By Martin Muleya
MUTARE, Zimbabwe. (News of The South ( – – The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development through its various parastatals made a donation to Cyclone IDAI victims, worth thousands of dollars.
Addressing the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs in Manicaland during the handover of the various goods, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development Joel Biggie Matiza said all his parastatals had not come as infrastructure people but had come to make the donation on humanitarian grounds.
“Today we are not coming as roads or infrastructure people but we have come on a humanitarian side. We have come as a family, as you are aware there are many parastatals under my ministry. We have organised that we present at one occasion like this, since all the parastatals have contributed what they have and we pray this will go a long way to alleviate problems that our relatives, friends, brothers and sisters are facing through this Cyclone Idai disaster,” said Matiza.
Air Zimbabwe and Central Vehicle Registry (CRV) donated clothes and groceries while Zimbabwe National Road Authority (ZINARA) came in with large quantities of school stationery as well as sanitary pads.
Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) chipped in with 1437 soup plates and 384 bellied pots, Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) donated lots of school stationery while National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) offered free haulage trucks with trailers as transport for all the goods to be ferried to the Cyclone IDAI affected areas, were some of the parastatals that donated to the cause.
Matiza highlighted that apart from making the donation through the various parastatals, it was his ministry that was seized with the responsibility of making sure that the roads and bridges have been reconstructed for the affected areas to be accessible by roads.
In her acceptance speech of the donations from the various parastatals under Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development, the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs in Manicaland Dr. Ellen Gwaradzimba conceded that cyclone IDAI came in a way that Government never anticipated destroying various properties as well.
“We thought this was a cyclone we were accustomed to, like Cyclone Eline and Cyclone Japhet where we would witness a lot of rains. But this time around the cyclone impacted on our communities heavily and current statistics say 339 people lost their lives, 347 missing and 158 dead bodies were found in Mozambique and were buried there,” said Gwaradzimba.
She however lamented that the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development was the ministry that had been heavily affected most, in terms of damage apart from the human life also lost.
It is nearly a month now, after Cyclone IDAI left a trail of destruction in the Eastern province of the country and already the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development has managed to complete 98 percent of the roads construction albeit not permanently.
Many big and small bridges were extensively damaged infrastructure.
“Today we are witnessing the humanitarian side of Minister Matiza and his family of parastatals and individuals. They are responsible for the repairing and construction of bridges and roads in the country. They have done a good job and almost 98 percent of the infrastructure has been restored albeit not permanently but to make the roads passable so as to move volumes of goods reach the intended affected areas. There are few areas like Vhimba and Chikukwa where it is still not possible to reach those areas by road,” lamented Gwaradzimba.
Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) Managing Director Obio Chinyere also weighed in reiterating that it was critical for every Zimbabwean to support Cyclone Idai victims holed in Chimanimani district through extending donations in cash or kind.
“It is critical as Zimbabweans that we continue to support cyclone IDAI victims. The effects of the cyclone have long term effects. Let moments like these be not just an event but a continuous process as we have young children who are now orphans and they desperately need our help, said the TSCZ boss.
Minister Gwaradzimba also took the opportunity to warn those who are pocketing donated Cyclone Idai goods that Government will not have sacred cows among its rank and file as they will let the law take its course.
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