BuaNews (Tshwane)
Bathandwa Mbola
30 January 2008
Tshwane — The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has called for improved information sharing, cohesion and collaboration among disaster management structures in countries who share river basins.
This is with the aim of easing the impact of flooding.
The call follows a SADC mission to Mozambique on Tuesday where the damage caused by flooding on the Zambezi, Pungue, Buzi and Save Rivers was assessed.
In his discussions with the member states, SADC Executive Secretary Dr Tomaz Salomao who led the mission, said there was a need for short, medium and long term economic and development planning among disaster management structures.
Dr Salomao was concern about the current emergency and expressed the need to prepare for a very difficult situation during the remainder of the current rainy season and beyond.
The mission also visited Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Angola which have suffered from torrential rains.
The main objectives of the mission were to express solidarity with the victims and affected communities and to establish SADC's role in complimenting countries efforts in helping the affected people.
Following the visits Dr Salomao will present a preliminary report on the findings of the mission including the appropriate recommendations to the SADC Chairperson.
Meanwhile flood-stricken residents of Lephalale near Polokwane, Limpopo on Tuesday received aid from the Local Government and Housing department.
The departments sent food parcels and promised to send more by helicopter on Wednesday.
More than 300 families were left homeless by the rains which lashed the area at the weekend.
In Mpumalanga, the Department of Local Government and Housing is to rebuild the low-cost houses which were destroyed by a storm in the Emzinoni Township outside Secunda earlier this month.
Departmental spokesperson Simphiwe Kunene on Tuesday said the 36 houses would be rebuilt in the new financial year, which begins in April.
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