Living with Risk. A global review of disaster reduction initiatives

3
Living with Risk: A global review of disaster reduction initiatives
Source: Disaster Mitigation for Sustainable Livelihoods Programme, University of Cape Town
Africa
Case: South Africa
A methodical, if protracted, effort to develop a
comprehensive national strategy for disaster
risk management has been pursued in South
Africa by reforming organizational structures
and creating new legislation concerning disaster
risk management. As so often happens, it
was after a severe crisis – flooding in the Cape
Flats in 1994 – that the government resolved
to assess South Africa’s ability to deal with disaster
risk management. This initially involved
a complete review of disaster management
structures and policies. A year later, the cabinet
recommended that a formal structure for disaster
management be established. An initial
National Disaster Management Committee
was formed in 1996 with the intended function
of coordinating and managing national disaster
management policy. As that body never came
into its own right, by mid-1997 the government
approved the formation of an alternate
Inter-Ministerial Committee for Disaster
Management (IMC).
At this stage, a decision was taken to produce
a Green Paper on Disaster Management
for all levels of government (national,
provincial and local) as the first tangible
step to establish a formal disaster management
policy for the country. It was tabled in
February 1998 with the aim to ensure that a
comprehensive disaster management system
could be realized and implemented by
means of a national strategy that would be
more fully elaborated in a subsequent policy
White Paper on Disaster Management. The
Green Paper provided an important conceptual
framework for disaster management
and risk reduction. A year later in January
1999, the White Paper was able to build on
these views by emphasizing the risk and disaster
reduction issues highlighted by the
international and regional trends at the time.
The White Paper was developed within the
framework of the IDNDR, and importance
also was given to developing joint standards
and common practices among the other 13
countries of the Southern African Development
Community (SADC).
96