With the first Parliament session underway, Provincial Member for Oro Province Garry JUFFA raised several questions on the floor of parliament if there are any plans in place for the government to take and respond in a swift manner to help the people when disaster strikes.
Juffa said, the current disaster laws and response protocols are outdated and asked if the national government have plans to assist provinces in building provincial disaster management centers in our province.
Defence Minister Dr. Billy Joseph in response said, critical disaster emergency departments are not in one place which makes work difficult.
“The first responders on the ground are the provincial disaster management committee, and the person in charge is the provincial administrator.”
“At the national level, from a national government standpoint, when there is a disaster, the national disaster management committee is activated, and it is our job to make sure that the provinces that is affected by disaster have all the resources that they need.”
“So, we expect the provincial disaster management committee to, within six to 12 hours, do a quick report, send it to us at the national disaster management committee and where we assess and define what kind of help they need.”
Dr. Joseph said, the disaster emergency departments are not under one umbrella which makes it difficult to act fast.
Furthermore, Dr.Joseph said, he will take note of the important questions and respond at a later time.