Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

KZN flooding disaster: transitioning from response and relief to recovery and rehabilitation

23 June 2022 | Story Dr Olivia Kunguma | Photo Supplie

Opinion article by Dr Olivia Kunguma, Disaster Management Training and Education Centre for Africa, University of the Free State.

On 13 April 2022, the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) 'classified' the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) floods as a provincial disaster in terms of Section 23 of the Disaster Management Act, 57 of 2002 (DMA). Following the classification, the KZN provincial government 'declared' a provincial state of disaster in terms of Section 41 of the DMA. Subsequent to this declaration and after considering reports from other provinces such as Eastern Cape and North West that were also affected by floods, on 18 April 2022, the disaster was reclassified. Following a consultation with the Cabinet, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma declared a national state of disaster. The national state of disaster was in terms of Section 27(1) and Section 23(6)(a)(b), which states that a disaster is a national disaster if it affects more than one province or if a single province is unable to deal with the disaster effectively. Another primary purpose of a national declaration was because the existing legislation and contingency arrangements of the affected state organs were insufficient to handle the provincial disaster and a need to activate other extraordinary measures as and when required. Also, the provincial disaster declaration was insufficient, given the widespread magnitude of the KZN floods. Since Durban has a port on which the entire nation and the Southern African region depend, the disaster had implications beyond the province. The Department of Cooperative Governance (DCOG) is the leading government department coordinating all stakeholders and intervention measures to address the effects of the disaster. The department is following a three-phased approach to support the affected provinces. The approach includes; immediate humanitarian relief, stabilisation and recovery, and rehabilitation and reconstruction.

Before the flooding disaster the KZN community was already vulnerable to xenophobic attacks, the COVID-19 pandemic, and civil unrest. The flooding disaster exacerbated the communities’ vulnerability and had a severe social, economic and environmental impact. At least 461 people lost their lives, about 874 companies were affected, 40 000 people were displaced, more than 40 people were reported missing, and damage to infrastructure was estimated at more than R20 billion. Mindful of all these challenges, local and international organisations and local communities extended a helping hand to those affected by the disaster.

South Africa’s general response to disasters

As stated earlier, South Africa has been exposed to various hazards, some declared disasters by the government. In the past decade alone, xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals were declared a disaster in 2015; in 2018-2020 a drought was declared a disaster. In 2021, riots and looting in KZN were declared a disaster. Now the 2022 flooding has been declared a disaster. The occurrence and effect of hazards and the capabilities of the people affected to respond determines the need for a disaster declaration. Once a disaster has been declared, the necessary resources will be released. The point in question here is, “Is South Africa’s response to disasters adequate, timely and enough to assist affected communities?” The answer is the response is 'fair'. The fact that there is good disaster legislation that guides the process makes it a positive starting point. The challenge where timeliness is affected is the lengthy process of declaring the disaster so that the response can take place quickly. The response to xenophobic attacks was slow and inadequate because the government did not know how to classify the hazard. The response to the KZN looting and recent KZN flooding was also slow and inadequate, leading to significant impacts. To improve the response to disasters the proactive involvement of all stakeholders is needed, where all organs of state have sufficient resources and are prepared to respond to hazards in their custodianship, for example, drought, is the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture.

Procedures for handling donations and relief

Organisations and individuals come together to respond to and assist victims of the disaster. With all volunteers coming together, the duplication of efforts is anticipated. According to the South African National Disaster Management Framework (NDMF) of 2005, the Disaster Management Centres must establish appropriate protocols to clarify procedures for requesting assistance and discourage ad hoc and unsolicited appeals for relief. Any possibilities of duplication are mitigated by establishing a Joint Operating Committee (JOC). Activating a JOC helps standardise reporting protocols and improve the coordination of interventions. Specific organisations form part of the JOC with allocated roles and responsibilities based on the disaster. For example, the Department of Social Development is responsible for conducting needs assessments and distributing relief items.

Furthermore, each stakeholder forming part of the JOC should implement the existing contingency or response plans and establish standard operating protocols or procedures (SOPs) for coordinating response and recovery operations as per their mandate. Some organisations do have SOPs, response or contingency plans, but due to the magnitude of the disaster, they could not be used effectively. The NDMF mandates the development of Regulations for the Practice and Management of Relief Operations. The regulations must be gazetted and must include relief standards and the duration of relief efforts. A JOC was established at metropolitan and provincial levels regarding the KZN flood disaster. Each JOC has a Disaster Management Relief Team (DMRT). This team is responsible for receiving donations and distributing them. The donating individuals or organisations contact the DMRT to handle the donations. The DMRT also allows the donors to select where they want their donations to go. Organisations that wish to contribute financially are urged to contribute to a Disaster Relief Fund account.

The Disaster Management Training and Education Centre for Africa (DiMTEC) joined in the initiative and called on the University of the Free State (UFS) and Bloemfontein community to donate non-perishable food and non-food items to the KZN flood disaster victims.

Staff members from the Disaster Management Training and Education Centre for Africa (DiMTEC) at UFS
in Durban. (Photo: Supplied)

After several weeks of collecting donations, the UFS-DiMTEC personnel travelled to Durban on 29 May to deliver the goods and visited some areas affected by the floods. The eThekwini Disaster Management and Emergency Control Unit staff thanked the UFS-DiMTEC personnel and the Bloemfontein community for the donations they made. “We appreciate your effort to deliver the donations to the flood victims personally. We would also like to invite UFS-DiMTEC to form collaborations with us as we have done with the Durban University of Technology. The collaborations will help us with disaster risk reduction efforts and build resilient communities,” said Mr Vincent Ngubane, the Head of eThekwini Disaster Management and Emergency Control Unit. Following the meeting with the Head of the Centre, the UFS-DiMTEC team was escorted to three shelters (KwaNdengezi Hall, Mariannridge Hall and Eshcol Community Church), most of which housed children from as young as six years of age. The challenges faced by the shelters include possibilities of theft, limited water and sanitation access, power cuts and inadequate food.

Conjecture of KZN flooding disaster

Several media articles have recorded possible causes of the flooding and landslides disaster in KZN, and here are some of them:

• Slope instabilities relating to the local geology and topography influenced by climate change

• Hilly areas with significant gorges and ravines that are conducive to floods

• Common ‘cut-off low’ which brings heavy rain, damaging winds and cold weather mostly in autumn and spring

• Unmaintained storm-water drainage systems

• Housing shortages due to migration and lack of affordability that lead to informal settlements

• Apartheid legacy placed the poor in the periphery along low-lying areas and floodplains

• Social production (natural hazards interacting with a vulnerable population)

• Lack of science awareness among politicians, and toxic politics

• Poor planning and governance

Building back KZN better

While the KZN disaster response is ongoing, recovery and rehabilitation talks are in place. The DMA (Section 1) defines recovery and rehabilitation as a post-disaster phase that includes efforts and developments to normalise or restore a condition caused by a disaster. The effects of the disaster are mitigated, and circumstances that will mitigate or prevent a similar disaster are created. Before this phase commences, the government and other responsible stakeholders must effectively and scientifically conduct impact and risk assessments to inform resilient reconstruction. Climate change (heavy rains), environmental change (soil), and human and societal dynamics (settlements/civil unrest) are some of the factors that should be at the core of the KZN recovery and rehabilitation planning. Building back better in KZN requires the identification of better land for rebuilding. Overly, the earlier stated possible root causes of the flood disaster need to be scientifically researched to consider the findings in the recovery and rehabilitation phase. Funding is required for all this to happen, and the funds must be properly managed. While political support is a requirement, administrative structures must not be throttled.

Some of the items donated to flood stricken Durban by UFS DiMTEC (Photo: Supplied)

Relief still needed during recovery and rehabilitation

Although the KZN province is slowly transitioning from response and relief to recovery and rehabilitation, the disaster is far from over. While relief will still be needed to assist those in need, it must be reduced to avoid dependency. Currently, the disaster managers are dealing with challenges such as community members not affected coming to settle in community halls to benefit from free meals. Some community hall members have started complaining about the food and requesting specific meals. Nonetheless, the NDMF states that the prolonged relief supply creates dependency and discourages risk ownership, which is imperative for building resiliency.

Moreover, continued provision of relief reinforces risk transfer to external support, government or humanitarian agencies. The government needs to speed up the transition from relief to resilient rehabilitation without making further development mistakes. During this process, the KZN community must participate in the building back better process at all phases.

Meanwhile, the UFS-DiMTEC is still appealing to the UFS community and the City of Bloemfontein to continue donating. Those wishing to donate are urged to drop off the items at the following drop-off point: Agriculture Building/Landbou, DiMTEC, First Floor, Room 3.102A, Bloemfontein. For more information regarding donations, please get in touch with Dr Tlou Raphela at +27 72 108 4987 or Raphelatd@ufs.ac.za

News Archive

During 2011: Highlights at the UFS

2011-12-01

2011 was a phenomenal year in the life of the University of the Free State and the memorable moments will be engraved in the history of this proud institution.

World Universities Forum honours the UFS

The UFS was awarded the World Universities Forum (WUF) Award for Best Practice in Higher Education during 2010.The Best Practice Award recognises the most significant practices of the year around the world. The university’s implementation of a number of interlocking innovations to transform the institution is recognised with the award.

These innovations include: campus-wide racial integration for students; reinvigoration of the academic culture; nurturing of the most promising young scholars by means of the Vice-Chancellor's Prestige Young Scholars Programme; sending 71 first-year students to top American universities to assist with their development into non-racial campus leaders; the revision of the undergraduate curriculum to promote a cross-disciplinary approach to key societal problems; raising the entry requirements; the facilitation of open access to campus leadership through sessions with the Vice-Chancellor and Rector; extension of this spirit of dialogue internationally through the inauguration of its International Advisory Council consisting of key thinkers and practitioners; the identification of 20 of the most dysfunctional high schools in the Free State and the building of relationships with those schools.

This university-school partnership is based on a strict contract of reciprocal commitments to increase the chances of black children attending university. The WUF applauded this as the most innovative step.

New branding for our 107-year old institution

Our university turned a fresh new page with the launch of a new brand that will take the institution on its path to new horizons.

Two primary brands were adopted – an evolved academic crest and a new marketing brand for the institution’s offerings and services. The very foundation of the UFS is built on a dynamic learning environment where academic excellence and the development of leadership qualities. The new brand seeks to adapt to the changing needs of society, without sacrificing its rich history and heritage.

The rebranding process involved one of the most expansive and intensive process of consultations with staff, alumni, Senate, Council and other stakeholders.

The new brand is anchored in the university’s renewed motto “In Veritate Sapientiae Lux” (In Truth is the Light of Wisdom), which has been evolved to embrace the diversity of the community at the university without losing its essence.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu receives an honorary doctorate

One of the great sons of Africa, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, received an honorary doctor of Theology and opened the International Institute for Studies in Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice on the Bloemfontein Campus at the beginning of 2011.

The Institute originated in the Reitz incident of 2008 and embodies the UFS’s determination to be a place where reconciliation, forgiveness and social justice would not only be studied, but where it would also be applied. Students and scholars from across the world can study the theory and practice of building societies across the boundaries of race, as well as religion, gender, disabilities and national origin.

By honouring Dr Tutu, the UFS recognises the contribution he has made in the field of Theology through his teachings and the books he has written. The UFS not only honoured him as a moral and religious leader who has maintained his integrity as a Christian, but also as “a great son of South Africa who has made a huge contribution to peace, reconciliation and justice in South Africa and in the world”.

Reconciliation closes book on the Reitz incident

The Reitz incident, that has taken the UFS to front pages and news headlines, could come to closure this year with a reconciliation ceremony between the former students and staff members. The parties involved could meet in private and also took part in a public ceremony with many dignitaries witnessing the closure of the incident and repercussions it had.

Messages of apology were read by Prof. Teuns Verschoor, Vice-Rector: Institutional Affairs, on behalf of the UFS, and Mr Danie Grobler, on behalf of the former students. A message of acceptance of the apologies was read by Ms Emmah Koko on behalf of the workers.

Deputy Chairperson of the South Africa Human Rights Commission, Commissioner Pregs Govender, said of this historic event: “The courage and compassion shown by the workers together with the students’ willingness to embrace the spirit of change have enabled a process of justice, transformation and reconciliation that is an inspiring example for South Africa.”

Grade 12s attend first Leadership Summit

More than 280 learners from all over South Africa and Namibia attended a three-day Leadership Summit on the Bloemfontein Campus in April 2011. The goal of the summit was to enable young leaders to develop their leadership capabilities by looking beyond their normal boundaries.

Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, addressed the learners on leadership while Mr Louie de Necker, a training consultant, spoke about conflict resolution. Other highlights included a visit to the Boyden Observatory, picnic suppers, an introduction to residence life, a social evening, and a prize-giving ceremony aimed at learners who distinguished themselves as potential leaders during the three-day visit.

UFS honours great teachers

Our university and Sunday Times have joined hands in identifying 150 of the greatest teachers, who moved, inspired and transformed South Africans during their time at school. The project culminated in the book Great Teachers.

These are the teachers who stood out among their colleagues and made a lasting impact on their learners, inspiring them to excel, long after the mathematical equations and English literature tests are forgotten. The book is a powerful account of inspired and inspiring teachers.

All proceeds from the sales of the book will be used to provide bursaries to student teachers of today, who may become the great teachers for tomorrow’s generation.

Graduations now a celebration

By changing its format, graduations are now a festival to celebrate years of hard work and dedication of students and lecturers at our university. Some of the changes include the gathering of the procession on the Red Square in front of the Main Building, from where it moves to the Callie Human Centre. The graduation programme is also filled with music and song items with various young speakers addressing and inspiring the audience.

A total of 83 doctorates were conferred this year, making it the highest number in the history of the university.

African Student Affairs Conference a huge success

The first African Student Affairs Conference (ASAC) was hosted by our university. The conference was attended by delegates from universities across the continent and was aimed to place the focus on issues relating to student affairs in an African context.

Delegates shared and exchanged strategies, ideas and resources, and discussed issues related to the work of student-affairs professionals. A delegate from Nigeria said it was an important conference for Africa and it should become a regular event.

Research published in Nature

A research article on the work by a team under the leadership of Prof. Esta van Heerden, and counterparts in Belgium and the USA, has been published in the distinguished academic journal Nature on Thursday 2 June 2011.

The article – Nematoda from the terrestrial deep subsurface of South Africa – sheds more light on life in the form of a small worm (nematode) living under extreme conditions in deep, hot mines. It was discovered in one of the gold mines in the Free State.

The research can shed some new light on the possibility of life on other planets, previously considered impossible under extreme conditions. It also expands the possibilities into new areas where new organisms may be found.

Postgraduate School is one of a kind

Our Postgraduate School was launched with the aim of bringing research-bases education in line with national priorities and the focus of the UFS Academic Turnaround Strategy of 2010. It spans across our facilities.

The focus of the school is to produce graduates who are global citizens, research literate and able to reflect ethically on the purpose, process and product of research; to improve throughput rates of postgraduate students; and to make the experience of being a postgraduate at our university one which is stimulating, enjoyable and which contributes to the development of people beyond the limits of their disciplines.

Oprah Winfrey now a Kovsie

World attention was drawn to our university when an honorary doctorate in Education was conferred on media icon Oprah Winfrey on 24 June 2011 at our Bloemfontein Campus. The graduation was probably the biggest ceremony of its kind in South Africa, with more than 4 500 people attending.

Our university honoured her for her accomplishments and unparalleled work as a global media leader, as well as a philanthropist with vision and foresight in the field of education and development.

Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of our university, said: “It is a great privilege for us to be the first South African university to honour Ms Winfrey in this way and to be able to recognise a global icon of her stature.”

UFS doctors make history in South Africa

Two procedures took the UFS to the forefront of the medical world this year.

History was made with the first implant of a special new aortic valve in South Africa. The advantage of this new valve is that it can be implanted percutaneously through a catheter from the groin. This eliminates the need for invasive surgery.

The valve is made from porcine pericardium (tissue derived from pigs) and is mounted on an expandable stent, which is threaded along an artery, until it reaches its desired position. The valve is especially useful in older patients who suffer from aortic valve disease and pose a high surgical risk. It also reduces hospitalisation time.

A rare malignant tumour was also removed in groundbreaking heart surgery. What makes this operation unique, is that the suspicious mass, identified in the heart of a 51-year old man, was rapidly growing into a highly invasive cardiac tumour seen in a small number of patients worldwide.

In the highly complex, 10-hour operation the entire right heart chamber had to be removed and the heart reconstructed.

School of Open Learning adds value

The activities of the new school are driven by a central principle: opening up access to those who have not had the opportunity to study at a higher-education institution due to geographical location, socio-economic circumstances or other factors.

Programmes are delivered through a blended-learning model, which blends contact teaching with distance education.

The school will collaborate with our various faculties, and is managing the continuing education-sponsored endeavours of the Faculty of Education. These include projects for in-service training of teachers in Mathematics, Natural and Physical Sciences, Languages, Literacy, Economic and Management Sciences, Technology and various areas of Management and Leadership.

Second group of young leaders abroad

A second group of first-year students in the Leadership for Change Programme visited universities in the USA, Europe and Asia. Our university could extent the programme to 150 students, up from 71 in 2010.

These students are seen as a leadership core, not only for their university life, but also in public life outside the university borders.

The main purpose behind the programme is to expose students to positive models of racial integration. Their experiences will go a long way towards changing and enriching the minds of young leaders, who have committed to building a truly non-racial society in South Africa.

Odeion School of Music launched

Our former Department of Music transformed into the Odeion School of Music. The name Odeion name portrays not only an excellent asset in the Free State, but also nationally and internationally.

The school’s new name bears the respected Odeion brand and a number of successful and respected ensembles operate under this brand. These include the residential Odeion String Quartet, student ensembles, the Junior Odeion String Quartet, the Odeion Sinfonia, and the Odeion Choir.

The formation of the school paths the way for more flexibility to complement its profile with new developments. These include the application of prestigious international experts as artistic fellows, membership to progressive European, jointly-developed degree programmes and curriculum development initiatives, the founding of a chair in Orchestra Conducting, a master’s degree in Arts Management, as well as the incorporation of bio-kinetics in the teaching methodologies of performance practice.

World-class Chemistry facilities opened

World-class Chemistry facilities, with state-of-the art equipment, opened on the Bloemfontein Campus.

The upgrading of the facilities and addition and replacement of equipment were the single biggest investment at our university in a long time.

Specialised research by the Department of Chemistry includes X-ray crystallography, electrochemistry, synthesis of new molecules, the development of new methods to determine rare elements, water purification, as well as the measurement of energy and temperatures responsible for phase changes in molecules, the development of agents to detect cancer and other defects in the body, and many more.

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept