Government has launched plans to repatriate bodies of Cyclone Idai victims from Mozambique.
In a post cabinet media briefing on Tuesday, Mutsvangwa said the government engaged Mozambique to repatriate bodies of Cyclone Idai victims.
Cyclone Idai claimed the lives of thousands of people in Manicaland province in 2019 with some bodies reportedly swept to Mozambican shores in one of the fiercest cyclone experienced in Africa.
“Zimbabwe requested Mozambique for its cooperation in the repatriation of the remains of Zimbabweans who were washed away by the floods that were caused by Cyclone Idai and buried in Mozambique,” said Mutsvangwa.
Mutsvangwa further said government is ready to dispatch its officials to Mozambique to help in the process of repatriation.
“Zimbabwe expressed its readiness to send a delegation to Mozambique at the earliest convenience to assist in the process. In this regard, the Commission resolved that Zimbabwe would submit to Mozambique a draft MoU on Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation which incorporates a mechanism for dealing with post disaster situations, including repatriation of remains,” added Mutsvangwa.
Cyclone Idai left a trail of destruction in Zimbabwe’s eastern region and some parts of Masvingo resulting in deaths and displacement of many families, a situation that jolted government and other civil society organisations to offer physiological, economic and social support to the victims to date.
