The current review of the Disaster Management Act 1984 aims to enable the National Disaster Center (NDC) to respond quicker to assisting people impacted by natural disasters in the country.
According to the Director of the NDC, Army Colonel Carl Wrakonei, the review started back in 2021 and has been progressing behind the scenes.
He explained that the review is important because if approved in the near future, it will ensure that the Disaster Center is fully equipped to respond on notice to any natural disasters within the country and not having to send submissions to the government for funding and other support first, which usually takes time.
“The review is to ensure that in the future, the National Disaster Center will have its own account and funds allocated to it to standby for disaster responses,” said the director.
The current process involves the NDC putting together a plan form disaster reports and then making submissions to the government for assistance. However, the review would see the Disaster Center ready to go at any time.
Col. Wrakonei further said that the NDC is responsible for quick responses to disasters and that should be the case, but the current process is not reflecting what the organization was mandated to do; therefore, a change to how things work should be the way forward.
He is also hopeful that the review of the Act will be completed this year so that submissions can be sent to the government for the necessary changes to help the work of the National Disaster Center.