Abigail Okunade
Some South Africans have been complaining about how meagre the one million rand ($66,000; £50,000) donated toward flood relief effort by the Chinese embassy in South Africa is.
Chinese ambassador Chen Xiaodong said the donation made on Wednesday was part of its efforts to support South African people affected by the flood caused by intense heavy rainfall in KwaZulu-Natal province on Monday, April 11.
The floods that killed over 450 people, ravaged homes, swept away roads and displaced dozens was described by officials as “one of the worst weather storms in the history of our country”, TOS NEWS reported.
The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government estimated that billions of rand worth of damage had been caused to properties and infrastructure, describing the heavy rains as unleashing “untold havoc” in a statement on Facebook.
One social media user however said the donated amount “was a joke when billions of rand [are] needed to rebuild everything”.
Another user comparing the Chinese donation to a bigger amount offered by a wealthy South African businessman said “One million rand from China? When even [Patrick] Motsepe donated 30 million as an individual but a country that is rich, I mean they are the second richest country in the world but they donate a million.”
On Tuesday the African Union announced a $150,000 donation from its emergency fund to support the relief efforts.
Analysis from the World Weather Attribution group showed that the damage inflicted by storms in Southern Africa was exacerbated by global warming.
