Floods expose failure in disaster readiness

The raving floods throughout the whole country have demonstrated the horrible poor workmanship of those contracted to plan, and construct roads and related infrastructure in major villages, towns and cities. The whole country is simply a mess despite billions of Pula spend on infrastructure development. What passes as the country’s capital city has been exposed a rag tag of brick and mortar placed together without any serious thought and foresight. Why would one allocate Molapo, Riverwalk, Sebele Centres – why would an engineer allow the Segoditshane River to stream across the city without all necessary bridges build alongside it. Why were the roads not elevated high enough and provided with sufficient drainage system to avoid them being turned into rivers? 

The amount of time motorists jammed across Gaborone roads on Wednesday night is an indictment on the engineers who planned such roads. If one of such engineers was equally on the road that evening they would have experienced the harsh outcome of their shoddy work! It looks like the planners had imagined that Gaborone and Francistown would not grow to the level the cities have done. The western bypass is no longer a bypass – it is a road in the middle of a city that during downpours turns into a river on its own. 

Instead of building three more fly-overs government must rather spend that money in correcting and realigning the city’s drainage systems – construct bridges alongside the Segoditshane river to direct water properly to ensure it does not wonder about into shopping centres and people’s houses. Climate change is here with us and hence plans must take into consideration the future outlook more intensely to avoid any unforeseen developments as it has happened now. 

Fire NDMO boss 

Officials at the National Disaster Management Office do not seem to know a hoot about the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015. This articulated strategies for building the resilience of communities during disasters. Things that are written there, we’ve done almost the opposite throughout the years. The subsequent Sendai Framework, 2015- 2030 adopted in April of 2015 in Japan warned countries of eminent disasters and recommended advanced risk reduction strategies. Our officials have sat on these recommendations, advised government notably nothing to improve our preparedness and responses to disasters. Notably, we are still managing disasters with a policy adopted in the 90s. Our disaster strategy has been solely based on response and not mitigation, no community engagement, no basic warnings until disaster struck, no disaster resilience plans. Basically, zero adherence to international standards and best practices. Nothing at all, apart from officers running all over the place with reflectors after disaster strikes, property destroyed and lives at risk. 

To avoid endangering lives further, President Duma Boko should remove failed bureaucrats from office forthwith. We need radical changes in the new administration now! The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) government should realise that the chameleon approach they have adopted does not work in Public Service in Botswana. By this time the Director for National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) should have been fired or resigned voluntarily in shame. Unfortunately, it is business as usual because the new UDC government leadership have guaranteed reckless and non-performing civil servants a safe passage to continue what they know best -zero delivery while the lives of thousands of citizens are in danger because of their ineptitude. 

The nation is reeling in untold misery and huge losses due to damage to property because some useless civil servants in the NDMO do not know why they are paid even in those positions and offices. Poor and/ or failure to make the right decision, which endanger people’s lives, should attract punishment without any hesitation. NO excuses should be entertained. 

The Meteorological Services shares weather forecasts daily, with information on weather patterns and the expected outcomes. Such information is also readily available on social media platforms from reputable international sources. 

It boggles the mind, why the National Disaster Management Office never processed information at their disposal and advise government and the general public to take necessary precautions in advance. 

The heavy storm that ravaged Greater Gaborone on Wednesday was detected along the Namibian border and Gantsi Area on Tuesday night around 20:52, the travelling speed and it’s nature was available from the satellite and when it will reach the Capital City of Gaborone. Why did the National Disaster Management Office fail to use this information and immediately set up a Command Center to prepare for what was coming at 21:00 hours on Tuesday night because clearly from the satellite and data this was not an ordinary storm, it needed total preparedness. 

Almost 14 hours that could have been used to prepare adequately was lost until the storm hit Greater Gaborone in the mid-afternoon on Wednesday. It caused havoc everywhere, it caught vulnerable school children, citizens, businesses, institutions, organisations unprepared because the weather forecast data available publicly was never processed by the National Disaster Management Office and used to predict the possible damage and risk to lives. 

In the aftermath of this disaster, a Command Center was automated led by Ministers and other State Agencies in a reactionary manner rather than a proactive approach. 

This is where our problems start, we need to hold those responsible to account and tell us why this critical data that was provided by Meteorological Services was never processed for usability. 

In summary those employed by the national Disaster Management Office have no valid reasons why they should continue in their positions because they have betrayed the confidence that government and the public bestowed upon them. They have demonstrated colossal failure to protect the citizens and their property by simply doing their job. They should, therefore, be relieved of their duties instantly! 

Mr President, Advocate Duma Gideon Boko, this is your time to govern, your prowess and mettle in leadership is being tested beyond reasonable doubt. The ball is in your court to be decisive in all those who lead different Offices and State Own Enterprises, a kind reminder some of these people are the same whose failure precipitated the collapse of the past regime that had stayed in power for the last 58 years. 

They will take you down in 2029 if you do not act firmly and decisively to rid government of such malcontents. 

Leadership is defined by boldness, and as we reconstruct what has been destroyed, we need to speak to our conscience about what meritocracy can do for this new Republic. We cannot afford failures of the past anymore!