Government has begun deploying contingency grain to provinces and districts nationwide after President Emmerson Mnangagwa ordered the release of emergency food stocks to cushion communities affected by rainfall-induced disasters.
As a precautionary measure, President Mnangagwa last week directed that each of Zimbabwe’s 10 provinces receive 50 tonnes of grain to ensure food availability should flooding and infrastructure damage worsen.
Speaking in an interview, yesterday, Civil Protection Unit (CPU) Chief Director, Nathan Nkomo, said all Grain Marketing Board (GMB) depots across the country had been notified of the President’s directive and were now prepared to release grain to districts in need.
“After the pronouncement by His Excellency President Mnangagwa, we wrote to the Grain Marketing Board about the directive and that grain should be set aside in various depots across the country,” said Mr Nkomo.
“District development coordinators can now access that grain on a need basis, using official correspondence, whenever circumstances demand,” he said.
The move comes as persistent heavy rains continue to affect parts of southern Africa, resulting in flooding, displacement of communities and damage to critical infrastructure. Within Zimbabwe, areas impacted include Mashonaland Central, Matabeleland South, parts of Masvingo and Manicaland.
Nkomo said communities in severely affected districts had already begun receiving assistance, with Chipinge among the first to access emergency grain.
“So far, we have received a call from Chipinge, and they informed us that they are going to access grain, which will be distributed to Mutema Musikavanhu constituency,” he said.
In response to the unfolding situation, President Mnangagwa temporarily broke his annual leave last week to lead high-level coordination of domestic and regional disaster response efforts.
He has since placed the CPU on full alert, supported by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, health services and other Government departments involved in disaster preparedness and emergency response.
Beyond Zimbabwe’s borders, Government has also extended humanitarian assistance to Mozambique and Malawi which are affected by the same weather system. The regional assistance is being coordinated through ZimAid, a Government-established humanitarian assistance mechanism operating under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in collaboration with the CPU and private sector partners.
