The capacity of personnel in disaster risk management in South African municipalities

Gideon J Wentink,Dewald Van Niekerk

doi:10.4102/td.v13i1.427

Abstract

Since 1994, fundamental transformation in South Africa in terms of disaster risk reduction taken place. The transformation process led to the promulgation of the Disaster Management Act (57/2002) (DMA) that introduced a new era of disaster risk management (DRM) in South Africa. The National Disaster Management Framework (NDMF) that followed in 2005 put clear guidelines in place for implementing the DMA and emphasised the importance of the integration and coordination of DRM activities in all spheres of government. To adhere to the requirements of the DMA regarding personnel, certain DRM structures like interdepartmental committees, disaster management centres, disaster management frameworks and disaster management advisory forums must be in place. Since the promulgation of the DMA in 2003, South African municipalities have had ample time to get the structures in place. This article tries to evaluate the degree to which South African municipalities adhere to the requirements of the DMA in terms of personnel. Municipalities were selected per province, and the research is based on a 20% representative sample of all 279 municipalities in South Africa. A mixed method of research was followed. The result of this research showed a clear lack of implementation in terms of the DMA. A number of disaster management personnel work in other municipal departments, meaning that their attention cannot fully be focused on activities relating to DRM.

Highlights

It can be argued that disaster risk management (DRM) has become increasingly important on the international agenda in the past decade
The municipalities in this study predominantly have the necessary structures in place, it seems that the metropolitan municipalities stand out in terms of trained staff members
All the metropolitan municipalities that formed part of the study indicated more than five staff members with professional training in DRM or related fields

Summary

Introduction

It can be argued that disaster risk management (DRM) has become increasingly important on the international agenda in the past decade. By integrating DRM with development initiatives, the DMA placed statutory responsibility for disaster reduction on each sphere of government and set a mandate for the establishment of DRM centres on national, provincial and local levels (South Africa 2003; NDMC & Reid 2008a:4–5). The political forum for disaster risk management To ensure continuity in DRM approaches and principles, structures should be established on provincial level and local http://www.td-sa.net level (Van Niekerk 2006:107). The Interdepartmental Disaster Management Committee According to NDMC and Reid (2008b:26), the biggest challenge in the implementation of the DMA and the NDMF is to effect integrated and holistic planning and approaches in the departmental structures of the government To bridge these challenges on a local level, a Municipal Interdepartmental Disaster Management Committee (MIDMC) may be established by all municipal departments and public entities. With the expertise in mind, this study will aim to determine whether there are sufficient personnel working in DRM in South African municipalities and whether the personnel have the appropriate knowledge to effectively perform their duties

Research methodology and empirical findings

Findings

Conclusion