Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers has thanked OR Tambo Municipality in the Eastern Cape for intervening following threats towards staff members as they distributed clean drinking water to residents impacted by the recent floods.

The organisation’s founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman says they won’t back down despite the threats.

[WATCH]
Eastern Cape COGTA MEC Zolile Williams has condemned cases of alleged extortion against aid organisations lending a hand in relief efforts after last week’s devastating floods in Mthatha. pic.twitter.com/sX7sSWrYP7

— SABC News (@SABCNews) June 19, 2025

Ninety-two people died in the floods that hit Mthata and Butterworth last week.

More than 4,300 people are homeless.

“When there is no water, people are in distress, they are already traumatized, they’ve lost family members, their homes have been destroyed, their furniture is washed away, their food is gone. How careless can somebody be? And say don’t deliver water, you know, because they’re profiting from the hardship and pain of other people. We won’t stand by it. All thanks to the municipality for announcing it publicly. We didn’t announce it publicly. We just informed the police. But when the municipality announced it publicly, it carried weight because they deal with similar situations in other parts of the country and and I applaud them for being so bold and making that statement.”