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Minister Chombo

Herald Reporter
Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister Dr Ignatius Chombo has called on sadc to increase state funding to programmes meant to reduce the region’s susceptibility to natural and man-made disasters.

Dr Chombo’s call comes on the backdrop of statistics showing that more than 5 000 people have died in disaster events in the region in the past 10 years while 39 million others were affected.

Officially opening a sadc joint meeting of ministers responsible for disaster risk management and ministers of finance, Dr Chombo said it was important that governments in the region be proactive in managing disasters.

“The missing link in the government disaster risk reduction mandate has been inadequacy of state funding for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) within sadc. The challenge before us is the creation of a dedicated sadc DRR Fund which member states can rely upon when disasters strike.

“The regional fund must complement member states national disaster funds which must also be equally buoyant to serve the member states which remain the first formal responder to local emergencies and disasters,” he said.

He said climate change has been the major cause of natural disasters given the rise in frequencies of droughts and floods.

He said in the last summer season the majority of countries in the region had either been affected by floods or droughts resulting in the deaths of over 350 people and displacement of over 1,6 million people.

Speaking at the same occasion sadc executive deputy secretary for finance and administration Ms Emilie Mushobekwa said disasters have come at a cost to human life.

“Disasters therefore come with a high cost on human lives and development. Estimates for our region suggest that more than 5 000 lives were lost in disaster events in the last 10 years with around 39 million people affected,” she said.

Ms Mushobekwa said the sadc secretariat had established a DRR unit in 2009 to provide guidance and support to member states in the implementation of national DRR programmes and building regional capacity with respect to disaster preparedness and response.

Meanwhile, Dr Chombo said Zimbabwe and Zambia would soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance collaboration in responses to emergencies and disasters.