“Attending to a disaster is not only the responsibility of one party, it is a collective effort between government and non-government entities.”
Those were the words of Moshema Mosia, Head of Department for the Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services, during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the South African Red Cross (SARCS) Society last Thursday.
He further stated that such an agreement is an important milestone in the relationship between the City of Ekurhuleni and the Red Cross, “as it commits both entities to working together to maximise efficiency in cases of disaster and emergency”.
The Chief Executive Officer at SARCS, Derick Naidoo, also highlighted that though the organisation has worked closely with the municipality in the past, the day was aimed at officiating their relationship.
“Our mission is to render services to prevent and alleviate human suffering, and to foster human dignity in all communities. To that end we have seen work being done on the ground here in Ekurhuleni and today is all about declaring that we and the municipality will continue working closely together,” said Naidoo.
The South African Red Cross Society is a member organisation of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), which is the largest volunteer driven organisation on earth. The Red Cross Society has 100 million members and a presence in 189 countries.
In August 2007 the South African Government recognised The South African Red Cross Society as an official auxiliary to the government in humanitarian aid.
South African Red Cross Society CEO Derick Naidoo (left) and HOD for Disaster and Emergency Management Services at the City of Ekurhuleni Moshema Mosia recently signed a MOU to formalise their relationship in order to maximise efficiency in cases of disaster and emergency in Ekurhuleni.
