eThekwini Municipality's disaster management under scrutiny: Key concerns raised by Cogta
A recent report by Cogta highlights serious deficiencies in eThekwini Municipality's disaster management capabilities.
Image: Leon Lestrade / Independent Newspapers
A REPORT by the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) has raised concerns about the eThekwini Municipality's ability to respond effectively to natural disasters. The report highlights numerous issues that could impede the city’s ability to coordinate and respond to natural disasters, including staff vacancies.
Over the past five years, eThekwini Metro has been among the municipalities with the highest number of disaster incidents. The entire province is grappling with weather extremes, fires, limited resources, vulnerable communities, and inadequate infrastructure.
The report found that in eThekwini, there is inadequate staff capacity. The information management and communication system is hosted by another unit, making it difficult for the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) to execute its legislative mandate.
It was also noted that the Disaster Management Framework is outdated and there is insufficient active participation from interdepartmental units within the metro. The report states that the city must consider reviewing its organisational structure to strengthen capacity for effective functionality and prioritise its budget for the recruitment of additional personnel.
Other recommendations included that the metro develop Standard Operating Procedures with clear roles and responsibilities to improve sector coordination and that it must integrate and align its existing system with the Command and Control Collaborator (CMORE) web-based communication system.
IFP councillor Jonathan Annipen expressed concern over the revelations made in Cogta's presentation, which highlighted serious deficiencies within the municipality’s Disaster Management Unit. “The IFP finds these findings both alarming and unacceptable, especially given the city’s vulnerability to recurring natural disasters,” he stated.
“eThekwini has, over the past decade, experienced a string of devastating natural disasters — from flash floods and landslides to shack fires and storm surges. Communities have been left in disarray, infrastructure severely damaged, and lives tragically lost.
“It is inexcusable that a municipality so frequently affected by such events is still operating with a disaster management unit that lacks proper staffing, an up-to-date response framework, and internal communication systems essential for coordinated emergency response.”
Action SA leader Zwakele Mncwango stated that there is a lack of political will in the municipality to address these issues.
In response to questions, the eThekwini Municipality said yesterday that it was implementing the recommendations provided by Cogta. “The city works closely with the Provincial Disaster Management Centre. The Disaster Management Directorate is undergoing a restructuring process based on the approved macro-structure, as well as the transfer of functions that took place in January 2025.
“Furthermore, the updated Disaster Management Framework has been drafted using the template provided by the National Disaster Management Centre and will be finalised in the next two months in line with the Council-Approved Level 2 Disaster Risk and Response Management Plan.
“To address the participation of interdepartmental units, all relevant units now participate in the Joint Operational Centre (JOC) meetings whenever there is a major incident. The municipality is aligning its existing system with the CMORE web-based communication system. Training for staff has been completed, and incident capturing on the CMORE system has commenced.”