MP donates to cyclone victims

Walter Mswazie in BIKITA
Bikita East National Assembly member Cde Elias Musakwa has donated foodstuffs, clothes and blankets worth more than $100 000 to victims of Cyclone Idai, as more donations continue to pour in following the tragedy.

The development comes as the number of homeless families in the district has risen to 800 from 600.

Speaking after handing over the donated items at Bikita Training centre last week, Cde Musakwa said the community was still devastated as a result of the natural disaster which left five people dead and affected 6 000 homes in the province.

Cde Musakwa also said the number of families left homeless were about 800 from the original 600 after further assessments were done by councillors in the wards.

“As the MP for the constituency, working with other stakeholders, I have mobilised this consignment you see here worth about $100 000,” he said.

“However, this is a drop in the ocean considering the magnitude of the problem at hand.

“When the initial assessment was done on the number of homes destroyed by Cyclone Idai , some households were left out.

‘‘After another assessment was done and it was realised that the number of destroyed homes was at least 800 and not 600 that had initially been identified.”

Cde Musakwa said the extent of the problem in Bikita had been under-reported, as the district leadership discovered that more people were in need of assistance than what had been indicated before.

“These villagers you see here represent those families whose houses were completely destroyed by the Cyclone Idai.

‘‘ However, there are those who now stay in fowl runs while others are squashed in huts after some of their houses were destroyed.

“In actual fact the extent of the problem here has been under-reported and do not forget that we lost five people in the phenomena and several got injured.

‘‘I had to assist the injured to get medical attention, by providing transport and looking for doctors,” he said.

He hailed Government for its swift response to the problem in Bikita, but challenged sons and daughters of the district to provide assistance to the affected families.

The cyclone left a trail of destruction across Masvingo particularly in Bikita, Zaka, Chiredzi and Masvingo districts where homes and infrastructure such as roads, schools and bridges were damaged.