The Sunday Mail
Tendai Chara
IN recent weeks, soaring temperatures, some as high as 48 degrees Celsius, have gripped Europe, triggering blazes that resulted in the death of multitudes of people.
Hundreds of heat-related deaths, mostly from wildfires, have been reported from Portugal to the Balkan region.
Some areas, particularly northern Italy, are also experiencing extended droughts.
Closer to home, Zimbabwe and some parts of the Southern African region has, in recent months, been experiencing unusually severe cold spells, with places such as Gweru registering a minimum of four degrees.
Similarly, the nation and the whole of the Southern Africa region has been grappling with the effects of climate change, with cyclones frequenting the region.
In March 2019, the region was devastated by Cyclone Idai, whose effects are still being felt today. The natural disasters have served as a reminder for the need to revisit the region’s disaster management frameworks.
Both the heat waves in Europe and the severe cold spells in Africa have been linked to global warming.
After two people were killed in blazes in Spain, that country’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, who linked the deaths to global warming, concluded that “Climate change kills.”
“It has been noted that the number of climate and weather-related disasters have risen by 35 percent worldwide since the 1990s. In addition, droughts and natural disaster related mortality have been increasing at an alarming rate. Systems must be put in place to mitigate the effects of natural disasters,” said Dr Emmanuel Mavhura, a lecturer in the Department of Disaster Risk Management at the Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE).
Dr Farai Hokonya, the deputy director in the Department of Civil Protection said Government had initiated and implemented a robust and milestone disaster risk management strategy.
“The Government, under the new dispensation, has taken cognisant of the numerous challenges that natural disasters have posed to the various communities in the country.
“In response, Government has embarked on a massive recapitalisation programme across the country’s 10 provinces. These recovery and rehabilitation programmes have made milestones in the country’s drive towards preparedness and inclusive development,” said Dr Hokonya said.
Representatives from the academia pointed out that there has been a noted increase in climate and weather-related disasters and equally urged Government to be proactive.
But Government, in its fight against natural disasters, has since implemented the Emergency Roads Rehabilitation Programme, the Meteorological Services Early Warning Systems and the procurement of fire tenders for local authorities among others.
Authorities are also in the process of putting together a Disaster Risk Management and Civil Protection Bill as a way of mitigating the effects of natural disasters.
The bill’s principles, which are expected to address several legislative and policy shortcomings in the country’s disaster management system, were recently approved by the Cabinet.
As a way of fine-tuning the proposed bill, stakeholders drawn from Government, academia, civil society organisations and United Nations agencies recently met in Harare for a climate change, disasters and humanitarian situation workshop. The two-day workshop served as a platform to interrogate and discuss the current disaster management legislation and policy framework in Zimbabwe.
A number of important observations and recommendations were made during the interactions chief among them being the need to revisit the disaster management frameworks and to review the funding mechanisms and allocations for disaster management.
The youths called for the proposed bill to include a framework that involves the participation of young people.
“The future lies with the youths. As such, the Bill must address issues affecting both the young people and the disabled,” Mitchel Gondo, the national co-ordinator of the National Association of Youth Organisations (NAYO), said.
Kudzai Murefu Tshuma, the deputy director: Legal Services in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, whose ministry is responsible for crafting the proposed bill, said: “The bill is not selective. It will cater for everyone. The youths, the elderly and all the other stakeholders’ views are being considered.”
