Page 42 - Research Report 2025.1

Over legislation and bureaucracy
Participants 2, 3, and 6 identified over-legislation and bureaucracy as significant barriers to timely disaster response. Participant 2 emphasised that excessive regulations and procedural delays create gaps in the ability to respond effectively to community needs, making the region more vulnerable. Complex regulations and procedural delays create barriers to effective crisis management. Participant 3 explained that NGOs often face difficulties in providing timely support because of bureaucratic red tape, further delaying assistance to communities in need. This slow response exacerbates the challenges faced by disaster-affected communities, as essential resources are delayed, prolonging their vulnerability.
Participant 2
“When I spoke of over legislation of local government. Yeah. That one, it creates a gap. It creates a vulnerability gap. Because you take a very long time to actually deal with a very basically simple condition. Because of, procedural matters that you will need to no. Bureau bureaucracy is a problem....”
Participant 6
“And also legislations. Because legislation sometimes hinders people from developing. Yeah. You will find that, yeah, when I’m referring to legislations, I’m referring, to, the programs and policies. You find that they have a lot of red tapes to assist our people.
There are lot of the technical aspects that get raised. Yes. So that our people end up being vulnerable to have that assistance. Yes. a lot of red tapes. bottleneck. In terms of yeah. Yeah. That’s too technical, it meant for our people..”
Corruption
Participant 3
“That could be that would be a bureaucracy because in most in most, in most cases, you find that there is NGO or there is someone who wants to come and assist, but then you find that you cannot release information to that person. In terms of the report without consulting the relevant people. If the relevant people, which is are your which are your senior, bosses, maybe they do not feel comfortable with the information being released. So you lose out because just because people do not get the assistance they need because you did not provide. The information that was needed..”
Participant 1 and Participant 2 cited corruption as a major institutional issue that undermines community resilience. Corruption diverts resources away from where they are most needed, slowing down the response to crises and hindering long-term development initiatives. This inefficiency increases vulnerability as communities are left without adequate support when they need it most. Participant 2 described corruption as a “disease” that cripples efforts to transform and develop communities. In disaster-prone regions like Alfred Nzo, corruption exacerbates the impacts of crises by misallocating resources and eroding public trust in local institutions.
Participant 1
Yeah. As we said earlier, corruption Yes. Improper planning, maybe we can mention that one.
Participant 2
I would agree with the corruption bullet because if corruption is 1, diseases If I may put it in that version. Yeah. It is one thing that, that that that kills, the drive to actually transform our communities.
Lack of Proper Planning
Participant 1 highlighted the significant role that improper planning plays in increasing vulnerability. According to Participant 1, municipalities are not resilient when disasters occur, and the lack of preparedness was especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. This lack of foresight leaves communities vulnerable, as there are no contingency plans in place to address disasters or mitigate their impacts. The absence of comprehensive disaster planning not only limits the municipality’s ability to respond quickly but also amplifies the damage caused by natural disasters and public health crises.
Participant 1
“So it means that, municipalities then are not, local municipalities are not entirely strong or resilient when when this disasters occur. Okay. So improper planning.
“We we don’t plan properly for these, events. Okay. You yeah. You might have also noticed during COVID that our planning, we were exposed”
40 | STUDY OBJECTIVE II