Government, partners meet in Masvingo to tackle migration

George Maponga in Masvingo

Government and its development partners led by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) are holding a stakeholders’ roundtable in Masvingo to tackle challenges and proffer solutions to the increasing problem of forced migration due to climate change.

Of late, there has been a spike in forced migration of people intra-provincially, inter-provincially and even international because of climate change push factors such as floods and depletion of fresh water sources.

It is in that led that Government via the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife and partners led by IOM is holding a stakeholders’ roundtable to come up with interventions to manage forced migration of people in Zimbabwe owing to climate change.

Deputy director in the Climate Change Management Department under the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife Mr Kudzai Ndidzano says the stakeholders meeting seeks to learn from experiences from district development co-ordinators and other senior local Government officials on how the manage forced migration owing to climate change.

“We also hope to come up with recommendations and action plans that will be incorporated in the National Development Strategy 1 to explain how best the challenge of forced migration of people due to climate change will be handled,” he said.

Acting director for Local Government Services in the Midlands province Mr Charlton Murove says forced migration is rampant in his province as people move from flood prone and drought-stricken areas a situation that is being exacerbated by climate change.

Chiredzi District Development Coordinator Mr Lovemore Chisema also weighed in saying cross-border migration into and from Mozambique is increasing as people seek new frontiers for better agricultural land and fresh water sources.