Question NW509 to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

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26 June 2018 - NW509

Profile picture: Mileham, Mr K

Mileham, Mr K to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

Whether his department was involved in drafting contingency plans for the water shortages currently being experienced in the (a) Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan, (b) Buffalo City Metropolitan and/or (c) Kouga Local Municipalities in the Eastern Cape; if so, what are the details of (i) the plans that were developed in each case to address water shortages and (ii) the involvement of his department in drafting the contingency plans in each case?

Reply:

The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) was not involved in the drafting of the contingency plans for the water shortages currently being experienced in the (a) Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan,(b) Buffalo City Metropolitan and/or (c) Kouga Local Municipalities in the Eastern Cape province. It is important to indicate that the responsibility regarding the development of contingency plans on water shortages falls within the department of Water and Sanitation and the relevant water services authorities.

(i) Not applicable since the department was not involved in the drafting of the contingency plans for the water shortages in the above municipalities.

(ii) Not applicable as indicated above.

In terms of section 9 of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002) (the Act), the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) is established with an objective to promote “an integrated and coordinated system of disaster management, with special emphasis on prevention and mitigation, by national, provincial and municipal organs of state, statutory functionaries, other role-players involved in disaster management and communities”. This strategic role should therefore be multi-disciplinary in focus and continuous in nature. Disaster Management is defined by the Act as “a continuous and integrated multi-sectoral, multi-disciplinary process of planning and implementation of measures aimed at-

a) preventing or reducing the risk of disasters;

b) mitigating the severity or consequences of disasters;

c) emergency preparedness;

d) a rapid and effective response to disasters; and

e) post-disaster recovery and rehabilitation

Therefore, sections 25, 38, 39, 52 and 53 of the Act place explicit responsibility on national, provincial organs of state and municipalities, and other institutional role players involved in disaster risk management, to develop and implement disaster management plans including contingency plans. In this case, the Department of Water and Sanitation and relevant water service authorities share the responsibility to ensure sustainable water supply applying disaster risk reduction as well as response and recovery principles. It is on this basis that the development and implementation of contingency plans fall within their mandate.

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