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Blessings Chidakwa Municipal Reporter
The Disaster Risk and Management Bill guaranteeing a proactive approach to the management of disasters, rather than just reacting when they happen, ensuring that disaster planning and reaction runs from national to village levels, and ensuring ever better preparedness has been introduced.
The upgrade in legislation and administrative structures draws on the experience Zimbabwe has gathered after experiencing disasters, including Cyclone Idai which killed several hundred people.
Under the proposed Act, there will be a national committee drawing in all the ministers responsible for responding to disaster working within a national disaster, risk management and civil protection framework to act as a one-stop-centre to ensure coordinated planning and implementation.
The current Civil Protection Act will be amended while the associated Civil Protection Fund will be renamed.
Speaking during a post-Cabinet briefing yesterday, Acting Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Jenfan Muswere, said Cabinet considered and approved the principles for the Disaster Risk and Management Bill, which were presented by Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo.
Dr Muswere said the principles were a result of extensive consultations held with all stakeholders.
“The Disaster Risk and Management and Civil Protection Bill will amend the Civil Protection Act in order to ensure adequate preparedness and predictability in responses to and the general management of disasters, which are on the increase in terms of both categories and intensity.
“This will guarantee a proactive or preventative rather than reactive approach whereby focus is on dealing with the effects of a disaster,” he said.
Dr Muswere said the new Bill would provide for the strengthening of the legal and administrative measures to manage the risk at the national, provincial and local levels.
“Organisational structures will therefore be established at national, provincial, district, local authority, ward and village levels.
“The National Committee will now be headed by Ministers, with a national coordinating committee on disaster risk management and civil protection, which incorporates the relevant Government departments and agencies as well as non-State actors, providing the necessary support,” he said.
The provincial disaster risk management and civil protection committees, comprising line Ministries’ representatives in the provinces, will be established.
Dr Muswere said the existing district, ward and village structures in terms of the Traditional Leaders Act and the Rural and Urban Councils Acts, will be adapted to include disaster risk management functions.
Disaster risk management officers and their assistants as well as volunteers, will be specified for each locality.
“The committees will be required to produce annual plans on the predictability and preparedness of disasters, including issues to do with monitoring and evaluation.
“The Bill will streamline the issuance of presumption of death certificates for missing persons during a disaster and that the Civil Protection Fund will be renamed Disaster Risk Management and Civil Protection Fund in order to reflect the expanded sources of funds and their applications, including resilience building.
“The Disaster Risk Management and Civil Protection Bill will therefore promote involvement of all citizens in disaster-prone communities in managing the increasing multiplicity and severity of disasters and associated risks,” said Dr Muswere.
The Bill will also modernise the current Act to deal with emergent risks and disasters.
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