses in the orchids and the vineyards, but there's also the infrastructure damage and that is where the real money is going to have to come in."
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Meanwhile, the Western Cape government says it is still assessing the full extent of the damage.
Authorities said they will seek funding from the national government to help rebuild damaged infrastructure.
The storm has claimed 11 lives in the province. Hundreds of thousands of people have been affected.
Eleven of the 104 damaged schools remain closed for now.
Premier Alan Winde said the devastation has been substantial.
"We've got two disasters in one year; we have to get a second classification and so absolutely we will be engaging with the national government to see how much we ca get. We have to fix roads and brigades."
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Winde also expressed concern that there could be further damage as the country heads into the winter season.
"Municipalities will be monitoring; we will be monitoring, looking where risks are. But we also asking the citizens to do the same thing."
On Wednesday, the provincial officials will meet with COGTA Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa.
They will be pushing for a state of disaster declaration.
Report by Nobesuthu Hejana