intsika yethu local municipality - Provincial Spatial Development plan

IYLM is not immune to emergencies and disasters and occasionally suffers the impact of various humaninducedand natural hazards that have the potential to kill, injure, destroy and disrupt. In terms of Section54 (1) b of the Disaster Management Act, “the council of Chris Hani District Municipality, acting afterconsultation with the relevant Local Municipality, is primarily responsible for the co-ordination andmanagement of local disasters that occur in its area”. Furthermore, Section 54 (2) states that a DistrictMunicipality and the relevant Local Municipality may, despite subsection 54 (1) (b), agree that the Councilof the Local Municipality assumes primary responsibility for the coordination and management of a localdisaster that has occurred or may occur in the area of the Local Municipality”. Within the region, theprimary responsibility of coordination rest with local municipalities.Regarding a Disaster Management Centre, Section 43 of the Disaster Management Act of 2002 states that“each District municipality must establish in its administration a disaster management centre for itsmunicipal area in consultation with and operate such a centre in partnership with local municipalities”. Inthis respect IYLM is reliant primarily on CHDM in the event of a disaster for managing the rollout ofdisaster relief and mitigation.IYLM has initiated the development of a Fire Response Plan and Fire and Emergency Guide Plan that willassist in the overall preparation and management of fires. Primarily, the plans aim:To prevent and combat veld, forest, mountain and chemical fires throughout the municipality;To minimize the impact of veld fires where occurrences cannot be prevented;To determine the various role players in cases of veld fires;Determine a practical approach to be adopted by the municipality in endeavour of minimizing firesthrough prevention, including early warning systems, mitigation and response strategies;To provide guidance on the provision of fire fighting services including fighting of specialized firessuch as mountain, veld and chemical fires; andTo provide a standard regulation through by-laws for the prevention, management and controlling offires in the region.However, there are considerable impediments for IYLM in the total preparation for fire and emergencyeventualities. These challenges include:Building sufficient fire fighting and rescue capacity;Improving the response time;Establishing a local Disaster Management Centre;Capacitating the Fire Protection Associations; andIdentification of suitable land in the event of temporary or permanent relocations.IYLM currently has a central database for the tracking of fires across locations, dates and times. The mainchallenge in this regard in the prevention and mitigation of veld fires as they remain the most seriousthreat in this regard.73