President donates to prisons

Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, Chronicle Reporter

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has donated 1 000 litres of hand sanitiser and 500 masks to Khami and Bulawayo Prisons to help curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic at the two prisons.

The two prisons early this year made headlines for being Covid-19 hotspots in Bulawayo as at one time they had 25 prison guards and 76 inmates testing positive to Covid-19.

The hand sanitisers and masks were donated to the President by the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) last month.

The donation was handed over to the two prisons by the Bulawayo Provincial Affairs Minister Cde Judith Ncube.
Speaking at the brief ceremony, Minister Ncube commended Nust for doing Bulawayo proud saying their certified sanitisers have been distributed countrywide to help curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Nust students and members of staff are doing us proud as a province and country as they are contributing a lot to fighting the spread of the pandemic. This donation by the President will go a long way in minimising the exposure of both inmates and prison staff to the pandemic,” said Minister Ncube.

Nust Vice Chancellor Professor Mqhele Dlodlo said the university’s sanitisers and masks had been distributed mainly in the country’s southern region and a few places outside the region.

He said following the outbreak of the pandemic, the university responded by producing products to assist communities protect themselves from the virus.

“These sanitisers have been widely distributed in the southern region and a few other areas. The products passed the Standards Association of Zimbabwe tests and we need the international standard organisations to certify them so that we can start exporting,” he said.

Prof Dlodlo said the university was planning to start producing disinfectants soon. — @thamamoe.