21 Jun 2023

 Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Mpho Morapedi says communities are the primary stakeholders in disaster management.

Giving a keynote address at a two-day risk management workshop in Francistown on Monday, Mr Morapedi explained that communities possessed both the historical and contemporary knowledge of hazards that were prevalent in their areas.

“The communities are aware of vulnerabilities and capabilities of their people,” stated Morapedi. “When emergencies happen within communities, local people and their leaders become first responders.”

Mr Morapedi underscored that community members should be ready to save the lives of their family members and neighbours during emergencies before any kind of assistance arrived from outside. He explained that community based disaster risk management (CBDRM) is therefore a very critical component of disaster management.

“Community based disaster risk management is a disaster management approach that puts community engagement and participation at the centre. This emphasises the need to strengthen the community’s capacity to assess vulnerabilities, develop strategies and resources necessary to prevent and mitigate the impact of identified threats,” he said.

Mr Morapedi stated that both the National Policy on Disaster Management as well as the National Disaster Management Plan had defined the role of community members in disaster management. He said the National Disaster Risk Management Plan had assigned Botswana Red Cross Society the duty to mobilise, capacitate community members and volunteers to support authorities and be at the forefront of efforts to provide relief services during disaster response.

Botswana Red Cross Society Secretary General, Mr Kutlwano Mukokomani stated that the organisation has developed community-based strategies that were tailor-made to offer humanitarian services to the most vulnerable people within communities during emergencies.

Mr Mukokomani noted that there was a worldwide marked increase in the frequency of disasters, including natural catastrophes, industrial and road accidents, human and animal conflicts, in addition to geopolitical clashes.

“Statistics estimate that over two billion people worldwide get affected by disasters every year in one way or another,” said Mr Mukokomani, indicating that Botswana had not been spared the experience, as seen by the recurring droughts that threatened food security, as well as road accidents.

“We also continue to experience outbreaks of floods, stormy rains, veld fires, animal diseases and pest outbreaks. Pandemics such as COVID-19 have also strained ecosystems globally, increasing the risks of disasters,” he explained.  “These multiple challenges directly impact our households, communities, and businesses, and therefore put an additional burden on our economy.”

 Mr Mukokomani said it was thus essential to have a united and collaborative effort between the disaster management authorities, the humanitarian sector, businesses and the community.

Senior Lecturer in Finance at the University of Botswana, Mr Mogotsinyana Mapharing informed participants that in case of disasters, people at community level had more to lose because they were the ones directly affected. 

On the other hand, he explained,, the community has the most to gain if it could reduce the impact of disasters by effectively using its various capacities, a concept which gave rise to the idea of CBDRM, where communities were put at the forefront of emergency response. He stated that through CBDRM, the community was not only the beneficiary, but also the main actor in every step of the risk management process. Ends