Zimbabwe donates cement toward Freddy recovery
The Zimbabwe government has donated 30 tonnes of cement to the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) to help in rebuilding infrastructure damaged by Tropical Cyclone Freddy.
Speaking when receiving trucks carrying the cement and assorted items, Zimbabwe High Commissioner to Malawi Nancy Saungweme said the donation comes as a continuation of the first donation made by her country.
“We, as a region, should always be ready to support each other when disasters befall us. The first people who are supposed to respond should be neighbours. We should all come together and help a country which is in need. We are related; we are one; our bilateral relations are very strong. So, I think we should always be there for each other,” she said.
Saungweme further called on the two countries to deal with issues of climate change together.
“The two countries should work together to deal with challenges caused by climate change; in particular, we need to strengthen early warning mechanisms to always be prepared to help in case similar disasters arise in the future,” she said.
Receiving the donation, Dodma Deputy Director Fedson Chikuse commended the Southern African Development Community member state for the gesture.
“We cannot manage to handle the recovery process on our own,” he said.
The relief items were mobilised through an initiative by the president of Zimbabwe Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, who constituted a relief committee for Cyclone Freddy to come up with a comprehensive package to assist Malawi.
