BRIEFING TO THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON
COOPERATIVE GOVERNANCE AND TRADITIONAL AFFAIRS
ON THE DISASTER MANAGEMENT AMENDMENT BILL
13 May 2015
For an Equitable Sharing of National Revenue
CONTEXT
• In terms of Section 9 of the Municipal Systems Act, the Financial and
Fiscal Commission (FFC) must be consulted when any assignment of a
function or a power to any category of municipality is being considered
by way of national legislation
– The Cabinet member, Deputy Minister or MEC initiating the national
or provincial legislation must request the FFC to make an assessment
of the financial implications of the legislation
• On 14 August 2013, the then Minister of Cooperative Governance and
Traditional Affairs wrote to the Chairperson of the FFC requesting
comments/advice on the proposed amendments to the Disaster
Management Act, 2002
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CONTEXT [CONT.]
• FFC submitted a response to the Minister’s
request on 13 October 2013
• The FFC welcomed amendments to the Bill
– Incorporation of risk assessments into disaster
management plans
– Mapping of risks and communities vulnerable
to disasters
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SPECIFIC COMMENTS ON THE BILL
• The Commission welcomed inclusion of Clause 1 seeking to institutionalise
disaster risk management strategies (mitigation/adaptation/vulnerability) by
municipalities
• The Commission further suggested that the National Disaster Management
Centre (NDMC) develops a municipal vulnerability index and risk modelling
tool to assist municipalities
– In 2014 FFC released a household vulnerability report
• In Section 11 the Commission raised the potential for creating duplication
when various spheres are required to assess risks individually
– NDMC as national authority must carry out national disaster risk
assessment
– Requirements for municipalities to conduct risk assessments must be
phased in – and accompanied by technical and financial support
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SPECIFIC COMMENTS ON THE BILL
[CONT.]
• Section 13 of the Bill, which requires a municipality to
build capacity for managing, coordinating and
implementing the disaster management function/plans
and the establishment of disaster management centres,
must acknowledge the constitutional obligation for
national and provincial government to provide capacity
building assistance
– Disaster management is a concurrent function with
each sphere having a role to play
– Clarify roles for the other spheres in this regard
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SPECIFIC COMMENTS ON THE BILL
[CONT.]
• The Commission welcomed insertion of Clause 23
which calls for escalation of responsibility to upper
sphere where municipalities lack capacity
• The Bill needs to clarify roles, responsibilities and
procedures that need to be followed during escalation –
especially where there is no assurance of expenditure
reimbursement
• Clause 10 (5) on disaster expenditure reporting
requirements must be aligned to the Municipal Finance
Management Act (MFMA)
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PREVIOUS FFC RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations as Per FFC Annual Submission for the Division of Revenue
2013/14 and Response as Per Annexure W1 of Budget Review 2013
Government should develop a policy framework for municipal disaster risk financing, that:
• Differentiates between municipalities
• Leverages private resources to fund long-term disaster risk management
• Encourages and incentivises the use of innovative market-based financing
NO RESPONSE
National Treasury, in managing fiscal risks, should require environmental management and
vulnerability objectives to be explicitly incorporated into the design of existing key
municipal grant programmes
RESPONSE: Government has developed a planning toolkit for climate-change response to
help municipalities incorporate mitigation, adaptation and response strategies into their
IDPs and other planning processes. In the horizontal division of available resources,
several factors are considered to promote equity, including the fiscal capacity/efficiency of
municipalities. Vulnerability to climate change impacts does not necessarily translate into a
lack of fiscal capacity.
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PREVIOUS FFC RECOMMENDATIONS
[CONT.]
Recommendations as Per FFC Annual Submission for the Division of Revenue
2013/14
Minister for Cooperative Governance should streamline guidelines and gazette uniform
standards governing and guiding the classification, declaration, assessment and
response to disaster events in terms of the DMA and NDMF
NO RESPONSE
DCoG should, through the DMA, require the IDP’s of municipalities, starting with the
most vulnerable, to incorporate disaster risk reduction evaluations, strategies and
measures – including:
Land use planning; building standards, engineering interventions and financing
strategies
NO RESPONSE
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KEY POINTS
• FFC submitted a response to the Minister’s request for
comments on 2013 Bill on 13 October 2013
• To date, no response to the input has been received
– In respect of 2015 Disaster Management Amendment Bill, the
FFC has not been requested to make comments
– Neither has the Bill been shared for any comment
• There are recommendations FFC has made in the context
of the Division of Revenue with a bearing on the 2015
Bill that have not yet been responded to
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THANK YOU.
Financial and Fiscal Commission
Montrose Place (2nd Floor), Bekker Street,
Waterfall Park, Vorna Valley, Midrand,
Private Bag X69, Halfway House 1685
www.ffc.co.za
Tel: +27 11 207 2300
Fax: +27 86 589 1038