Ramaphosa calls on global leaders to improve responses to natural disasters

CAPE TOWN - While parts of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) continue to battle brutal floods, President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on global leaders to strengthen disaster management and ramp up disaster responses.

Ramaphosa made the comments during the opening of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' meeting, currently underway in Cape Town.

This follows meetings between the deputies on the G20 Finance Track at the start of the week.

The current talks are a continuation of work set to be done during South Africa’s year-long presidency of the bloc.

Ramaphosa said that part of talks to address climate change included disaster responses.

"The increasing rate of climate-induced natural disasters is disproportionately affecting countries that can least afford the costs of recovery and rebuilding. When repeated disasters lead to widespread damage of infrastructure, economic activity is disrupted, and livelihoods are destroyed. When you talk to any African leader, they will tell you that when disaster strikes, when bridges are washed away, they are not able to rebuild those roads, those bridges without greater ease, without imposing a great debt burden on those economies."

But he said that finance remained a massive barrier to addressing the challenge.

"Innovative financing and insurance mechanisms must be put in place by the global community, including international financial institutions, development banks and the private sector, to scale up funding for disaster prevention and post-disaster reconstruction."

Ministers and other high-level delegates are expected to spend the day in closed-door meetings discussing this and South Africa’s other priorities including the debt burden on emerging economies and global economic growth.