That the entire African Continent, not just Rwanda & the DRC were caught pants down is no secret. The onus however, is on you to examine your national response capabilities & assistance to jurisdictions directly involved in response & aiding recovery.
The current COVID-19 Pandemic woes aside, the complexities of the 2nd Nyirangongo eruption in 21 yrs brings about various unexpected challenges to the Rwandese Govt, in view of effective assistance, in terms of both immediate response & long-term victim recovery efforts.
Assuming the Rwanda Govt has a Dept of Homeland Security (DHS), a lead agency responsible for Disaster Preparedness, Response, & Recovery. Did they anticipate Nyirangongo going berserk anytime soon, after 2002 ? The answer is NO ! Meaning Rwanda will face challenges in assisting.
From COVID-19 Protocols, to food & shelter, to pre-existing medical conditions the evacuees & fleeing DRC citizens. Have come with to Rwanda, the to do list is a lengthy one in all scores, the economic one being top of it. Humanitarian or not, it will cost the Rwandese taxpayer.
Assuming Rwanda has a National Prep'dness System that helps the Nation’s Emergency Mgmt capabilities & in part, prioritization of responses. There still is a pertinent need for funds, assistance both technical & in kind to help cater for the victims. Where will it come from?
Assuming Rwanda has National Preparedness Goals that identify & define core capabilities across it's mission areas. Capabilities forming the foundation for measuring overall national prep'dness & assisting in allocating resources to fill identified prep'dness gaps. Can they cope?
I am not trying to get smart here, or pretend I know it all as my background possibly suggests. I am seeing a repeat of 21 years ago. When I first led a team of responders to the last eruption. The implications it had on Rwanda 6 years after the 94 genocide. It wasn't pretty!
Recovery for those that have refuge in Rwanda will focus on the timely restoration, strengthening, & revitalization of various aspects including economic sustenance. Something Rwanda had not envisaged or budgeted for. Who will come to their aid ? The business entity called UN?
Like it or not, Rwanda will have to look into economic recovery for the victims. The ability to return economic & business activities (including agricultural) to a state of health & develop new economic opportunities that result in a sustainable & economically viable community.
Rwanda will have to self critique her. ability to address pre- and post-disaster housing issues & coordinate the delivery of resources & activities to assist the victims as they rehabilitate, reconstruct destroyed & damaged housing. Upon return to normalcy at the border with DRC.
With the effects of climate change expected to change the frequency, severity & unpredictability of subsequent events across the region, increasing the intensity of the various hazards, & impacts likely to affect regional health,resources & infrastructure. Can Rwanda cope?
Rwanda’s geographic location, within the East & Central Africa region calls for a robust Disaster Mgmt & humanitarian assistance program, to affords Rwanda the ability & the capacity to support national & regional Disaster Mgmt efforts. Where possible a Rapid Response Team.
It is time for Rwanda start looking at leading regional Disaster Mgmt & Response. Through International collaboration start fostering preventing, preparing, responding to & recovering from the myriad of disaster threats facing the East & Central Africa region,
@NMS_Kenya@InteriorKE@KenyaGovernors Yes it can be done & Female Emergency Responders are some of the finest wing-men anyone can wish for, on ground zero. It is time, Kenya went full out to have Female Firefighters in our Fire Brigade rank & file.Thread euronews.com/2018/06/23/fem…
When I joined hands with the Late Jean Francois Antoine (RIP) & his son Dominique Antoine, to start Urban Fire Services, Kenya's 1st Private Fire Service in 2002. It was not a cake walk. Especially with the obstacles, the then Nairobi City Council Fire Service threw at us.
From sheer malice, to denial of use of fire hydrants the list of hardships was a long one. Prompting the audience with the then City Council Honcho. Mayor Joe Aketch. Our only crime was, outshining the Nairobi Fire Brigade aka Zima wa Kanjo, with their ineptitude.
George Orwell's allegorical novella, Animal Farm, says it all about today's Kenya. It makes a very literal argument: Especially how our, so called leaders exploit & oppress us, common Kenyans. Let's comparatively walk the Animal Farm characters, with ours truly ! A thread.
Napoleon-Uhuru Kenyatta
The leader of Animal Farm (Kenya) under ''Tano Terror''. He has, loyal attack dogs to intimidate the other animals & consolidate his power. His supreme craftiness, (handcheque/BBI) may prove him more treacherous than his counterpart, Snowball, come 2022.
Snowball-Raila Odinga
Challenged Napoleon for control of Animal Farm after 2017 Election sage. Is intelligent, passionate, eloquent, less subtle & devious than his counterpart, Napoleon. Snowball has the loyalty of some animals & currently cements his power base by deceit.
If you read George Orwell's Animal Farm, you definitely remember Squealer. The pig who spread Napoleon’s propaganda among the other animals. Justified the pigs’ monopolization of resources & spreads false statistics pointing to the farm’s success. kenyans.co.ke/news/65201-tuj…
Squealer, was an exemplary sycophantic mouth piece. A good example thus, of the many ways in which those in power, often use rhetoric & language to twist the truth. To gain, maintain social & political control.
A silver-tongued pig, who always abused language to justify Napoleon’s actions & policies to the proletariat by whatever means seem necessary.
By radically simplifying language—as when he taught the sheep to bleat “Four legs good, two legs better!”—limiting the terms of debate.
@StateHouseKenya@KenyaGovernors
Dear Mr. President.
I believe if you never read George Orwell's allegorical novella the ''Animal Farm'' first published in 1945. You acquainted with''All animals being equal, with some animals,are more equal than others? standardmedia.co.ke/national/artic…
This allegorical novella has enough characters in it, that depict today's Kenya, your leadership, it's unfairness's & Utopia if you may. Two main characters Napoleon & his counter part Snowball, for instance depicts the handshake properly. But that is a story for another day.
What is of interest, is the adage from it, ''All animals being equal, & some being more equal than others''. An the case in point, that of Wanjiku lives & their importance to your Administration.
Do Wanjiku Lives Matter ?
Today's political science too often inculcates a dispassionate view of politics among scholars. Somewhere in the "literature reviews," mathematical models, "event counts," & language of "transaction costs" are buried issues and incidents that have real impacts on people's lives.
1980-to 2002, restrictions on speech & association in Kenya chilled discussion of policy & institutional development. Kenyans, civil servants included became noticeably less willing to take decisions, for fear of disapproval, & Govt business in some ministries slowed markedly.
Politics was not fit material for discussion in public places because of the proliferation of security agents in bars, matatus, public transport, clubs, & offices. Kenya had become a Gestapo country. Speaking anything that could be construed as Anti-Establishment was dangerous.
@AfricanUpdates That aviation is an important fully unexploited contributor to economic growth & development within Africa. Can open & connect markets, facilitating trade & enabling linkage into global supply chains. Is in no doubt, but our protectionist Govts & myopic thinking?
Whereas, enhancing air connectivity can help raise productivity, by encouraging investment & innovation; improving business operations & efficiency. The protectionism current is a bane, many continue to ignore.
Air transport is indispensable for tourism for example, where convenient air service facilitates the arrival of larger numbers of tourists to a region or country. But our stagnated thinking, poor leadership & acumen lack especially where changes can tilt the status quo ?