OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday 7.00pm.
ZIMBABWE’s minister of transport and energy resigned on Friday, saying he is unable to alleviate a critical fuel shortage in the country, worsened by heavy floods in the region.
Petrol stations are running dry across Zimbabwe as floods and rain cut back fuel deliveries.
All South African border posts with Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique are closed.
Road traffic between South Africa and Zimbabwe came to a standstill when Beit Bridge, the main bridge between the two countries, was flooded.
“Most of the vital things we need, such as fuel, come on this road,” said Zimbabwe’s Deputy High Commissioner Danson Mudekunye.
“The situation is getting worse,” police spokeswoman Ronel Otto said on Friday.
Heavy rains brought by Cyclone Eline have drenched large parts of southern Africa, including the Northern Province, since Wednesday. The death toll in that province has risen to 23.
“We have people stuck all over the place in Northern Province,” Otto said. “We are being inundated with calls of people trapped in trees, on roofs and on roads.”
Police, army and air force personnel are attempting to reach those trapped, either on foot or by air.
She said Beit Bridge, the main border post connecting South Africa and Zimbabwe, is closed after an access road on the South African side was washed away overnight.
Otto could not say how long the border post, one of Africa’s busiest, would be out of commission.
She had received no further reports of deaths resulting from the rains and floods, but warned that the full extent of the “chaos” had yet to be assessed due to communication difficulties. — AFP