Maravi

(LUSAKATIMES) Politicization of Disaster Management

Politicization of Disaster Management
Wednesday, March 24, 2010, 15:01
by Henry Kyambalesa

I wish to comment on The Post newspaper article of March 23, 2010 entitled “Politicization of Relief Distribution Worries DMMU” by Florence Bupe. In the article, the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) is quoted as having called for reduced political interference in the distribution of relief resources to victims of disasters.

Specifically, DMMU national coordinator Dominiciano Mulenga has said that the Unit is faced with the challenge of dealing with political interference in the distribution of relief resources, and that he is concerned about the direct involvement of some political leaders in the relief distribution exercise for their benefit.

Not too long ago (in January 2010), I suggested that President Rupiah Banda and Vice President George Kunda should seriously consider the prospect of creating a statutory and autonomous agency to be accountable to the Parliamentary Committee on Health, Community Development and Social Welfare, and which should assume the functions of DMMU and those of the Public Welfare Assistance Scheme (PWAS).

I made the suggestion in response to the donation of various relief items worth US$100,000 to DMMU by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in December 2009. The donation included blankets, tents, shovels, wheelbarrows, water containers, sanitary towels, and other essential items.

The main reason for the suggestion was to forestall the potential for DMMU and PWAS to be abused by the MMD or future ruling political parties to achieve partisan objectives.

I again wish to call upon President Rupiah Banda to use his executive powers and create a National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), an autonomous agency which should assume the functions of DMMU and PWAS. Currently, DMMU is vested in the Office of the Vice-President, and PWAS (which includes the Social Cash Transfer Scheme) is administered through the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services.

Donor countries and humanitarian organizations also need to be aware of the potential for selective distribution of donated relief supplies by the ruling political party with the intention of gaining political leverage. They need to encourage the government to create a statutory and autonomous government agency that will distribute donated relief supplies without any political meddling or manipulation by government officials.

Labels: DMMU, FLORENCE BUPE, HENRY KYAMBALESA

posted by MrK @ 4:20 PM