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President Cyril Ramaphosa will, on Tuesday 26 April 2022, address a Joint Sitting of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces on the devastation caused by disastrous flooding along parts of South Africa’s East Coast.
 
The Presiding Officers of Parliament, led by the Speaker of the National Assembly (NA), Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Mr Amos Masondo, received correspondence from President Ramaphosa calling for a Joint Sitting of the two Houses of Parliament on a matter of public importance, in terms of Section 84 (2) (d) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
 
The President's request follows the devastation caused by the flooding over the last week along the east coast, which resulted in the loss of over 400 lives. It is estimated that more than 40 000 people have been displaced by the floods. 
 
The flooding has caused extensive damage to houses, businesses, roads, bridges and water, electricity, rail and telecommunication infrastructure.
 
The President indicated in his letter that this "humanitarian disaster calls for a massive and urgent relief effort. Given the extent and impact of the floods, Cabinet declared this a national state of disaster. This is to ensure an effective response across all spheres of government.”
 
The Joint Sitting is scheduled for 26 April 2022 at 14:00.
 
The Joint Sitting will be preceded by separate plenaries of the two Houses of Parliament, the NA and NCOP, for the establishment of an Ad Hoc Committee on the recent floods.
 
The NA sitting is scheduled to take place on Tuesday at 12 noon, whilst the NCOP will hold a sitting at 12:30.
 
The political parties represented in Parliament will be allocated time to respond to the President address. The President will thereafter respond to the parties accordingly.

Issued by the Parliament of South Africa