Review and Amendment of the Swaziland National Disaster Management Act, 2006

Background

Swaziland’s Disaster Management Act, 2006, is regarded an important milestone in the evolution of a legal framework for disaster risk management (DRM) in the country. Even though at the time of enactment there were numerous sectoral laws in which DRM was implied, the legislation provided a holistic approach as aligned to the Hyogo Framework of Action for 2005 to 2015, which identified governance key in enhancing a comprehensive approach to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), while curbing the impact of disasters to sustainable development.

The 2006 National Disaster Management Act, provided for the establishment of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) a parastatal under the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office (DPMO) to coordinate national preparedness and response to the various risks and disasters that occur in the country. The instrument provides for a decentralized response mechanism and promotion of sectoral approach in disaster risk management. The legislation also provides for participative approach to risk management. The transition of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) into a parastatal in 2014 has however necessitated the alignment of the organizational operations with the provisions of the Public Enterprise Unit (Control and Monitoring) Act of 1989 for efficient discharge of its functions and to ensure compliance with policy directives as issued by the government. In addition, the government has proposed new institutional arrangements for DRM policy support, while the NDMA continues to undertake the coordination and implementation role for disaster management.

The advent of Agenda 2030 called for poverty reduction, central to resilience building, safe cities and improved integration of disaster risk management into municipal development and contingency planning, as well as adaptive and mitigatory actions in response to climate change. In addition, the SFDRR advocated for effective governance and ‘building, back, better’ for progressive capacity growth in DRM. In this regard, the 2006 National Disaster Act has been limited in enforcing policy and institutional mechanisms to ensure progressive disaster management planning, implementation and monitoring as well as integration of disaster risk management in national budgetary processes.

The 2015 Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the Paris Accord on Climate Change, warrants the need to align the national DRM legislation towards the achievement of global commitments and their integration to national frameworks. This is for enhanced guidance towards disaster risk prevention, preparedness, coordinated responses, relevant and timely mitigation recovery actions. The emerging role of partnerships for research (early warning systems), innovation, and technical and financial resources in disaster risk management also demands the increased participation of the private sector and so legal provisions dis/incentives. The legal frameworks and institutional arrangements are interlinked, and therefore the government envisages that the legislation review shall invariably analyze organizational structures at all levels and mapping legal roles and responsibilities key to improved and harmonized disaster risk management.

The Deputy Prime Minister’s Office (DPMO) seeks the technical services of an international consultant to review and amend the Disaster Management Act, 2006, aligning it with global and regional commitments and strengthens national policy implementation and harmonises institutional arrangement leading to decreased disaster impact on national development.

Duties and Responsibilities

The review and amendment of the Disaster Management Act, 2006 will include but not limited to the following actions:

• Conduct a desk review and infuse provisions of the SFDRR, SDG Action Agenda 2030, AU 2063 and other international and regional instruments for inclusion in the amendment of the Disaster Management Act, 2006.
• Conduct a desk review of the current Disaster Management Act, 2006, Public Enterprise (Control and Monitoring) Act, 1989, Disaster Management Policy, 2011 and the National Development Strategy (NDS) and as revised in the Strategy for Sustainable Inclusive Growth (SSIG), and other national instruments assessing the provisions for disaster planning and management.
• Map the national institutions and stakeholders and review (new) roles and responsibilities for appropriate provision in the amended Disaster Risk Management Act.
• Facilitate extensive consultation with national stakeholders including the Government (Ministries and Departments), UN, non-governmental organisations, development partners and communities to create a body of constructive views regarding the amendment of the Act and its implementation.
• Elicit views national stakeholders, inter-cluster disaster groups and NDMA on bottlenecks and constraints in the course of implementing the Act.
• Examine best practices in disaster risk management legislation in various countries for adoption into the amendment of the 2006 Disaster Management Act
• Draft the 2006 National Disaster Act as informed by the consultative process and submit the draft amended Bill to the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office (DPMO) for approval by national stakeholders’ validation.
• Conduct the national stakeholders’ validation workshop for the draft Amended Disaster Management Bill.
• Consolidate national inputs and produce the Amended Disaster Management Bill for the country and submit to the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office (DPMO) for approval.

Deliverables:

The International Consultant working with Deputy Prime Ministers Office - NDMA will be responsible for the consultation process and producing the following deliverables:

• Inception Report with a clear methodology, stakeholders’ responsibilities and work plan with timetable for achievement of the deliverables for the assignment, five days after signing of contract.
• A draft situational report and draft amended Disaster Management Bill for validation by the Disaster Risk Management Stakeholders.  
• Validation Meeting of Draft Amended Bill and Stakeholders Consultation Report.
• Final draft of the Amended Disaster Management Bill.

Assignment Deliverables

• Sixty (60) days will be provided to the International Consultant to produce the final draft of the Amended Disaster Management Bill. The division of time between desk review (draft) and production of the Final Report will allow for at most three in-country missions to ensure full engagement with the Government of Swaziland and national institutions and stakeholders, including vulnerable communities.

Competencies

• Ability to set and implement activities for timely results.
• Good facilitation and communication skills.
• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards.
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
• Team building approach.

Required Skills and Experience

Educational Qualifications:

• Graduate degree, Masters or PhD equivalent in Law with a qualification in legislative drafting preferable disaster risk management or humanitarian law.

Experience

• At least five (5) years of experience in the legislative drafting, public policy development in the disaster risk management discipline including three (3) years in performing similar tasks.
• Working experience in the disaster risk management, international, regional and national humanitarian legislation and formulation of coordination systems.
• Knowledge of global and regional frameworks on sustainable development and disaster risk management.
• Strong knowledge of disaster risk programme/project management for preparedness, mitigation and management at international or region level.
• Good knowledge of actors and experience with Disaster/Hazard/ Risk Management coordination.
• Good knowledge of coordination systems around disaster risk reduction and preparedness, early warning systems and climate change.
• Knowledge on the SADC Region and Swaziland would be an added advantage.

Language:

• Fluent in written and spoken English.