Chapter 10:06

Civil Protection Act

Acts 5/1989, 3/1992, 22/2001 (s. 4).

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

PART I

PRELIMINARY Section

1. Short title.

PART II

DIRECTOR OFCIVILPROTECTION 3. Director of Civil Protection.

PART III

NATIONALCIVILPROTECTION COMMITTEE

4. National Civil Protection Committee.
5. Meetings and procedure of Committee.
6. Subcommittees of Committee.
7. Remuneration and expenses of members of Committee and members of subcommittees.
8. Minutes of proceedings of Committee and subcommittee.

PART IV

PLANNINGCOMMITTEES AND CIVILPROTECTION PLANS

9. Planning committees.
10. Remuneration and expenses of members of planning committees.
11. Civil protection plans.

PART V

PROVINCIAL ORGANIZATION OF CIVILPROTECTION

12. Civil protection provinces.
13. Provincial civil protection officers and assistant provincial civil protection officers.
14. Functions of provincial civil protection officers and assistant provincial civil protection officers.
15. Appointment of committees and delegation of powers by provincial civil protection officers.

PART VI

AREA ORGANIZATION OF CIVIL PROTECTION

16. Civil protection areas.
17. Area civil protection officers and assistant area civil protection officers.
18. Functions of area civil protection officers and assistant area civil protection officers.
19. Appointment of committees and delegation of powers by area civil protection officers.

PART VII

GENERAL POWERS OF CIVIL PROTECTION OFFICERS

21. Interpretation in Part VII.
22. Orders by civil protection officers.
23. Power of civil protection officers to requisition land and property.
24. Drivers permits
25. Reimbursement and indemnification of persons employed in civil protection.
26. Disability benefits.

PART VIII

DECLARATION OFSTATE OF DISASTER

27. Declaration of state of disaster.
28. Communication to Parliament.

PART IX

NATIONALCIVILPROTECTION FUND

29. Establishment of Fund.
30. Advances to Fund.
31. Objects of Fund.
32. Application of Fund.
33. Estimates of expenditure.
34. Limits on expenditure from Fund.
35. Accounts and audit of Fund. 36. Holding of Fund 37.       Financial year.

PART X

GENERAL 38.      Minister may take over certain powers and duties during disaster.

39. Minister’s directions to Director.
40. Recovery of expenses incurred by State.
42. Burials during disaster.
43. Failure to comply with order or instruction.

AN ACT to establish a civil protection organization and provide for the operation of civil protection services in times of disaster; to provide for the establishment of a fund to finance civil protection; and to provide for matters connected with or incidental to the foregoing.

[Date of commencement: 1st August, 1989.]

PART I

PRELIMINARY

1    Short title

This Act may be cited as the Civil Protection Act [Chapter 10:06].

                       2    Interpretation

In this Act—

“area civil protection officer” means an area civil protection officer referred to in section seventeen;

“assistant area civil protection officer” means an assistant area civil protection officer referred to in section seventeen;

“assistant provincial civil protection officer” means an assistant provincial civil protection officer referred to in section thirteen;

“civil protection” means any service provided or measure taken for the purpose of preparing for, guarding against or dealing with any actual or potential disaster;

“civil protection area” means a civil protection area established in terms of section sixteen;

“civil protection organization” means an organization established for the provision and implementation of civil protection in any civil protection province or civil protection area;

“civil protection province” means a civil protection province declared in terms of section twelve;

“Committee” means the National Civil Protection Committee established in terms of section four;

“Director” means the Director of Civil Protection referred to in section three;

“disaster” means any—

• natural disaster, major accident or other event howsoever caused; or
• destruction, pollution or scarcity of essential supplies; or
• disruption of essential services; or
• influx of refugees; or
• plague or epidemic of disease; that threatens the life or well-being of the community;

“Fund” means the National Civil Protection Fund established by section twenty-nine;

“local authority” means—

• a municipal council, town council, rural district council or local board; or
• in relation to a local government area for which no local board has been established, any person in whom or authority in which the administration, control or management of such area has been vested;

“Minister” means the Minister of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development or any other Minister to whom the President may, from time to time, assign the administration of this Act;

“planning committee” means a planning committee appointed in terms of section nine;

“provincial civil protection officer” means a provincial civil protection officer referred to in section thirteen;

“Secretary” means the Secretary of the Ministry for which the Minister is responsible;

“state of disaster” means a disaster declared in terms of section twenty-seven;

“statutory body” means—

• any Commission established by the Constitution; or
• any body corporate established directly by or under any Act for special purposes specified in that Act, the membership of which consists wholly or mainly of persons appointed by the President, a Vice-President or a Minister;

“volunteer” means a person who has applied to be a volunteer and whose name is entered in a register of volunteers in terms of section twenty.

PART II

DIRECTOR OFCIVILPROTECTION

                       3    Director of Civil Protection

• There shall be a Director of Civil Protection whose office shall be a public office and form part of the Public Service.
• Subject to this Act, the Director shall have the following functions—
• directing the establishment of civil protection organizations in civil protection provinces and civil protection areas;
• controlling and directing personnel, materials and services for the purposes of this Act;
• advising and assisting provincial civil protection officers and area civil protection officers in the performance of their duties in terms of this Act;
• co-ordinating the training of personnel for civil protection purposes;
• co-ordinating the planning and execution generally of civil protection;
• promoting research into matters relating to civil protection and disseminating information on matters relating to civil protection to civil protection provinces and civil protection areas;
• advising the Minister on all matters relating to civil protection;
• performing any other function relating to civil protection that may be assigned to him by this Act or by the Minister.

PART III

NATIONALCIVILPROTECTION COMMITTEE

                       4    National Civil Protection Committee

• For the purposes of this Act, there shall be a National Civil Protection Committee.
• The Committee shall consist of—
• the Director, who shall be the chairman; and
• the Secretary for Health; and
• the Commissioner of Police; and
• the Commanders of the various branches of the Defence Forces; and
• the Secretary-General of the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society; and
• the Director of Prisons; and
• the Director of Civil Aviation; and
• a representative of fire brigades established by local authorities, appointed by the Minister for such period as the Minister may fix; and
• three other members appointed by the Minister for their experience in matters of civil protection, who shall hold office for such periods and on such terms and conditions as the Minister may fix.
• Where a member of the Committee referred to in paragraphs (b) to (g) of subsection (2) is unable to attend any meeting thereof, he may direct the person who normally deputises for him to attend in his place and such deputy may exercise all the functions of the member concerned.
• The functions of the Committee shall be—
• to advise and assist the Director in the planning and implementation of measures for the establishment, maintenance and effective operation of civil protection;
• to review from time to time the measures referred to in paragraph (a);
• to consider plans prepared by planning committees in terms of section eleven.

                       5    Meetings and procedure of Committee

• The Committee shall hold its first meeting on such date and at such place as the Minister shall fix and thereafter the Committee shall meet for the dispatch of business and adjourn, close and otherwise regulate its meetings and procedures as it thinks fit.
• The chairman of the Committee may himself at any time convene a meeting, and shall at the request in writing of not fewer than two members, convene a special meeting of the Committee, which special meeting shall be convened for a date not sooner than seven days nor later than thirty days after receipt of such request.
• If at a meeting of the Committee the chairman is absent, the members present may elect one of their number to preside at that meeting as chairman.
• A majority of members shall form a quorum at a meeting of the Committee.
• All acts, matters or things authorized or required to be done by the Committee may be decided by a majority vote at a meeting of the Committee at which a quorum is present.
• At all meetings of the Committee each member present shall have one vote on each question before the Committee and, in the event of an equality of votes, the chairman shall have a casting vote in addition to a deliberative vote.
• Any proposal circulated among all members and agreed to in writing by a majority of all members shall be of the same effect as a resolution passed at a duly constituted meeting of the Committee and shall be incorporated in the minutes of the next succeeding meeting of the Committee:

Provided that, if a member requires that such proposal be placed before a meeting of the Committee, this subsection shall not apply to such proposal.