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Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002)

Chapter 7 : Disaster Management Volunteers

58. Disaster

 

(1) A metropolitan or a district municipality may establish a unit of volunteers to participate in disaster management in the municipality.

 

(2) Any person that meets the prescribed minimum requirements may apply to enroll as a volunteer in the unit of volunteers of a relevant municipality.

 

(3)
(a) The National Centre must maintain a register of all volunteers enrolled in a unit of volunteers.
(b) A municipality that has established a unit of volunteers must submit the prescribed particulars of any person that has enrolled in terms of subsection (2) to the National Centre within 21 days of such a person’s enrolment.

 

(4) A unit of volunteers may participate in exercises related to disaster management organised by one or more municipal disaster management centres, a provincial disaster management centre or the National Centre.

 

(5) The Minister may prescribe the following—
(a) The command structure of a unit of volunteers,
(b) components within a unit of volunteers;
(c) the requirements for, and recruitment of, a volunteer;
(d) the manner in which any member of a unit of volunteers is to be activated and deployed;
(e) the training of volunteers;
(f) the use of equipment by volunteers;
(g) the defraying of expenses incurred by volunteers;
(h) uniforms of volunteers;
(i) insignia to be worn by—
(i) different units of volunteers;
(ii) different components within a unit of volunteer and
(iii) different positions of command within a unit of volunteers; and
(j) the transfer of a volunteer from one unit of volunteers to another unit of volunteers.

 

(6) This section does not preclude—
(a) a municipality from calling on persons who are not members of a unit of volunteers to assist the municipality in dealing with a disaster; or
(b) any number of persons from taking reasonable steps to deal with a disaster in an appropriate manner until a municipality takes responsibility for that disaster, and, where appropriate, to continue dealing with the disaster under the control of the municipality.