BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE – Hard at work!
This is the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) which has built and rehabilitated a total of 425 houses that were wrecked by last year’s Cyclone Eloise and the recurring storms.
These statistics were revealed by the NDMA Chairperson to the Board Nomathemba Hlophe during her deliberation at the agency’s ISO 9000:2015 certification and NCD Initiative award presentation event.
The event was held the at Sincephetelo Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (SMVAF) Headquarters in Mbabane.
Hlophe said despite challenges the agency faced since the emergency of COVID-19 and then the striking of Cyclone Eloise and other storms, they had tried to act swiftly and attend to all affected persons in the country.
She went on to say that since last year, the NDMA built 241 houses- 154 being two bedrooms and 87 being one rooms.
“We also rehabilitated 184 houses- 100 of them being two bedrooms and 84 of them being one rooms,” revealed Hlophe.
She went on to say that they also facilitated the reconstruction of bridges countrywide and so far, 17 bridges were complete.
“We would like to thank the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, who are the ones who were hands on in terms of constructing and rehabilitating all these structures,” said
The NDMA is currently in a celebratory mood after all they have achieved since the emergence of COVID-19.
Yesterday, the NDMA certification was approved and handed over by SGS, the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company- they are recognised as the global benchmark for quality and integrity.
Also, the NDMA was also celebrating the NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution) Investment Award, which they were awarded at a side event of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) #COP27. They won this through the SURE (Strengthening Urban Resilience in Eswatini) Project. The project was instigated by the NDMA and stakeholders including Dr Deepa Pullanikkatil were applauded for their contribution.
