Online Reporter
Ivan Zhakata and Takudzwa Mangrozah
Regional efforts to strengthen emergency telecommunications and early warning systems are gathering momentum as Southern African countries move to improve disaster preparedness amid rising climate-induced threats.
This emerged at the opening of the 2026 ITU–SADC emergency telecommunications and early warning for all regional capacity development workshop in Harare on Thursday, where officials underscored the need for resilient communication systems to support disaster response.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of ICT, Postal and Courier Services Dingumuzi Phuti, said robust and reliable information and communication technology (ICT) systems were critical in protecting lives and infrastructure during emergencies.
The workshop is a collaborative initiative involving the Southern African Development Community Secretariat and the International Telecommunication Union.
Deputy Minister Phuti said the SADC region remains highly vulnerable to disasters such as tropical cyclones, floods and droughts, which often result in loss of life, destruction of property and disruption of critical information infrastructure.
“In times of crisis, local telecommunications and ICT systems can be severely disrupted, leaving communities without vital communication channels when they need them most,” he said.
“Timely, reliable and coordinated telecommunications are the backbone of effective disaster response. They enable governments, humanitarian agencies and first responders to act swiftly and decisively to save lives.”
He said it was, therefore, essential for member states to ensure that ICT services remain resilient and can be rapidly deployed during emergencies, including through temporary communication solutions in affected areas.
Deputy Minister Phuti acknowledged that some countries in the region still face challenges such as the absence of harmonised standard operating procedures, limited interoperability among systems and weak coordination mechanisms.
Zimbabwe is currently hosting pre-positioned emergency telecommunications equipment from the ITU through the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe, enabling rapid deployment to countries affected by disasters.
SADC Secretariat ICT Programme Officer Mr Chisepo Lungu commended Zimbabwe for hosting the regional meeting and said the SADC Model National Emergency Telecommunications Plan was a priority project under the bloc’s Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan 2020-2030.
“The SADC Model National Emergency Telecommunications Plan is a prioritised project in the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan 2020-2030, which aims to deliver meaningful and high-impact results in the SADC region,” he said.
“It is a regional instrument to enable Member States to quickly domesticate and implement national emergency telecommunications plans. To date, Eswatini, Malawi, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe have developed their National Emergency Telecommunications Plans.”
