31 Mar 2019

Botswana is one of the first African countries to send humanitarian aid for the victims of Tropical Cyclone Idai, in Mozambique.

The aid, delivered last week,  included five pallets of corned beef, consisting of 480 trays of corned beef, 1 200 bags of 5kg maize meal, 500 cartons of cooking oil, 10 tonnes of tsabana infant porridge, 2 000 table spoons, 2 000 coffee mugs and 2 000 dinner plates.

The devastating storm flood ravaged the City of Beira in the province of Sofala, as well as provinces of Tete, Manica and Zambezi before leaving for some parts of Zimbabwe and Malawi last week.

Botswana Ambassador to Mozambique, Mr Gobe Pitso said the support was born out of the bond that existed between the two countries. “In Africa we are among the very first countries to respond, we are nearby neighbours,” Ambassador Pitso said in an interview.

Therefore, he said the people of Botswana deserved to be commended for their efforts in assisting the people of Mozambique during the calamity, adding that the response time taken by the government was a clear sign of profound leadership and it was critical as more delay would have had severe impact on the victims.

Mr Pitso stated that during the time of the disaster occurrence, there were about five Batswana on personal errands in Mozambique.

However, he said all have been traced and managed to travel back home, despite that there were at times challenges due to communication breakdown as a result of destruction.

A representative of Mozambique government, Mr Commando Zandamela said the assistance from Botswana did not come as a surprise, owing to Botswana and Mozambique relationship, saying the assistance would go a long way in alleviating suffering and hunger from the people who were desperately in need.

Further, he added that the magnitude of the destruction had surpassed previous disasters recorded in the country and would be recorded in history as the worst to hit the country.

The National Institute for Disaster Management Coordinator office manager, Mr Bonifacio Antonio confirmed that four provinces in the country were affected, which resulted in 468 deaths.

He said about 160 289 families were affected by the disaster, as well as 3 079 classrooms, 98 971 students and 54 health facilities.

Mr Antonio said rescue missions continued to assess the damage on the ground, adding that priority was to assist those in need of accommodation, food, health services as well as have schools opened. 

However, he regretted that the country was recording cases of diarrhoea, malaria and cholera, which could exacerbate the health situation. ends