PM, experts discuss disaster prevention

The Prime Minister, Pierre Damien Habumuremyi on Friday held discussions with international weather experts about the implementation of mechanisms to predict adverse weather conditions and disasters in order to protect the country’s development plans.The discussions which also attracted several government officials at the PM’s office were also designed to link Rwanda to international companies that design meteorological equipment.“Adverse climate change is a problem that has destroyed the development of many nations and which Rwanda must plan never to face without being prepared,” Grant Foote, the Associate Director of National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), said in an interview shortly after the meeting.He added: “We are here to check how modern emergency systems can be put in place, whereby, knowledge about a pending natural disaster is tackled with fast and direct emergency services.”NCAR is an international institute based in the US that conducts studies in meteorology, climate science, solar-terrestrial interactions, environmental and societal impacts.Joan Clos, the Executive Director of United Nations Human Settlements Programme, who had a separate meeting with the PM, commended the urbanization plans of Rwandan cities, adding that they are crucial to development.“Urbanization comes at a cost and must be implemented with care to ensure that populations are not marginalized but rather gain much from it, through the creation of jobs and living in planned housing,” he said.“From what I have seen so far, the urbanization plan of Kigali is spot on because it has put environmental factors in good consideration, while at the same time, minimizing the cost of population resettlement.”The Minister of Infrastructure, Albert Nsengiyunva, said that plans to develop a modern meteorological centre are underway.