BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – In an effort to effectively manage natural disasters, whose frequency seems to increase as time goes on, Government is now considering an establishment of a disaster risk management fund.
The disaster risk management fund is one of the ways in which Government plans to respond in a better way to the natural hazards, which seem to take the country by storm. Unpacking the 2023 to 2028 “Nkwe” Policy Statement, Government said it also planned to come up with a disaster resilient strategy and a law that will govern disaster management.
According to the statement, Government said it was crucial that a strong disaster risk management framework that would make Eswatini resilient to common hazards should be enacted. “Such a framework will constitute a disaster risk finance strategy, disaster risk management fund, resilience strategy and a new law to govern disaster management,” said part of the statement.
With the increasing frequency and intensity of natural hazards that threaten life and livelihoods, damage to property, and in many instances leading to disasters, Government promised to prioritise disaster risk management and strengthen its institutions and funding. Government also promised that Eswatini would become a centre of excellence in disaster risk management and would have the capacity to respond to all calamities without heavily relying on external assistance.
