$100m for rebuilding after Idai
“In the medium-term, to carry out a disaster vulnerability assessment of the Eastern Highlands area, with particular focus on the Chimanimani and Chipinge districts, to come up with a contingency plan which should address issues of land use planning, appropriate housing designs and construction, and where necessary, the relocation of schools and residential settlements; and to carry out measures to strengthen national disaster response systems, including expediting the establishment of a centre for monitoring disaster response system.”
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Manicaland Affairs Dr Ellen Gwaradzimba yesterday said the damage that had been inflicted in Chimanimani would take time to correct and needed to be handled by experts who would work with Government. “In the majority of areas, repairs and maintenance is no longer possible and there is need for complete reconstruction. We are trying to put up a proper system because this is a big project that is going to be ongoing for some time. We require engineers who specialise in the construction of bridges, roads, water, power as well as doctors who will be working on this project,” she said.
Dr Gwaradzimba said Government needed a proper management system that would look at the immediate needs as well as the medium and long term issues.
“We are in the process of compiling a list of experts and skills we require to put the system in order. Most of our attention has been directed at rescue operations for the victims of the cyclone but we still have a province to run, we do not want all other activities to stop. We will put a structured management system so that my role will be to monitor and coordinate and not be on the ground all time so that we continue to carry out other activities,” said Dr Gwaradzimba.
She said an IT expert had already been seconded to the provincial CPU and he would be responsible for coming up with a ICT system that would track all projects that needed to be carried out and their status. “Project Cyclone Idai will be running for a while because like I said, some roads need a complete reconstruction and there is need for relocation of those people, so the amount of infrastructure and other amenities will take a bit of time to put in place,” she said.
The Minister said Government wanted to also come up with a sustainable method of assisting the victims of Cyclone Idai to ensure that they become self-reliant again and not always rely on food handouts.
UN resident coordinator, Mr Bishow Parajuli, urged Government to quickly come up with an inventory of the infrastructure that had been destroyed to enable development partners to come up with rescue packages that suit the extent of the damage.