Catholic bishops call for fair distribution of relief items
The Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) has appealed to authorities distributing relief items to exercise fairness.
Bishop George Tambala of the Zomba Catholic Diocese made the call recently during the launch of ECM’s 2019 floods response project in Traditional Authority (T/A) Mwambo, Zomba.
He said it is inhumane for people entrusted with the responsibility of helping flood survivors to divert relief items for personal gains.
About 2 677 people were affected by the floods and fled to an evacuation centre at Makina in the area.
Figures from the office of the district commissioner (DC) in Zomba show that T/A Mwambo has 7 373 people displaced by the floods, and are in 18 camps.
“It is at this time that some authorities take advantage of the situation to divert relief items. We have women and children in relief camps who need this support,” said the bishop.
He also said there was need for the country to prepare for disasters to avert such situations.
Tambala added that as the flood survivors recover from the disaster, they need to construct houses that can withstand adverse weather conditions.
One of the flood survivors, Belita Saomba, thanked ECM, through Catholic for Development Commission in Malawi Cadecom) for the assistance.
She recalled that it was on the night of March 7 2019 when Phalombe River swelled and displaced people from seven villages in the area.
She lost her livestock, house and crops. n
