Online Reporter
Debra Matabvu, [email protected]
GOVERNMENT has begun dispatching contingency grain to provinces and districts nationwide after President Mnangagwa ordered the release of emergency food stocks in response to rainfall‑induced disasters affecting parts of the country.
As a precautionary measure, President Mnangagwa last week ordered that each of the 10 provinces receive 50 tonnes of grain to cushion communities should conditions worsen.
Countries across southern Africa have, in recent weeks, been hit by heavy rains, resulting in widespread flooding that has displaced communities, destroyed infrastructure and disrupted access to essential services.
As a result, President Mnangagwa temporarily broke his annual leave last week to lead high level co-ordination of Zimbabwe’s domestic and regional disaster response efforts following destructive rains that affected parts of the country, Mozambique and Malawi. Local areas affected by recent flooding include Mashonaland Central, Matabeleland South and parts of Masvingo.
President Mnangagwa activated both local and regional emergency food assistance measures, in addition to deploying air rescue helicopters to Mozambique.
In Zimbabwe, affected communities in areas such as Chipinge have begun receiving grain after torrential rains and strong winds battered Manicaland, damaging critical public infrastructure and destroying homes.
In an interview, Civil Protection Unit (CPU) chief director Mr Nathan Nkomo said all Grain Marketing Board depots across the country had been notified of the President’s directive and that districts in need had already begun accessing grain.
“After pronouncement by His Excellency President Mnangagwa, we wrote to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) about the directive and that grain should be set aside in various depots across the country. So, in a nutshell, District Development Co-ordinators can now access that grain, on demand or need basis, and they can use that letter to access the grain when they are in need of it,” he said.
Mr Nkomo added that GMB depots were now fully prepared to release grain.
“So far, we have received a call from Chipinge and they informed us that they are going to access grain, which will be distributed to Mutema Musikavanhu constituency,” he said.
President Mnangagwa has also placed the CPU on full alert, supported by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, health services and other Government departments involved in disaster preparedness and response.
In addition, President Mnangagwa last week dispatched consignments of humanitarian aid — including maize, tents and blankets — to Mozambique and Malawi. Zimbabwe also deployed two fully equipped air rescue helicopters to Mozambique to assist with emergency evacuations of families and individuals stranded by rising floodwaters.
The assistance is being co-ordinated through ZimAid, a Government established humanitarian assistance mechanism designed to mobilise and channel Zimbabwe’s support to other countries during emergencies.
ZimAid operates under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, working in close collaboration with the CPU and private sector partners.
Sidumisile Mabena