OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Wednesday 11.30am.
ZIMBABWE needs at least $7.9-million (Z$300-million) to repair damaged roads, bridges and other infrastructure damaged, says Local Government and National Housing Minister John Nkomo.
Thousands of Zimbabweans faced starvation because food distribution has been rendered virtually impossible in some areas.
Opposition parties and official sources in Zimbabwe’s civil protection division say the government’s disaster management programme has been hit seriously by a severe shortage of fuel and helicopters.
They accused the government of concentrating resources on the war effort in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where President Robert Mugabe is supporting Congo President Laurent Kabila against an 18-month old rebellion.
Asked on Tuesday why more helicopters and other resources were not being made available to the unit, Nkomo told reporters: “We keeping submitting our requests everyday… I am not in charge of the army.”
He said at least 300000 people had been left homeless, while the eastern province of Manicaland which, with Masvingo and Matabeleland South, has been hardest-hit by the floods and Cyclone Eline.
He called again for international assistance.
Zimbabwe’s National Chamber of Commerce officials in Manicaland said most roads and bridges remained unusable, making deliveries of supplies impossible in most areas.
State power utility ZESA has also failed to restore electricity in several parts of the province because its engineers cannot get to affected places.
Officials have so far reported 63 deaths, including 34 people whose bus was swept away while attempting to cross a flooded river last Friday.
Zimbabwe is already struggling with its worst economic crisis in two decades.