SA faces disaster management crisis

SOUTH Africa may not be prone to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or tsunamis, but some experts in the disaster management industry fear the worst if the country does not shape up its disaster management plans urgently.

The increase in flooding and drought cases in some parts of the country as a result of erratic weather patterns brought about by climate change; the Knysna fires; and recently, the raging fire at the Bank of Lisbon building are some of the talking points that have left many asking if the country has enough capacity and resources to manage or reduce the risk of future disasters.

“If we are hit by an earthquake tomorrow we are in big trouble,” outgoing president of the Disaster Management Institute of Southern Africa (DMISA) Bafana Mazibuko said yesterday.

Mazibuko was speaking on the sidelines of the annual Disaster Management Conference held in Ekurhuleni.

Despite the Disaster Management Act of 2002 calling for an integrated and co-ordinated disaster risk management policy, he said, there was still a disjoint between the government and the institutions that have been mandated to provide aid.

“In my view, as a country, we are 10 years behind in terms of establishing concrete disaster management policies. We don’t have a proper risk assessment policy and if you look at the capacity of the institutions that are meant to deal with these disasters, they not aligned to do what the act requires them to do,” Mazibuko said.

He also lamented the shortages in the disaster management personnel employed in the country.

“Numbers at some municipalities look as though they are adequate, (but) in other municipalities and on a national level it is simply a monumental disaster. We just don’t have enough people, let alone qualified personnel. Disaster management is a profession. You can’t just take anyone and employ them to deal with a matter that requires thorough consideration and planning,” he said.

Mazibuko also called for municipalities to consider disaster management when conducting their integrated development plans.

“These days, you can’t build a house without considering how you will deal with a fire emergency or how you will protect it against natural disasters,” he said.

In April the National Disaster Management Centre (NMDC) through the Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) donated R42 million to the Northern Cape Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development to help farmers affected by the drought.

Furthermore, Treasury has set aside a “Disaster Funding” budget of R513 million for the current financial year which serves as the provincial and municipal disaster grants respectively.

The grant funds are administered by Cogta through the NMDC.

Cogta Minister Zweli Mkhize, however, said there was no need for South Africans to panic.

“We have worked on plans that will look at how we ensure that we have appropriate structures. Our policies allow us to have enough resources and use scientific data to respond and predict (these disasters) long ahead of time,” Mkhize said.

Mkhize said all 257 municipalities in the country were well equipped to deal with disasters. “South Africa has all the expertise needed.

“What we need to ensure is that there is an alignment of these resources and train those who need to be trained. Until disaster strikes, you can never tell what the shortfalls are. You only discover that when there is a disaster. We then need to move forward, take lessons out of that, and I hope we will find solutions at this conference,” he said.

Mkhize also warned that contingency reserves (grants) would not be given to municipalities that have been found to be negligent.

“We often declare a state of emergency or disasters to aid those in need, such as we did with the drought. But if those municipalities did nothing to avert the hazardous situation, then we can’t help them. What we always say is don’t come with something that was negligent and then claim when you could have planned better,” he said.

Head of the NDMC, Dr Mmaphaka Tau, said the government cannot afford to be mechanical in its approach to disaster management.

Over the years, the South African Weather Service (SAWS) has worked with the NDMC to raise alerts on potential disasters in order to avert them.

SAWS representative Tshepo Ngobeni said there was certainly drastic changes in weather patterns due to climate change as currently experienced in some parts of the country.

He, however, emphasised that it was important to assess the weather patterns over a period of 10 years to see what South Africa is likely to grapple with the most in the next coming years.

The disaster management conference concludes today.