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The Member of the Mayoral Committee for Public Safety, Cllr Mgcini Tshwaku, invites residents, disaster management stakeholders and other key roleplayers to observe International Day of Disaster Reduction.

International Day of Disaster Reduction is celebrated annually on 13 October in recognition of the collective effort and progress made by those in disaster risk reduction globally in their efforts to reduce disaster risks and losses in lives, livelihoods, and the ecological degradation. 

These endeavours are in line with the outcome of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction ‪2030. Their common objective is to promote a global culture of disaster prevention, reduction, mitigation, and preparedness.

This year’s International Day of Disaster Reduction commemoration is celebrated under the theme “Fighting inequality for a resilient future”. 

The 2023-2024 theme underlines the link between inequality and vulnerability. The theme also underscores that “unequal access to services such as financial and insurance, leaves the most at risk exposed to the danger of disasters; while disaster impacts exacerbate inequalities and push the most at risk further into poverty”.

My office aligns to the International Day of Disaster Reduction sentiment and recognises that although disasters in the city impacts all residents either directly or indirectly, disastrous consequences in the city impacts those that are socio-economically vulnerable disproportionately and at times more severely.

I want to thank and honour the efforts of individuals, communities, businesses, non-governmental and civil society organisations in the city and around the world who are working tirelessly to reduce society’s socio-economic vulnerability to disasters and assist us in raising awareness about the necessity of reducing disastrous hazards and increasing the resilience of all those impacted by disasters. 

As the Department of Public Safety, we are mindful that many developing nations including South Africa lack the capacity and resources to implement effective disaster risk reduction policies that can assist in establishing the groundwork for the attainment of the development of sustainable cities and communities.

As a city we are also prone to hazards/risks such as floods, storms, heatwaves, vandalism, formal and informal settlement fires, seismic activities, and medical outbreaks. The impact of these risks on our lives and infrastructure underscores that our welfare is interdependent and that nobody is safe until we are all safe. It is prudent we support disaster risk reduction initiatives.

In line with this year’s International Day of Disaster Reduction theme and the strategic direction my office has set for disaster risk management in the city, the Disaster Management Centre is taking a more pervasive approach to its risk reduction efforts this year and into the future.  

Currently the centre is rounding off the city’s summer disastrous risk plan for launch in the next few weeks. The plan will set out clear actions on how we intend adapting our efforts to the contemporary summer risk trends, the projected El-Nino cycle and how to better our fight against the adverse effects of natural disasters to ensure a resilient future for all residing in the city and posterity.  

Let us get all hands-on deck, let’s make disaster risk management our business!

Issued by City of Joburg Cllr Mgcini Tshwaku, Cllr Mgcini Tshwaku