No compensation for flood victims

The Botswana government has told the 160,000 people whose mud homes were destroyed in the recent floods that it would not compensate them to rebuild, a United Nations official told IRIN.

The country’s deputy minister for presidential affairs and public administration, Tebelelo Seretse, announced in a government bulletin this week that, unlike in previous floods, the government is unable to offer help in reconstructing flood-damaged dwellings because of a lack of funds.

“The deputy minister said it would be expensive to compensate such a large number of people as the government needs to repair damage caused to infrastructure like roads, bridges, schools and clinics,” the official told IRIN on Wednesday.

The official said the majority of the people affected by the floods - situated in the poor central district of the country - form the bulk of the 47 percent of Botswana’s population of 1.5 million that lives below the poverty line. “These are marginalised people who have no say in the allocation of resources by the government. There is a very slim chance that they can speak out against the government’s decision because of their desperate situation,” said the official.

The government has, instead, encouraged the flood victims to build themselves permanent structures. In the meantime, the affected residents are still living in tents and other temporary shelters provided by the country’s disaster management authority. They are also provided with food and medical care.

Five people were killed in the floods that hit Botswana’s eastern and northern districts at the beginning of this year. The country’s Disaster Preparedness Management Committee said one person drowned in the flood, while the others died when their mud homes collapsed.