‘Disaster management needs coordination’
People in areas prone to natural disasters have begun worrying about what the next day will bring as the rainy season dawns upon us. Jacob Jimu engaged Casterns Mulume, national secretary of the Catholic Development Commission in Malawi (Cadecom), to assess the readiness of stakeholders in disaster mitigation and management in light of the onset of the rainy season.
Q: The rainy season, which is associated with natural disasters like floods, is here. How prepared are stakeholders in disaster management such as Cadecom in dealing with the problem when it strikes?
AWe are engaged in capacity building through village civil protection committees (VCPCs) and area civil protection committees (ACPCs). This is done by training the communities on how to determine and detect early warning signs. Cadecom mainstreams disaster risk reduction (DRR) in all development interventions after looking at the importance of the same in long-term development. We are also partnering with other stakeholders such as the Metrological Department who offer scientific indicators on disasters and climate change. In addition, we are improving communication systems among the communities and other stakeholders on early warning signs – scientific as well as indigenous.
Q: What activities should have taken place by now as part of disaster preparedness?
AThe following are the key activities: construction of protection bands along the river banks where there are frequent floods; reallocation of those living in disaster prone areas, especially low lying areas; construction of evacuation centres with all necessary amenities for a decent living for people; popularisation of the early warning signs to the disaster prone areas; contingency plans and budgets in place in case of a disaster; and mainstreaming disaster preparedness in all development sectors.
Q: There is the problem of lack of coordination among stakeholders in disaster management. Has this changed?
AIndeed, there is lack of collaboration and networking among stakeholders who can leverage and share best practices. There is also poor communication among stakeholders who are involved in disaster management.
Q: What do you propose as the best model for coordinating disaster response and management among stakeholders?
AThere should be continuous communication and meetings among stakeholders involved in disaster response and management which would act as a forum where they can share information and implementation strategies, best practices, challenges and successes in dealing with disaster response and management. There is also need to popularise the DRM Handbook which has just been launched.
Q: How reliable are local level structures in enhancing the quality of disaster preparedness, response and management?
ATo a larger extent, these structures are not reliable because they do not have the requisite capacity to carry out what they are supposed to do. According to Cadecom research, these structures are not functional due to lack of funding from government. They were established but not capacitated, a task which has been left to NGOs working in the sector. And the challenge with NGO work is that they work in specific areas, hardly do they cover the whole district. However, in some districts where Cadecom has been working in collaboration with Oxfam and where other NGOs have similar interventions these structures have been capacitated (e.g. Nsanje and Chikwawa) and they are functional.
Q: Cadecom and other players in disaster response and management have been complaining about the lack of a stand-alone budget line for disasters. Has the situation improved?
AThe situation has not improved. Currently, the government has no separate vote on disaster reduction management. In case of a disaster, the Department of Disaster Management Affairs which falls under the Office of the President and Cabinet will consult the Treasury, who will then ask for money from the to Ministry of Finance. Therefore, due to the absence of separate budget line it takes more than three weeks to respond to disasters. Truth be told, Malawi cannot respond to any disaster within 24 hours as more time is wasted on bureaucracy. The budget line for disaster management would improve the quality of interventions in the sense that if a disaster would strike DoDMA would be able to respond to disasters effectively and on time due to its independent budget.
Q: In what ways can local knowledge in early warning systems help in preparedness, response and management of natural disasters?
AIt is easily understood and trusted by the people themselves therefore it needs to be popularised. Early warning systems may help the communities to prepare for the disasters and build their resilience to disasters. n
