A brand new Disaster Management Satellite Office was officially opened at Kempton Park Fire Station on Kelvin Street in Spartan on Tuesday.
The satellite office will render a range of pre- and post-disaster management services and will cater for communities in and around Kempton, including Boksburg North, Primrose, Edenvale and Tembisa.
MMC for Community Safety, Clr Mthuthuzeli Siboza, said the location of this satellite centre was particularly important because Kempton Park was in the heart of the metro.
“Not only does Kempton Park have many businesses and factories in industrial areas such as Spartan, but the area also houses a national key point, OR Tambo International Airport, so being prepared for any kind of disaster is crucial,” Siboza said.
The centre will allow for the metro to provide improved pre- and post-disaster management services to the areas mentioned above. The boardroom will be utilised for the planning of disaster risks which have been identified as well as improving disaster resilience.
“The satellite centre will also house disaster management functionaries and these will be working with communities to reduce disaster risks. The coordination of smaller disasters and humanitarian events may also be managed from this venue, so this venue becomes an important cog in the disaster management wheel.”
Siboza concluded by reminding the audience that the issue of disaster management was everyone’s business and that all parties should play a united role in preventing and managing major crisis situations.
“We must all remember that disaster management is everyone’s business so all stakeholders, communities, council entities and departments and businesses must consider how disasters will affect them, and then look at increasing their resilience to disasters of every kind. Only by doing this will the disaster risk of Ekurhuleni as a whole be improved and a reduction in disaster risk materialise.”
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