Farai Dziva|The country’s main opposition party, MDC A has called on SADC to convene an extraordinary summit to discuss the disastrous effects of Tropical Cyclone Idai.

See the party’ s statement below:

There are three SADC countries which were hard hit by Cyclone Idai.

Thousands of lives have been lost in Mozambique,Malawi and Zimbabwe.
Many people are still unaccounted for,thousands are homeless, survivors are facing many huddles in getting themselves on their feet once more.

They face starvation with no water to drink, they were subjected to serious psychological torture resulting in psychological inflammation.

Countless families are homeless, villages were wiped off, roads, clinics, schools and bridges were devoured by the aggressive wind and water.

The MDC contends that a lot could have been done considering there is a whole floor dedicated to disaster management at the SADC head office in Botswana.

We have seen individual efforts from member States particularly assistance sent by President Magufuli on behalf of the people of Tanzania. This is much appreciated.

Citizens of SADC countries also coordinated themselves to assist fellow brothers and sisters.

We are of the view that an urgent extra-ordinary summit of SADC should be convened with the view to do the following:

1.To set up an intervention framework to deal with urgent needs including food, health, shelter and essential infrastructure.
2.To review the challenges faced by the department on disaster management at SADC and provide necessary support.

3.To deal with rescue missions specifically in countries lacking in capacity.
4.To put in place urgent mitigation and management measures with information of yet another storm looming.

These being purely key issues, the MDC hopes the absence of the cynicism that comes from perpetual immersion in the region’s plague infested waters of politics, will bring optimism.
MDC: Defining a New Course for Zimbabwe!
Jacob Mafume
MDC National Spokesperson