Risk of flooding along the Save River – Who keeps the warning system up and running?

Our visit on site in September 2008 indicated that the components of the warning system had been set up on the Save River in central Mozambique: the Catastrophe Committees were ready, and all the requisite elements such as water gauges and radio units had been installed. What happens next?

On 3 October 2008, Búzi District Governor Sérgio Moiane convened a summit at the district government offices. Seven district heads from the Búzi and Save river basins discussed options for developing the flood-warning systems. However, the first item on the agenda was the inauguration of a disaster emergency centre at the offices themselves. Villagers and emergency committees attended the small ceremony at which Dr. Ana Cristina, head of the National Institute for Disaster Management, Maputo, cut the red ribbon to mark the official opening. Thus, here too, the warning system has acquired a fixed abode, giving it a special meaning for the local population. The main item on the summit agenda was deciding who would be responsible for developing and maintaining the systems when the project was formally signed off by the Munich Re Foundation, and its partners, the German Association for International Cooperation (GIZ) and IP Consult. There are still people in remote areas who are not linked to the system, and work needs to be done to fill the gaps and ensure the additional emergency committees receive the necessary training.

Ana Cristina made it clear at the meeting that she believes the responsibility lies with her organisation. Her commitment will continue even after project manager Wolfgang Stiebens from the capital, Maputo, local project managers and Central American trainers have left the region. The summit thus provided a positive answer to the ownership issue. It encompasses national decision-makers, district administrators, and individual flood-warning workers. The latter had a further opportunity to demonstrate how well organised they are during the flood summit.

06 March 2009