Deputy Prime Minister John Mutorwa has urged members of the ||Kharas Regional Disaster Risk Management Committee to familiarise themselves with applicable laws to bolster disaster preparedness in the region. 

He made the call during an engagement meeting with the committee members and regional leadership at Keetmanshoop. 

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasised that the Disaster Risk Management Act and accompanying policies and regulations are critical tools for setting guidelines for managing risks, coordinating responses, and ensuring effective responses in mitigating disasters. 

"Sometimes because we are not so acquainted ourselves with systems of governance in the country, with the policies. We give wrong information to the people, or we keep quiet because we are not so sure if we open our month we'll be criticising. And in that process, it is the people who suffer, and when the people complain that 'no, here in our constituency, in our region, in our local authority, in our village, and in our settlement, nothing is happening'. The immediate of some of the leaders, not all of them, particularly those that are serious with the task entrusted to them, will say, 'No, go and ask the Office of the Prime Minister in the case of disasters', but at that time it's just a blame game."

Mutorwa reminded committee members that vulnerable people should be prioritised when it comes to drought relief food aid. He also warned those misappropriating drought relief food will be prosecuted. 

The ||Kharas Regional Council Chairperson, Joseph Isaacks, appealed for full decentralisation of the disaster risk management functions to regional Disaster Risk Management Committees.

"So that regions that care and respond immediately because that thing has immediate effects, and people are immediately destitute and vulnerable. We cannot wait for the letters to go, the assessment to be taken, and all other duties."

||Kharas Governor Aletha Frederick also addressed the engagement meeting. "It has come to my office's attention that individuals who missed the registration deadlines in their localities are often denied the opportunity to register altogether. This incident really leaves insecure individuals without access to necessary support, which will be simply unacceptable."