Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002)Chapter 7 : Disaster Management Volunteers58. 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. |