By Evans Dakwa
Government has assured Zimbabweans and the international community at large that drought relief support will be distributed to all deserving citizens without any discrimination, a bold statement to quell reports of partisan distribution of relief aid that have dogged previous interventions.
The assurance was made by the Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Honourable Daniel Garwe in a joint communication with the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Zimbabwe, Mr Edward Kallon at a signing ceremony of the Drought Flash Appeal with the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator.
“The Government and humanitarian partners are committed to ensuring that the humanitarian principles of impartiality, neutrality, independence and humanity are respected in implementing the activities in the Humanitarian Appeal. The Government of Zimbabwe and the UN are committed to further strengthening our partnership for an effective and efficient delivery of humanitarian assistance under our overall promise to Leave No One and No Place Behind,” said the Minister.
He went on to urge the international community to continue supporting Zimbabwe’s drought relief efforts and this initiative (humanitarian Appeal) which is looking at providing immediate needs, recovery and resilience building of the affected populace.
“In this stride, there is a moral obligation and an urgency for the international community to lend a hand for life-saving support to those most in need. We are thankful to the development and humanitarian partners for the generous support to date,” he added.
The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works chairs the cabinet committee on Environment, Disaster Prevention and Management, which is spearheading the Government’s efforts to mitigate the impact of the drought. The drought alleviation interventions will be conducted within the Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Coordination Architecture which spans from community / Traditional leadership up to the Cabinet level with a view to avoid duplication of interventions by all sectors and the partners.