Prepare for floods now
Mmegi Editor | Friday December 16, 2016 15:31
This is a welcome development that should be applauded. This week this department warned the country that the second half of the rainy season in January and February 2017 would be characterised by heavy rains countrywide, with a risk of flooding on the scale of the disasters that occurred in the year 2000.
They reminded us of the worst floods ever in 1999/2000-rain season that covered huge areas of Botswana. No wonder those floods are regarded as the worst ever floods to happen in this landlocked country which is mostly a desert. Five months ago President Ian Khama, in his previous capacity as the SADC chair, launched a global appeal for P29.6 billion of relief aid, as 23 million citizens wallow in extreme hunger, with experts warning of imminent deaths.
The southern African region experienced successive El Nino events during the cropping seasons of 2014 and 2015, characterised by extremely dry conditions, heat waves, drying up of major dams and associated crop and livestock failure. Some countries in the northern parts of the region experienced flooding, which devastated agricultural output.
Figures from the just-ended 2015/16 harvest, indicate a 9.6 million tonne deficit in regional production of cereals, which include maize, wheat, rice, sorghum and millet. South Africa, usually the main producer of maize in the region and Botswana’s prime source of cereals, is facing an estimated 2.6 million metric tonnes deficit. In addition, nearly half a million drought-related livestock deaths have been reported in Botswana, Swaziland, South Africa and Zimbabwe alone.
In Botswana, the El Nino phenomenon caused at least six heatwaves in the last cropping season, decimating production and leaving at least 50,000 Batswana in rural areas “food insecure,” according to May estimates from the UN. Government released P445 million in drought relief measures last year, which included support for the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme, a 25% subsidy to farmers on certain livestock feed purchased through the Livestock Advisory Centres as well as nutritional support for vulnerable groups.
That is why we take our hats off to the Department of Meteorological Services for keeping the nation abreast about the fain forecast and other weather patterns after nearly leaving about a million Batswana in need of assistance. The Disaster Management Committee should take this warning seriously and start capacity building exercises in low areas prone to flooding.
We should not wait for a disaster to happen before we tackle the problem. Time is not on our side as January is just two weeks away. We hope the relevant authorities are listening.
Today’s thought
“The public should start taking note and heed of what we tell them.”
– Thabang Botshoma