Abstract

For the first time in the history of the Disaster Management Act, 57 of 2002, South Africa declared COVID-19 an epidemiological disaster. Section 3 and 27(1) of this Act activated the responsible Minister in consultation with other Ministers to issue regulations in response to the disaster. The declaration exposed the already criticised Act to scrutiny by the public. Therefore, this study investigated the Metropolitan Disaster Management Centres that coordinate local events and support the provincial and national disaster management centres, their perceptions concerning the disaster management legislation that mandates them. The study recognised a gap in this regard and saw it imperative to give the disaster managers a voice and a platform to express their opinion concerning the heavily criticised legislation. A model of the policy implementation process guided the study investigation. This model argues that implementation of policies tends to generate tensions, which result in a disruption of the policy formulators’ expectations. The research uses some of the model’s variables to measure the perceptions of disaster managers. Using an interview guide, the researchers conducted virtual interviews with the disaster managers. Scholarly and media articles review concerning the Act formed part of the data collection. The study finds that the disaster managers perceive the disaster management legislation as a very useful guide, an excellent piece of legislation and trust it regardless of the criticism it received. The gaps the critics identified in the legislation became evident and had negative effects on the COVID-19 disaster response.

Highlights

  • There has been a rise in disasters globally and locally

  • Some of the recent disasters identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) are the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in 2017, Southern Africa Cholera outbreak in 2018, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in 2019 and currently the 2020 China respiratory syndrome coronavirus, COVID-19, that was declared a global emergency (WHO 2020a)

  • Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister declared a national state of disaster, as designated under section 3, 27(1)(2) of the DMA, authorising her as a Cabinet member designated by the President to declare a national state of disaster and make, issue and authorise the issue of regulations and directions to assist, protect and provide relief to the public, protecting property, combating disruption and other effects of the disaster

Read more

Summary

Introduction

There has been a rise in disasters globally and locally. Worthy of note is the increase in the global and local declaration of epidemiological health-related disasters. The fact that the DMA was promulgated because of the severe increase in climate-induced disasters (Harrison 2009; Humby 2012; Padayachee et al 2020; Pelling & Holloway 2006; Republic of South Africa 2005; Sithole 2014), with the COVID-19 disaster, it shows that it failed to consider health as a hazard with the potential of becoming a pandemic that can cause a disaster (Padayachee et al 2020) In response to this gap in the DMA, the CoGTA Minister hastily developed a supporting regulation (see Table 1: 18 March 2020). The chronological trends of COVID-19 regulations and guidelines issued under the DMA by the CoGTA Minister are provided (Table 1)

15 March 2020
28 May 2020
Section 51
Findings
Conclusion
Full Text
Paper version not known

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.