Zimbabwe’s Mnangagwa says regional countries sending aid after cyclone-induced floods

HARARE, March 19 — Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa said Tuesday that several countries in the Southern African region have indicated their willingness to provide assistance to the country following cyclone-induced floods that have killed 98 people and caused extensive damage to infrastructure.
Speaking in Mutare where he was touring some of the affected areas, the president said the government was now in the process of assessing damage in order to come up with the quantity of assistance required to assist the victims.
“I have come in order to visit the families, communities as well as the infrastructure which has been destroyed so that we can assess and determine what government can do in terms of assistance. We need to make sure we understand the quantum of the devastation in order for us to mobilize resources to deal with the situation,” the president said.
He said he was happy with the response from local people and companies that were also mobilizing support for the victims.
Regionally, he said Tanzania was sending a plane load of materials to assist the victims while several other countries in the region were also eager to chip in with aid.
“We also are going to receive lots of material support from the United Arab Emirates where I had visited and other countries like South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Angola have indicated that they also would want to know what our needs are and we are busy now compiling materials which we think they could assist us with,” Mnangagwa said. – XINHUA