Govt’s slow response to floods borders on criminal negligence - Gen Miyanda

Govt’s slow response to floods borders on criminal negligence - Gen Miyanda
By George Chellah
Tue 30 Mar. 2010, 04:01 CAT

HERITAGE Party leader Brigadier General Godfrey Miyanda has stated that the government's lazy and slow response to the flood situation borders on criminal negligence.

Commenting on the disaster management in the country, Brig Gen Miyanda stated that the flood situation in the nation was not a pleasant event and should not be politicised.

“Nobody should use the plight of our people to compete for voter attention; not the government, not the opposition nor anyone else. People have died when they should have not. However, we all have a duty to make suggestions in the hope that those in authority will pay attention and act,” Brig Gen Miyanda said.

“My comment is provoked by the belated desperate cry by the Vice-President in Parliament last Friday. It is pathetic at this late hour for the Vice-President to mourn in Parliament that the flood situation is desperate, hoping for donor support when the floods are subsiding. The floods have been imminent since the beginning of the rain season last year. The problem is that the government is not forward-looking and has misplaced priorities and has failed to discern what an emergency or desperate situation demands. While the President was away, we have seen the Veep hop and stop from Western Province to Southern, Eastern, Copperbelt and other areas all at stretch. Clearly these were campaign trips and have nothing to do with floods; the Veep's message on those trips concerned attempts to divide the PF/UPND Pact. Government has been politicking and aiming to score points for 2011 instead of dealing with the emergency that is already upon us.

“The time spent by the Vice-President criss-crossing the length and breadth of the country could have been better spent on assessing and analysing the impact of the anticipated floods which they are doing now. A national disaster is an urgent situation that must be dealt with promptly as an emergency, using extraordinary action to contain or avert the disaster. Since at this late hour the Vice-President has now admitted and assessed that the situation is desperate, the government must formally declare a national disaster or state of emergency in specified areas.”

Brig Gen Miyanda stated that there was no justification for this inertia that was bordering on criminal negligence.

“Emergencies require immediate extraordinary measures; this is why they are covered under emergency provisions and not under the ordinary. Government should refrain from dealing with this situation as an ordinary occurrence. When he addressed the displaced people in Lusaka, the Veep announced that Cabinet would soon meet to decide on long-term action,” Brig Gen Miyanda said. “The concept of the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) is that of a Rapid Response Unit and must not be preoccupied with long-term research.

Further, there is no need to wait for new laws when old ones that can be invoked remain on his shelves. When an emergency is upon us, it is not the time to hold press briefings, workshops, and seminars or make ministerial statements.

“Emergencies may be of natural disasters such as floods, or widespread fires that threaten to engulf huge populations; they could be those that may be of an outbreak of an epidemic on a wide scale. We may not need new laws to deal with the flood situation but must use laws already in place and act diligently and promptly, without witch-hunting or finger-pointing. Based on information from the DMMU, the President should have been advised to declare a state of emergency or national disaster, identifying the nature of the emergency. The announcement in Parliament that the situation is 'desperate' confirms that an emergency already exists or is threatening. So the Veep should send an S.O.S. to the President, imploring him to declare the national disaster or emergency.”

Brig Gen Miyanda stated that declaring an emergency would assist the government to invoke appropriate legislation under this particular emergency.

“Under the emergency law so invoked, the government would then requisition or commandeer requisite materials and equipment first from within the country from construction, mining companies and/or persons having those items, including earth-moving equipment like bulldozers, excavators, dredgers, pipe layers, compactors and so on. The President would then designate this task to the Military High Command who would set up a Command Headquarters of all the necessary services; too many cooks spoil the soup. The High Command would be free to co-opt other persons or institutions as the situation may dictate,” Brig Gen Miyanda stated. “As they plan the operation, they must be aware that there are a lot of resources within the country (both human and material).

Looking up to 'donors' as the first port of call is a tired and parrot-like action plan that must be a last resort. Lastly, in an emergency all citizens must pull together, but government must lead and show initiative and seriousness. They must not merely issue divisive statements condemning the opposition. Over this 'desperate situation' the government has been lazy and slow.”