By George Bulombola

Mzuzu, April 29, Mana: Mzuzu City Council Chief Executive Officer Gomezgani Nyasulu has appealed to government to fully devolve Department of Disaster and Management Affairs (DoDMA) to local authorities.

Nyasulu was speaking Monday when DoDMA briefed members of Mzuzu City Executive Committee on Risk Informed Development Resilience Project which is expected to be implemented in some local authorities from 2025 to 2028.

He said the decentralized approach to Disaster Risk Management (DRM) to local authorities will empower the authorities in implementing their mandate in DRM related programmes.

“It will be efficient and cost effective to handle DRM issues if the department devolves some of its functions, including finances and personnel, to local authorities which are the nearest points of call on DRM related issues,” said Nyasulu.

He said, currently, the DRM desk officers are only provided with finances as other recurrent transactions without resources for operations.

The chief executive then commended DoDMA for the project which he said will go a long way in enhancing collaboration among various stakeholders, including local communities, in DRM.

“Knowledge gap in understanding risks and hazards is a major factor among others which blind communities from realizing potential risks in their disaster prone settlement areas.

“Most people get to know risks or hazards upon being hit by disasters, hence the project will be a viable intervention in addressing such challenges,” he said.

Director responsible for response at DoDMA, Moses Chimphepo, said that the project, which is financed by United Nations Development Programme enhance capacity building of various stakeholders and structures in DRM, among others.

“We would like communities to be knowledgeable of potential risks in the settlement areas, so that they develop resilience mechanism to shocks of disasters and how they can protect themselves from disasters.

“This project will enhance capacity and resilience in managing disaster risks at all levels. Responding to disasters is more expensive than empowering communities to understand potential hazards in their areas and how they can either avoid being affected by the same or reduce impact on their livelihoods,” said Chimphepo.

He then advised local authorities to be mainstreaming DRM activities in their development plans for them to effectively carry out disaster related activities besides complementing the project’s objectives.

The project targets Mzuzu City, Salima, Nkhotakota, Dedza and Zomba, as some of the disaster prone areas.