Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
THE Civil Protection Committee in Beitbridge District has adopted a fire management action plan in line with the country’s responsive strategy for all districts to put measures in place to respond to fire incidents in the wake of increased veld fires.
In previous years, veld fires destroyed pastures for livestock thereby exposing cattle to starvation.
This year, the country is on alert for veld fires with medium to high risk prediction of 70 percent, leading to an extended restriction period from July 31 to October 31.
The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has launched awareness campaigns and promoted preventative measures like fireguard construction, biomass reduction and establishing community firefighting teams to mitigate potential losses as a result of veld fires.
Beitbridge Civil Protection Committee focal person, Mr Jahson Mugodzwa, told stakeholders yesterday that it had become necessary for them to be prepared and capacitated to respond to any disaster linked to fires.
“This emergency meeting is being called in the wake of increased veld fire incidents being experienced during this fire season in most areas of Beitbridge town, rural communities, commercial farming areas, wildlife areas and eco-tourism areas,” said Mr Mugodzwa.
“It’s disheartening to note that communities are being left counting losses following fire disasters. We have decided to meet as the District CPU committee on fire management to raise awareness and upscale measures aimed at averting and managing fire hazards in Beitbridge District.
“I hope that with the adoption of the fire management action plan today, we will be able to swiftly prevent and respond to any emergencies linked to fire outbreaks in our area.”
Mr Mugodzwa said his committee was working on a number of strategies to minimise the impact of fire hazards.
“It’s important for us as a district to have a plan in place in line with the national strategy to contain and manage fires that have in the past killed people,” said Mr Mugodzwa.
District Forestry Commission officer, Mr Zibusiso Ndlovu said they have completed drafting an action plan and a fire management training manual, which will be used to build the capacity of stakeholders and ordinary villagers on how to better handle fire related disasters.
Mr Ndlovu said the country’s veld fire response relies on community-based prevention and response, and that efforts to build fireguards, conduct awareness campaigns, and train local firefighting teams should be taken seriously.
“We have come up with a training manual and we expect most institutions to do basic training of their staff before the end of the season so that we are all on the same page should we encounter any major fire incidents,” he said.
“In the same vein, the new fire management action plan will help us understand our capacity as a district to handle fire outbreaks and related disasters”.
The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) district head Mrs Nompumelelo Chigwinya, said this year Beitbridge was at a low risk of having fires although they were not leaving anything to chance.
She said in some instances they will have to co-ordinate efforts in the community, which include constructing fireguards, implementing controlled burning, and empowering local communities through initiatives like Model Anti-Fire Villages.
The response also involves the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, which engages communities and maintains fire infrastructure, and focuses on community-level actions and reporting fire outbreaks to local authorities and ZRP.
Some of the fire prevention measures involve conducting controlled burns in specific areas to reduce fuel load and manage vegetation and reducing the amount of flammable material, for example, by harvesting thatch grass and hay baling.
Mrs Chigwinya encouraged individuals to report veld fires to police, EMA, Forestry Commission or traditional leaders.
Beitbridge Rural District Council (BBRDC) Campfire officer (Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources) Mr Sam Sibanda said the local authority has already come up with the fire management and burning by-laws, which are pending approval by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works.
Zimborders Consortium’s senior health, safety and environment officer,, said the organisation had put in place a raft of measures to respond to fires and other emergencies at the modernised Beitbridge border post.
She said they carry out mock drills to evaluate their capacity to respond to disasters.
