The Malawi leader, Lazarus Chakwera, through his Presidential Charity yesterday handed over a cheque amounting to K120 million to DoDMA for assistance to the victims of Cyclone Freddy. The cyclone in February hit the country’s Southern region and damaged a lot of infrastructure, property, and lives while leaving millions of people homeless.
Speaking during the handover ceremony of the donation to DoDMA in the Capital Lilongwe, President Chakwera said every citizen needs to actively take part in recovery or reconstruction is to be achieved following the devastation by Freddy.
“What Tropical Cyclone Freddy has done to our country is nothing short of devastating. It is so devastating that it will take years to reconstruct what has been damaged. It is so devastating that some of the losses we have suffered may never be recovered. And it is so devastating that any recovery or reconstruction will require that we all work together to move toward a future that is more prepared for the climate shocks we will undoubtedly face going forward,” said President Chakwera.
Further, the President who also surrendered 20 bales of blankets he received from SAVENDA Group of Companies, said he has chosen to donate through DoDMA as it is one way of appreciating how government agencies like DoDMA are excellently executing their responsibilities in serving Malawians.
He said; “So even though my charity could have easily hired cars and loaded them with supplies to deliver to the affected camps, or given these supplies to an NGO to deliver on my behalf, I have deliberately chosen to surrender these resources to the government agency that all Malawians created through Constitution to be responsible for disaster management. As far as I am concerned, if we have created institutions and empowered them by law to deliver specific services to Malawians, we cannot at the same time be disempowering them by denying them the resources and support they need in order to fulfill their constitutional mandate and functions.
“I also want to thank all of you in the private sector who have made your donations directly to DoDMA during this operation, because your demonstration of confidence in government institutions is critical when it comes to the sustainability of disaster management in this country.
Currently, over two million Malawians have been affected by disasters countywide including drought which hit Karonga district. Meanwhile, President Chakwera is expected to pay a visit to Karonga next week.
