Disasters are common in South Africa and beyond, but they are becoming more frequent and intense. In 2021, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report identified the SADC region as a climate change hotspot, and global warming can be said to increase the risk of epidemic infectious diseases like COVID-19.
In July 2024, Trialogue and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) presented a webinar exploring how companies can invest more strategically in disaster risk reduction. The panelists included Tebogo Molefe (manager of CSI at the IDC), Dr Moses Khangale (Manager: Stakeholder Programmes at Santam) and Kopano Masilo (head of the Pretoria Cluster, International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement).
The panel discussion was moderated by Trialogue’s thought leadership manager, Sheldon Morais.
CSI support for disaster relief
More than 62% of companies surveyed by Trialogue in 2023 indicated they support disaster relief, but only 6% of total CSI spend (R11.8 billion) is allocated to this development sector.
Most CSI funds (64%) are allocated to emergency response, with only 16% directed towards rebuilding disaster-affected communities, and 6% directed towards preventative efforts. However, the United Nations has indicated that disaster risk reduction and resilience building will become increasingly important as climate-related risks intensify.
Agile, adaptive relief initiatives
The IDC’s CSI programmes focus on education and skills development, developing entrepreneurs, and consumer The IDC’s CSI programmes focus on education and skills development, developing entrepreneurs, and consumer education – however, the national development finance institution also has a strategic portfolio for initiatives that fall outside of these focus areas.
In 2022, it set up a R500 million Flood Relief Fund in KwaZulu-Natal.
“R400 million supported affected businesses, and about 60% of the R40 million allocated to our CSI initiatives went towards immediate relief for communities, while 40% went towards rebuilding infrastructure,” said Molefe. “This included affected Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres – one of our focus areas.”
Despite having an annual budget, the IDC is flexible and can request additional funds for an intervention, if necessary, Molefe said. She noted that the IDC is also agile – it recently set up a committee to approve the rapid release of funds during the recent flooding in the Western Cape.
Dr Khangale told webinar attendees that disaster risk management is central to Santam’s core business and falls within the ambit of the company’s Partnership for Risk and Resilience programme. This focuses on strengthening risk management with selected municipalities, prioritising disaster relief relating to fire, floods, and drought. However, it also focuses on capacity building, disaster preparedness, and climate change adaptation. CSI initiatives are managed by a separate CSI department.
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRC) is the largest humanitarian network in the world, with a mandate to prevent and alleviate human suffering among those facing disaster, conflict, health and social challenges.
Masilo, who heads up the Pretoria Cluster, says ICRC member are trained as first responders but also “invest in resilience building and anticipatory actions – for example, we look at how to improve early warning systems, which helps to reduce the cost of relief”.
Thinking strategically about disaster response
For companies that want to invest in disaster response, there are several strategies that will make such investments more impactful.
The first is collaboration. “Without strategic partnerships, you are doomed to failure,” Molefe noted. However, Masilo said it can take time to establish these: “It’s a long process because it’s about relationships.”
Dr Khangale urged companies to partner with government before disasters occur, particularly as the bulk of the work is often done pre-disaster, and relief is “down the value chain”. He said it is vital to become an active member of a provincial or district forum, which helps when disaster hits and you want to ascertain the needs on the ground, as well as avoid duplicating effort.
“Everyone wants to distribute food parcels, but there are other critical needs not being addressed, such as plastic sheeting for temporary roofing,” he pointed out.
Masilo said companies should consider getting involved in some of the capacity-building activities the ICRC carries out. “Even when there is no disaster, we are always at work, building systems and training volunteers,” he said. The ICRC has a youth programme and recruits and trains volunteers with a view to creating employment – for example, young people who pass the First Aid course can offer training to corporates. ICRC partnered with FoodForward SA’s youth skills programme with a view to tackling youth unemployment.
Another strategy is for companies to use their convening power to mobilise other corporates.
“It’s difficult for communities working with a specific company to approach another company; but it’s easy for a business to invite other stakeholders, and mobilise additional resources,” said Dr Khangale. However, he cautioned companies against working with organisations that are not mandated to work within communities.
“You want to be sure an organisation remains within the community and your interventions are institutionalised,” he said. “Ideally, they should remain in place beyond your presence, or be integrated into municipal development plans.”
Companies with a presence in these communities, such as wholesalers or hardware stores, could consider putting together “starters packs”, as part of their CSI initiatives, “to assist communities to rebuild after a disaster”, said Dr Khangale. And while it’s vital to allocate financial resources to disaster relief – even if these aren’t used – in-kind donations and other types of support, such as logistics, are also appreciated, Molefe said.
Finally, melding initiatives with CSI projects, such as skills development, can help to alleviate unemployment as well as make communities that little bit safer.
Recommendations for companies and NPOs
Each delegate shared their ‘top tips’ on how corporates and NPOs can improve their disaster relief efforts:
Molefe said companies need to be more flexible in their requirements, while NPOs need to help provide training and capacity in communities to help them become more resilient.
Dr Khangale recommended that companies get involved in community-based disaster reduction initiatives to help reduce risk, while NPOs should engage local authorities to streamline their contributions.
Masilo asked companies to look at the humanitarian industry as an investment while urging NPOs to establish branches of their organisations in communities and use technology to mitigate risk.
Find out more
Explore the disaster relief topic on the Trialogue Knowledge Hub.
Read Climate change impacts in South Africa: What climate change means for a country and its people, a scientific synthesis led by the University of Cape Town.
Explore our monthly webinars for further insights into developmental topics.
