1. HEARINGS: PROVINCIAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
WESTERN CAPE MUNICIPALITIES: STATE OF READINESS
Presentation by Department of Local Government and Housing on 30 – 31 May 2006

2. BACKGROUND Underlying/Predisposing Factors Disasters Experienced:
Last 5 Years
Most Frequent Disasters
Disaster Risk Profile
• Extreme weather
• Meteorological drought
• Riverine flooding
• Estuarine flooding
• Coastal flooding/storm surges
• Urban flooding
• Hydrological drought
• Agricultural drought
• Seismic risks and earthquakes
• Rockfalls and landslides
• Urban fringe fires
• Veldfires
• Human epidemics
• Livestock epidemics
• Air pollution
• Water pollution
• Soil erosion/land degradation
• Power plants
• Bridges
• Dams
• Petrochemical installations
• Transport: Roads, air, sea and
rail
• Marine oil spills
• Toxic cargo spills
• Radioactivity emissions
• Urban formal fire
• Urban informal fire
• Human immigration to area
• Extreme weather events
• Unplanned human
settlements
• Frequency of fires in informal
settlements and veldfires
• July/Aug 2002: Floods in the Peninsula
• Jan 2003: Train disasater
• March 2003: Floods in Montagu,
Robertson & Swellendam (declared a
disaster)
•10 Dec 2004: Fire in Kayamandi
(±1 000 structures)
• 22 Dec 2004: Flooding in 4 districts
(R32 million)
• 13 Jan 2005: Peninsula Mountain Fire
• 14 Jan 2005: Flooding in Mossel Bay
(R2.5 million)
• 15 Jan 2005: Fire in Joe Slovo
(± structures)
• 20 Jan 2005: Fire in Kayamandi
(±300 structures)
• Feb 2005: Avian Flu (Ostriches)
• March 2005: Drought (13 Municipal areas)
• 11 Apr 2005: Floods in Overberg District
Municipality
• Apr 2005: Porcine reproductive &
respiratory syndrome (Pigs) approx
affected
• July 2005: Swine Fever (Pigs) culled
• Dec 2005/Feb 2006: Veldfires in
Overberg and Cape Winelands District
Municipal areas
• Jan 2006: Table Mountain fires
• Drought
• Flooding
• Fires (Veld)
• Fires (Informal
settlements)

3. HOLISTIC PICTURE: PROVINCIAL
Province
DM Centre established
Fully functional
Head of Centre appointed
Forums established
DM Plans finalised
Western Cape
In process

4. HOLISTIC PICTURE: WESTERN CAPE
Municipality
DM Centre established
Fully functional
Head of Centre appointed
Forums established
DM Plans finalised
City of Cape Town
Interim centre
In process
West Coast
Cape Winelands
Overberg
Eden
Central Karoo

5. CURRENT CHALLENGES AND REALITIES
The unfunded mandate debate.
Preparation of provincial disaster management plan within the provincial disaster management
framework
Establishing of a Provincial Disaster Management Advisory Forum (PDMAF) by the MEC
responsible for disaster management.
The Provincial Disaster Management Centre to assist the National Centre in developing a
compatible disaster management information system for South Africa
Establishing of municipal disaster management centres by the municipalities
Appointment of a person as head of its municipal disaster management centre by each municipal
council
Building capacity in each municipal centre
Establishing a Municipal Disaster Management Advisory Forum (MDMAF) by the metropole and
each district municipality

6. RECOMMENDATIONS
Confirm the funding recommendations in the National Disaster Management Framework as the
foundation for the provincial funding dispensation: national & provincial frameworks to be
aligned
Activate funding framework to counter the unfunded mandate argument
Disaster risk management and the budgeting thereof is every department’s/municipality’s
responsibility
Increased provincial budgeting over MTEF, based on sound business plans
Concern: Low capacity municipalities with limited revenue base – provincial constitutional
mandate
Western Cape disaster management role-players are funding partners and not beggars
Disasters have NO regard for jurisdictional boundaries
Disaster Management funding recommendations to be reflected in MTEF as soon as possible

7. THANK YOU