The ManicaPost
Ray Bande Senior Reporter
NEXT week marks exactly a year after the furious Cyclone Idai ravaged the picturesque environs of Chimanimani and Chipinge districts in Manicaland, killing more than 350 people and leaving a trail of destruction.
The economic and humanitarian costs were enormous as the loss of homes, health facilities, schools, roads, bridges, farming land and livelihoods exacerbated poverty, eroded food security and ruined the victims’ lives.
The Ides of March will forever remain etched in the minds and hearts of the survivors.
As the nation reflects on this dark episode, our senior reporter Ray Bande (RB) caught up with Chimanimani East Member of Parliament, Cde Joshua Sacco (JS). Cde Sacco shared his thoughts on the disaster recovery efforts. Read on.
RB: Honourable Sacco, it has been a year since Cyclone Idai swept across Chimanimani and other parts of the province. What is your overview of what has happened since then?
JS: It was on March 14, 2019 when the cyclone hit Chimanimani. The worst hit areas were Cashel Valley and the surrounding areas in the east and Mutsvangwa. The epicentres were in the Ngangu, Machongwe, Peacock and Kopa areas. That is where most damage was suffered, in terms of loss of lives and destruction of infrastructure. It was a traumatic experience for us all as we had never anticipated such a disaster. Following the disaster, Government and its partners flew in helicopters with food, clothes and an assortment of other essentials to assist those who had been marooned for days. We had the army on the ground and President Mnangagwa was in Chimanimani thrice after the cyclone. So we are in the recovery phase now, reconstruction of infrastructure is ongoing across the whole district.
RB: No doubt, Cde Sacco, one of the thorny issues in the recovery efforts following the cyclone is that of accommodation or housing for those who were left homeless. It is a fact that we still have families without roofs over their heads, families that are still living in tents. What is being done to ensure they get decent accommodation?
JS: Indeed, some people whose houses were destroyed during Cyclone Idai are still living in tents. In Ngangu, we have three camps where people are being housed in tents. The process has been long and difficult for us for a number of reasons. First, we had to undertake a survey, a geospatial survey, looking at the geographical location to identify areas that are safe for the people’s relocation. We identified a number of areas, like Green Mount, Park View, Bumba and Nhedziwa. But that process took some time. We later realised that in Green Mount, the water table is too low and the cost of establishing sewage and water reticulation infrastructure and roads would be quite prohibitive. So we zeroed in on Nhedziwa and Bumba. Government’s focus was on The Flats in Ward 7, Bumba. The farm was handed over from the Lands Ministry (Lands, Agriculture, Water, and Rural Resettlement Ministry) to the Local Government Ministry (Local Government and Public Works Ministry) for residential development. At that point, we had a partner who promised to build 500 houses. But at the last minute, we were told the partner had pulled out for a number of reasons, including the ownership of that land. They wanted to own the land themselves, identify the beneficiaries and maybe have title over the development, which I think they failed to agree on with the Government. It was very sad for us. I met President Mnangagwa two weeks ago to discuss this issue, and Government is actually exploring various options in order to construct houses for the displaced people at Nhedziwa. Stands have already been pegged, and roads have already been put in place by Chimanimani Rural District Council, using devolution funds. They are now working on sewage reticulation infrastructure so that people can move in. Some want to stay in Nhedziwa, which is an urban settlement, while others prefer Bumba, which is rural. So it is still work in progress, but I agree that it has taken rather long. However, we have to be very sure that we are moving the people to areas where they will not be affected by future cyclones or floods. If you noticed, a lot of work has been done by NGOs, but none of them have constructed houses for the survivors. That one is a bit sensitive, it is not a short-term issue. You have to deal with water and sewerage networks, road infrastructure, schools and clinic, etcetera.
RB: The issue of damaged infrastructure has been a major talking point in the recovery efforts after Cyclone Idai. What is your take on what has been done so far, as well as what still needs to be done?
JS: Cyclone Idai left a trail of destruction on key infrastructure. It destroyed about 11 bridges from Mhandarume, Nhedziwa, Cashel Valley, Chikukwa, all the way down to Machongwe, Satiya covering Mutsvangwa, around Jopa and Kopa. The list is endless. Government has restored the main access roads from Mutare, Wengezi and Skyline. The bridges between Wengezi and Skyline have been opened. Work between Skyline and Charter is currently underway, with a contractor on site. In the next month or so, we expect that the work will be complete. While we still have some outstanding work, the bridges at Peacock and Machongwe have been repaired, the road from Machongwe-Rusitu-Mission-Kopa has been repaired and gravelled. The road from Nyahoda Junction to Kopa was gravelled as well. So we have a lot of work that has been done so far. True, we still have areas that are outstanding. We still have to work on the Cashel Valley-Chikukwa-Chimanimani road. We have to work on the culverts, drainage and gravelling. A contractor was recently engaged by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development to work on the road. President Mnangagwa said the road from Jopa to Kopa must be tarred so that farmers can easily access the market. This has since been approved and we are waiting for funds to be allocated. Other outstanding areas include Tilbury and Tarka, Outward Bound, the National Parks and Vimba, down to Mutsvangwa. It is work in progress, and I think we have done between 60 and 70 percent of the work so far. I thank Government for putting resources on the table. Development partners are on board filling the gaps, for example the African Development Bank (AfDB)and World Bank, which are looking forward to replacing the Bailey bridges at Kopa with permanent structures.
RB: Honourable Sacco, the issue of quality of work being done in repairing damaged infrastructure has been a subject of intense debate against the backdrop of Government’s policy of Build Back Better (BBB). What is your take?
JS: I think a lot has been done to meet the appropriate standards. Funding is key in the Build Back Better. My desire is to have better infrastructure in Chimanimani.
RB: Water and sanitation are key issues in any disaster response recovery effort. What has been the situation here in Chimanimani?
JS: Chimanimani is a high rainfall area and most of the run-off is gravity driven because of the mountains. Our pipelines have been washed away and we are planning to build stronger pipelines. There are partners that have come to replace piping schemes in schools. We are also appealing to the Government to intervene by drilling boreholes. DDF has also pledged support in drilling boreholes. In areas like Bumba, livestock fails to access water during the dry season. Some areas around Cashel Valley are also dry and need urgent interventions to make water available. The African Development Bank is going to fund a component of waterworks where we will draw water from Bridal Veil Falls to feed Ngangu high-density suburb.
RB: Tourism has been one of the major economic drivers of Chimanimani, at one point surpassing Victoria Falls in terms of international visitors’ numbers. How has it been affected by Cyclone Idai and how have been the recovery efforts?
JS: Tourism was badly affected by the cyclone, especially as the road from one of our prime tourism destinations — Outward Bound — to Chimanimani National Park, still requires attention. We have two bridges that were washed away and still need funding for their repair. We are also looking at the Eland Sanctuary, trying to see how best we can promote these products. There is need to re-fence the park, which is our biggest tourism asset. We are also engaging Government to provide loans to tourism players in Chimanimani to upgrade the lodges and hotels.
RB: What’s happening in the health sector?
JS: After Cyclone Idai, we actually experienced lots of deaths as we do not have a proper district hospital in Chimanimani. We use Mutambara Mission Hospital. We have plans underway to establish the district hospital, with funding from Government.
RB: Honourable Sacco, your parting shot on the way forward, especially on disaster preparedness?
JS: Going forward, we have in our master plan a number of developmental areas that need to be put in place. We have tried to lobby Zinwa to construct a dam along Haroni River, which will solve our water problems. Revival of the irrigation schemes is one of my top priorities. We also need to put early detection systems throughout the district to prevent extensive damage by cyclones. I am happy there is now Diamond FM in Mutare. In future, it will inform people beforehand. My other goal is to get a border post at Cashel Valley so that we can export our produce into Mozambique and on to the international market via the sea.
