Gwanda staff get resilience training

Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Chronicle Reporter

GWANDA Municipality is working on coming up with a Resilience Framework for Action (City RFA) which is a strategic framework that will improve the town’s resilience to natural disasters and also improve service delivery.

The municipality staff members in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are undergoing training under the City Resilience Action Planning (CityRAP) tool which will equip them in coming up with the action plan.

The CityRAP tool is used for training city managers and municipal technicians in small to intermediate sized cities in sub-Saharan Africa.

It enables communities to understand and plan actions aimed at reducing risk and building resilience through the development of a Resilience Framework for Action.

The CityRAP tool is a step-by-step participatory resilience planning methodology that includes a set of training exercises and activities targeting municipal authorities, communities and local stakeholders.

It enables city managers and municipal technicians working with the community to come up with solutions to address various needs such as reinforcing drainage systems, ecosystem restoration, better management of solid waste and establishing early warning systems and safe havens to protect lives and the city’s assets.

The CityRAP tool was developed by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHabitat), in partnership with the Sub-Regional Technical Centre for Disaster Risk Management, Sustainability and Urban Resilience (DiMSUR).

Resilient cities are those that have the ability to absorb, recover and prepare for future shocks either economic, environmental, social or institutional.

Resilient cities promote sustainable development, well-being and inclusive growth.

Gwanda mayor, Councillor Njabulo Siziba said the CityRAP tool will help ensure that residents were equally involved in coming up with strategies that will develop the town.