Newsletter 135 - Inadequate disaster risk management in local and district municipalities
Some 40% of local municipalities have disaster risk management centres functioning at a low level, 46% of district municipalities have centres functioning only partially, while the metros have adequate disaster risk management in place. So says a report on disaster risk management at municipalities in South Africa by the African Centre for Disaster Studies.
Earlier this year, seven provinces and 28 municipalities were declared national disaster areas under the Disaster Management Act of 2002. This was as a result of flooding, lightning, thunderstorms, and tornadoes. According to a report by the African Centre for Disaster Studies, entitled Disaster Risk Management Status Assessment at Municipalities in South Africa and released in March, only the metropolitan municipalities would have been able to deal with the demands arising from a national disaster.
The research assessed 36 local, 12 district, and five metropolitan out of the 283 municipalities in the country. Using this sample it said that 40% of local municipalities have disaster risk management centres functioning at a low level, 46% of district municipalities have partially functioning centres with room for improvement, and 75% of metros have centres that are functioning well, while the remaining 25% of metros have centres that are functioning very well.
Some 84% of local municipalities and 58% of district municipalities have not appointed a head for their disaster management centres. In local municipalities, 33% of the heads of centres hold other portfolios, while in district municipalities the figure is 40%. All the centres in the metros have heads and none of them holds any other position.
Some 68% of local municipalities indicate that they have no disaster risk management advisory forum in place, while in district municipalities the figure is 25%. All metros have an advisory forum in place.
Disaster risk management is an integrated, multi-disciplinary, and multi-sectoral approach aimed at reducing the risks associated with hazards and vulnerability. It is a legal requirement under the Act.
The requirements of the Act include establishing a disaster management plan portfolio and appointing a portfolio holder, establishing a disaster management centre and appointing a head of the centre, and establishing a disaster management advisory forum. The Act came into effect for local government in 2004 and all municipalities had two years to establish their disaster management plans, yet most district and local municipalities still do not have adequate disaster risk management measures in place.
- Lerato Moloi
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