|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
By Diana Chiyangwa
Johannesburg, South Africa: TalkAfrica has confirmed that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ANC Party did not say the cause of climate change is poor infrastructure, maintenance/development, and building illegal informal settlements inside a flood line.
An X post claiming that the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ANC Party said the cause of climate change is poor infrastructure, maintenance/development, and building illegal informal settlements inside a flood line is FALSE.
On 15 June 2025, X user Popped Culture – South Africa wrote, “BREAKING: the ANC makes a new scientific discovery. Apparently, the cause of climate change is…. *checks notes*… poor infrastructure maintenance/development and building illegal informal settlements inside a floodline.”
During his visit to Mthatha in Eastern Cape Province, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement written by the South African Government News Agency, “The floods have caused widespread destruction to homes, government facilities, roads, hospitals, and schools, highlighting the urgent need to tackle climate change.”
In the same statement, Ramaphosa said, “There shouldn’t be any floods during winter. In the Eastern Cape, we expect cold weather and snow during this season. However, the occurrence of floods highlights the severity of the climate change issue we are facing.”
The X post was in response to President Ramaphosa’s speech during his visit to the flooded area in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, on 13 June 2025. During his address to the affected communities, President Ramaphosa did not say the cause of climate change is poor infrastructure, maintenance/development, and building illegal informal settlements inside a flood line. Rather, he says from minute 1:40 of the SABC News clip that climate change affects “our health, our education, our infrastructure facilities, our housing, and also our economic infrastructure”
On this occasion, no member of the African National Congress (ANC) addressed the affected communities, as this was a national government programme. In response to the floods, the ANC as a political party indicated in their press statement that “As extreme weather events become more frequent due to climate change, the ANC further calls for long-term investments in climate resilient infrastructure, disaster preparedness and community awareness programmes”.
TalkAfrica examined the X post claiming that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ANC said the cause of climate change is poor infrastructure, maintenance/development, and building illegal informal settlements inside a flood line, and found it FALSE.
This fact-check was produced by TalkAfrica as part of the African Fact-Checking Alliance’s (AFCA) incubation programme. It was produced with peer-mentorship from Code for Africa’s fact-checking initiative, PesaCheck, with financial support from Norway. AFCA mentorship respects the journalistic independence of the researchers, offering access to advanced techniques and tools. Editorial decision-making remains with Name of Newsroom. Want to learn more? Visit: https://factcheck.africa/.
