Some Perspectives on Constitutional Conflict in Local Disaster Management through the Lens of Pheko v Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality 2012 2 SA 598 (CC)

Abstract

Socially created vulnerabilities are largely ignored in the hazards and disaster literature because they are so difficult to measure and quantify. Social vulnerability is partially a product of social inequities – those social factors and forces that create the susceptibility of various groups to harm, and in turn affect their ability to respond, and bounce back (resilience) after the disaster. But it is more than that. Social vulnerability involves the basic provision of health care, the liveability of places, overall indicators of quality of life, and accessibility to lifelines (goods, services, emergency response personnel), capital, and political representation.