Contingency Planning

‘Contingency Planning’ is a phrase that is much in vogue around Nairobi at the moment. With the elections just 4 days away (March 4th), and the memories of what happened after the December 2007 elections rather too fresh in people’s minds, organisations and embassies have been issuing contingency plan recommendations. To give an idea of the sort of thing being talked about, here’s a sample of items to think about as listed by an advanced driving school in Nairobi, which sends out various security updates.

• Do you have enough non-perishable food supplies in your pantry in case movement is restricted during that time?
• Extra bottled water is essential. Have at least a 5-day supply per person in your pantry. Eleven litres per person per day will give you enough to drink, for limited cooking and personal hygiene.
• Will you be able to cook if electricity is shut off for an extended period? Consider alternatives. Having a full gas cylinder plus a spare, as well as charcoal and firewood should also be on hand. Extra matches are a must!
• What about lighting for your home if there are extended power cuts? Do you have candles? Batteries for torches? Solar lamps or other methods of lighting? If you have a generator, do you have sufficient fuel?
• Can you charge your mobile phone if the power is off for extended periods?
• If you or your staff, have pre-paid SIM cards, do you have spares available? What happens if phone service is cut off? Do you have alternative methods of communicating with loved ones?
• Do you have a bag packed with essential items in case you have to evacuate your home in a hurry? Remember to include each member of your family and consider any special need requirements.
• Do you have a list of emergency point-of-contact phone numbers both in your car and on your person?
• Is your vehicle ready in case of an emergency evacuation? When is the last time it was serviced? Is it full of fuel?
• Do you have enough cash? Is it enough to last a month? Divide your cash and put it in separate areas of your home, don't keep it all in one place.
• What about all of your important documents? They should be stored in safety deposit boxes or other secure locations. Consider making scanned copies and emailing them to yourself in case you lose the originals. Important documents include passports, insurance policies, family records (marriage and birth certificates), land title deeds, bank cards, etc.

We’ve also spent quite a bit of time discussing this at work, both related to personal contingency plans, and for the organization itself. With an emergency phone chain in place, everyone can be contacted quickly (assuming phone lines are operating). We’ve been busy ensuring that absolutely everything is backed up, and that important documents are scanned. The office will be closed for 3 days (election day itself is a national holiday anyway) so that people can stay home and not be moving around the city, other than to vote. Come Thursday, we’ll see how the land lies as to whether business resumes as usual or not.
It really is a lot to think about, and in some ways, even thinking about this sort of thing can engender anxiety and fear, though we all hope that none of it will be needed. But it would be pretty bad not to have planned in this way, and then a crisis erupt. It reminds me of the contingency planning that took place before Y2K. It turned out then that the computers didn’t all crash as the clock struck midnight on the night of December 31^st 1999. I’m hoping that this will prove to be as uneventful as that was, and that I’ll be just using up the additional food, water, batteries, candles, phone credit, toilet paper etc etc gradually over time, whilst still being able to shop for fresh produce.