The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) has called for accelerated national action to modernise the disaster management framework and strengthen support to municipalities to mitigate against the escalating disaster incidents affecting communities across the country.
This after the Head of the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC), Dr Elias Sithole classified a national disaster due to a severe weather condition which resulted in deadly floods across parts of the country with Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and North West mostly affected.
Heavy rainfall, strong winds, lightning, and flooding have resulted in deaths of people, significant damage to infrastructure and property, and displacement of communities.
The classification follows a comprehensive assessment of adverse weather conditions since late November, and visits by President Cyril Ramaphosa to Limpopo Province on 15 January and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa to Mpumalanga two days later.
SALGA’s Chief Officer for Municipal Sustainability Mthobeli Kolisa told YOU FM Newshour that the classification of a national disaster will have minimal impact on the disaster that has battered five provinces.
“What has happened now is that the head of the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC), has classified it as a national disaster and not declared it.
When it is classified: it means that the national government becomes responsible for leading and coordinating the response to that disaster.
Declaration is something different, it is in terms of the legislature done by the Minister which is not the case here,” said Kolisa.
Kolisa emphasised that the more resources and workforce will be deployed to flood-hit areas.
“We are beginning to say as SALGA that maybe the minister should consider declaring this a national disaster.
Because it then allows the minister to be able to issue directives and regulations that allows the national government to release resources both in the form of equipment and people from different national institutions to assist the affected municipalities.
We are not there yet, and we wish the minister can heed our call so that a better and faster response can be sought for the destitute communities,” appealed Kolosi.
In the announcement of the classification of the national disaster, the Hlabisa highlighted that all state organs are required as per the law to bolster disaster management systems, implement contingency measures, submit progress reports to the NDMC, and ensure a coordinated, multi-sectoral approach to prevention, mitigation, relief and rehabilitation.
