25 Oct 2017

Assistant Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Thato Kwerepe has implored Batswana to always be prepared for disasters in order to reduce their impact.

 

Speaking during the official opening of the national disaster preparedness workshop in Francistown on October 24, Mr Kwerepe said while it is impossible to curb the frequency of the hazards with proper initiative, pre-planning and accuracy in decision-making, the impact of major

disasters could be reduced.

 

He said there was need to engage communities in creating a conducive environment to deal with current and potential disasters. 

 

Mr Kwerepe said there was need to take note of the frequent occurrence of extreme weather such as heat waves, storms and tropical cyclones as the type of disasters the country experience have been associated with issues of climate adaptation and variability.

 

He suggested that during the conference, issues of climate adaptation and variability should be given careful thought in order to enhance mitigation and leverage on modern green technology to limit the impact of climate change.

 

Mr Kwerepe cited that it was recently announced that Botswana should expect normal to moderately dry conditions during the end of the season and moderately wet to very wet conditions during the last part of the rainy season therefore the existence of dry conditions and high

temperatures means there is a high likelihood of the occurrence of the heat waves in the country.

 

The Assistant Minister said heat waves were usually accompanied by destructive strong winds, which were likely to be hazardous. 

 

He noted that wild land fires, which recede during the months, were also likely to occur.

 

He further said the second part of the season was expected to be wet and some parts of the country may experience flooding. 

 

Mr Kwerepe observed that while normal to above normal rainfall is not necessarily a precursor to flooding, it is the risk generated by the people such as inadequate water drainage systems, poorly constructed dwelling houses and unpreparedness measures that cause disaster.

 

He implored the different districts disaster committees to plan for possible hazards that might occur in the coming rainfall season and to be forward in thinking of appropriate structured mechanisms of dealing with them. In his presentation the director in the National Disaster

Management Office (NDMO), Mr Moagi Baleseng said some of the disasters the country experienced is the tropical storm Dineo in which 2 234 were affected. 

 

Mr Baleseng said while no deaths were recorded the torrential rains that accompanied the storm damaged transport infrastructure, schools, hospitals and private businesses.

 

Mr Baleseng said while the exact amount of the damage is unknown it is estimated that destruction was in excess of P121 million. 

 

Regarding the two earthquakes that occurred this year, Mr Baleseng said the Moiyabana one, which was the second largest in Botswana since 1952, resulted in some 36 school children sustaining minor injuries.

 

Mr Baleseng said veldt fires burnt over 1.6 billion hectares of land in Chobe, Central, Ngami, Kweneng and Ghanzi.

 

He observed that the number of disasters is increasing each year and they are becoming more complex adding that it is high time people insure their households to try and transfer the risk.

 

He however said the lessons learnt from the disasters are that disaster committees have poor coordination, they over delegate, there is inadequate comprehensive planning for disasters across sectors and there is primarily re-active approach to disaster focusing heavily on response.

 

Mr Baleseng said some members of the public sue the government for decision made during the disasters. 

 

He noted that disaster committees need to work with the Red Cross society and the private sector to intensify education and public awareness and there is need for effective flow of communication to ensure accurate information before, during and after disasters.

The theme of the three day conference is Reducing the Number of People Affected by Disasters by 2030. ENDS