The Gauteng Provincial Government has officially opened a state of the art R44 million Provincial Disaster Management Centre in Midrand, Johannesburg.
On Thursday, 2 May, the Member of the Executive Committee (MEC) for the Department of Infrastructure Development (DID), Jacob Mamabolo, and his counterpart, MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Uhuru Moiloa, opened the doors to the facility, which will be the coordination centre for the province’s disaster management.
“Today we are launching not only a building, but a legacy. A legacy born out of necessity, a vision and the commitment created by the current administration of the province,” said Moiloa.
The modern facility will house a Hydronet from the South African Weather Services, which enables live access to and monitoring of weather information, including access to weather stations, rain maps, the weather forecast, and the seasonal forecast.
“The centre is designed to enable the province to fulfill its legislative mandate and support disaster management stakeholders, including municipalities,” said Moiloa.
The DID bought the building on behalf of CoGTA in 2016, and modernised it, using the latest green technology, to make it adaptable to different weather conditions. It is equipped with a back-up generator and is fitted with motion-detecting LED lights.
The building will also house the disaster operation centre, which will be eqipped with monitors that allow CoGTA to have a full view of activities that take place during disasters.
Mamabolo said the refurbishment of the building into a Disaster Management Centre was done in accordance with legislation.
“We are confident that this modern building will help our communities according to the laws and regulations of a provincial centre. As a department, we are pleased that in the past three months we have been rolling out massive infrastructure,” Mamabolo said.
He added that it took coordination and deliberate intervention for the DID to deliver an unprecedented amount of productive assets to communities.
“It was through a long process of putting up processes and investing in smart technology and our very own building industry professionals that the state is able to deliver at the rate at which we are delivering,” he said
“As part of prolonging the life of this facility, we are pleading with its users to begin its maintenance programme immediately,” Mamabolo concluded.
