Civil Society Network on Climate Change (CISONECC) has expressed concern over lack of political will by the government to finalize a draft Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Bill, a process that started in 2015.
CISONECC National Coordinator Julius Ng’oma told journalists during a press conference in Lilongwe on Friday that there have been delays by the government to have the DRM Bill tabled in Parliament as evidenced by the back-and-forth engagements between the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) and the Ministry of Justice.
Cisonecc National Coordinator, Julius Ng’oma concerned over government’s delay on Disaster Risk Management Bill
“Government should seriously consider desisting from politicizing the DRM Bill as the implementation of the bill needs to be free of political machinations in all its nature, shape and form,” he said.
Ng’oma added that any relief items that the government is providing should not in any way carry the political names, flags or colours.
He said the government is losing a lot of resources in disaster related expenses, a situation which can easily be abated by the provisions of the DRM Bill once enacted.
It was worrisome that a lot of resources are biased towards responding to the recovery of communities from disaster effects and not towards reducing the vulnerabilities of people and ecosystems at risk through disaster risk reduction, he said.
Cisonecc members addressing the media on Disaster Risk Management Bill
Ng’oma said, years have passed with CSOs still lobbying for the enactment of the Disaster Risk Management Bill to pave the way for investments in disaster risk reduction.
He therefore expressed optimism that the bill will be taken to parliament during the next sitting in February.
