Almot Maqolo, Staff Writer 
PARLIAMENT has confirmed Zimbabwe’s ratification of the Africa Risk Capacity (ARC) Treaty, an AU initiative that seeks to help member states improve their capacity to deal with extreme weather events and natural disasters.
Treasury will now tie up the process through some legislative and administrative processes.
Ratifying the agreement will allow the Zimbabwe to fully access support for climate risks and epidemics, including a US$32 million payout from the African Union Climate Insurance Agency to combat drought effects.
The National Assembly’s Budget and finance committee chairperson, Clemence Chiduwa, emphasised the ARC programme’s importance.
“The ARC programme has already demonstrated its value and will provide timely payouts… to support the affected communities.”
He also called for adequate national budgetary allocations to cover ARC premiums.
While acknowledging the significance of the payout, Environment, Climate and Tourism parliamentary committee chairperson, Joana Mamombe, noted that more resources were needed.
“It is disheartening to note that these payouts, though significant, are insufficient to cover all affected areas and individuals…we call for more resources to be mobilised.”
ARC head of government services for East and southern Africa, Koffi Konin, highlighted the importance of collaboration in addressing natural disasters.
“The amount of the risk is high… so, only a small portion of the risk… is transferred… in the case of Zimbabwe, we’re talking about 43 percent of the risk, but the government alone would have been like less than 15 percent. So, you see, that is valuable collaboration.”
Despite the benefits, the ARC Treaty ratification process has been slow, with only 13 out of 38 signatory countries having ratified it so far.
