Pretoria - The North West provincial government is busy conducting assessments to the damages caused by the floods to the province's bridges and other structures.
According to the Acting Director for Communications at Ramotshere Municipality, Rejoice Modisane, rebuilding of bridges will commence soon.
"Our technical team is still conducting assessments in other areas and also checking on how affected communities can be assisted," he said.
Modisane told BuaNews that construction of affected bridges will start in a month's time.
With regard to roads and other structures, Modisane said provincial government will take responsibility.
Yesterday, the Klein Marico river flooded and washed away part of the bridge linking Ikageleng Township and Zeerust town.
This has prompted the Provincial Road Traffic Management authorities to advise motorists and other road users to opt for alternative routes as it would be unsafe for them to attempt to cross the flooding bridge.
The damage to the bridge has not yet been assessed but the road was cordoned off by Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality as a precaution to avoid unnecessary loss of lives and or avoidable accidents.
North West Acting MEC for Human Settlements,Public Safety and Liaison, Dr Magome Masike, had requested motorists not to drive through strong flooding water as vehicles tend to stall, with the risk of being swept away by strong currents.
The North West province is one of the provinces that were declared disaster areas by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister, Sicelo Shiceka, who is the Chairperson of an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) set up to assess damage caused by the floods.
Other provinces affected are Gauteng, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and Limpopo.
It is estimated that millions of rands would be needed to repair all the damages and assisting affecting families.
