Online Reporter
Sikhulekelani Moyo, [email protected]
MATABELELAND North Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister, Richard Moyo, has called for stronger collaboration among stakeholders in disaster risk management to ensure the protection of people, infrastructure and livelihoods amid increasing climate related and environmental threats.
In a speech read on his behalf by the province’s acting director of co-ordination, Mrs Fungai Nkunzwalela, during a recent civil protection stakeholder meeting, Minister Moyo said recent emergencies had demonstrated the scale of vulnerability in the province. He noted that approximately 332 people had been affected by floods, while almost every community experienced damage to roads, bridges and schools.
Minister Moyo said Government had made efforts to respond, including the provision of 50 tonnes of maize per province and a disbursement of US$30 000 to affected districts, but emphasised that these interventions were far from sufficient given the magnitude of needs across Matabeleland North.
“This aligns with His Excellency’s Vision 2030, which emphasises the importance of resilience and sustainable development. As safety, health, environment officers, councils, partners and stakeholders, we must work together to address the unique challenges affecting our province. Beyond floods, our province is vulnerable to various other hazards, including road traffic accidents, mining incidents, house and field fires, and strong winds,” said Minister Moyo.
He said these risks demanded a unified and well-resourced response. Zimbabwe, he added, was strengthening its disaster preparedness through a new legislative framework, broader stakeholder involvement and technology driven strategies.
The Government is developing a Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Bill to replace the outdated Civil Protection Act of 1989 in order to address modern threats such as droughts, floods, cyclones and disease outbreaks. The new bill aims to enhance national capacity to prevent and reduce risks, mitigate impacts, respond effectively to emergencies and support post disaster recovery.
It will also establish a comprehensive governance framework, promote multi stakeholder participation and strengthen institutional coordination in disaster management. The existing Civil Protection Act has been deemed inadequate in dealing with increasingly frequent and complex hazards, including cholera and malaria outbreaks.
Minister Moyo said there was a need to review and strengthen provincial financing mechanisms by ensuring that disaster risk reduction is properly budgeted for, guaranteeing predictable and sustainable disaster response systems.
“We, therefore, must create internal reliance because if we don’t, in terms of emergent responses, it will become costly. Therefore, one may not overemphasise the need for investment and preparedness as it is both smarter and human.
“Our local authorities are mandated to allocate a percentage of their budget towards civil protection. However, the disbursement of this budget faces challenges because of low remittances in what councils are owed,” he said.
He also highlighted that inadequate funding was not the only obstacle: weak co-ordination between Government ministries, departments and agencies continued to undermine disaster readiness.
Minister Moyo said strengthening provincial revenue flows and improving intergovernmental collaboration was essential to ensuring that available resources were fully utilised for prevention, preparedness and resilience building.
