Floods Find Botswana Wanting
Gothataone Moeng | Monday March 10, 2014 16:42
“I can concede that the rapidity of our response may not always be desirable due to lack of resources and the distance of areas we need to reach,” he told Parliament on Friday.
However, Masisi said District Disaster Management Committees (DDMC), which are responsible for responding to disaster and emergency situations in their districts, are always on high alert especially during the rainy season to respond to disaster situations. Each DDMC stocks relief materials such as tents, tarpaulins and generators in preparation, with additional stocks in Gaborone and Dukwi to back up the districts.
He said districts are reminded at the beginning of every rainfall season to unblock culverts and bridges through a national preparedness workshop and through formal communication. Alert short messages (SMS) are regularly sent to areas that are likely to be affected by disaster, he said.
“In future we plan to develop web based early warning system using the ISDBT platform. This would reach out to mobile phones, television sets and network computers,” he said.
According to Masisi, all districts have active and multi-sectoral DDMC’s, membership of which includes first responders such as the Botswana Police Service, Botswana Defence Force, Botswana Red Cross Society, the fire brigade and representatives from various government departments.
Masisi was responding to a question from Gaborone West South member of Parliament Botsalo Ntuane, who expressed concern about the level of preparedness of emergency crews in disaster situations such as flash floods that occurred in various parts of the country.
He also wanted to know the measures put in place to address emergency and disaster situations.
During disaster and emergency situations, members of the public can call their respective District Commissioner, Kgosi or Social Worker.
They can also call the Botswana Police Service on 999, and those in towns and cities may call the fire brigade 998. The Disaster Management Office also has a toll free line (0800 600 130) that is accessible through landline, be-Mobile and Orange lines.