Notice No. 2514

22 September 2022

GG 46932

Department of Co-operative Governance

I, Ms Ané Bruwer, in my capacity as the Acting Head of the National Disaster Management Centre, after having deliberations with various organs of state and the Free State Provincial Disaster Management Centre, and after assessing the magnitude and severity of the impact of the failure of the Tailings Storage Facility (TSF: earth-fill embankment dam used to store byproducts of mining operations after separating the ore from the gangue) which caused devastating impact in various areas around the Jagersfontein town in the Kopanong Local Municipality in the Free State Province, after the TSF wall collapsed near the open pit mine causing a mudslide and flooding that resulted in, displacement of people, fatalities, injuries, damage to property, infrastructure and impact on animals and the environment, and after having considered the information and recommendations received from the Free State Provincial Disaster Management Centre, hereby gives notice that on 19 September 2022, in terms of Section 23(1)(b) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002), I classified this occurrence as a provincial disaster.

Emanating from the classification of this occurrence as a provincial disaster, in terms of section 40 read with section 23(8) of the Act, the primary responsibility to coordinate and manage this disaster, in terms of existing legislation and contingency arrangements, is designated to the provincial executive.

I hereby, in terms of Section 15(2)(aA) of the Act, read with section 23(8), call upon organs of state to further strengthen support to existing structures to implement contingency arrangements and ensure that measures are put in place to enable the Free State Province to effectively deal with the effects of this disaster.

Furthermore, all affected organs of state must prepare and submit reports, as required by the National Disaster Management Centre as outlined in section 24(4) - (8) of the Act.

The revocation of the classification is set out in the schedule hereto.

Ms Ané Bruwer

Head: National Disaster Management Centre (acting)

19 September 2022

Schedule