Senators tell Chombo to protect flood victims aid from thieves

Senators have called on government to guard from theft food and other materials donated to flood affected victims at the Tokwe - Mukorsi Dam and other areas in the country.

Commenting on Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo's address on eth dam disaster, Zanu PF senator Shuvai Mahofa said the present distribution of the food stuffs in the area made it easy for thieves to pounce.

 "Judging from the way that these donations were being transported, there could be some shortages whereby some of these things are pilfered because the district leadership also has a problem in the way these things are distributed in Mwenezi," Mahofa said.

"There should be a transparent way of distributing the donations. We have Zimbabweans who are donating these goods and services to the affected people."

Mahofa called on the media to be open in its reporting so that the people behind the donations are known.

"We are also requesting that you set up a committee Minister that will be leading this exercise because there are a lot of people who will be coming in to participate in the distribution of these donations and this could be a problem," she said.

"We believe that the Civil Protection Unit should also be on guard especially from the point at which the goods will be received to the time when the goods are delivered to the desperate people. We need to have a thorough account so that at the end of the day, we will be able to tell as to where the donations were taken to."

MDC-T senator Morgan Komichi concurred with Mahofa saying corruption had become fashionable in Zimbabwe.

"Corruption is so inherent in people that they are now proud of it and they even boast about being corrupt. If you are not corrupt, you are looked down upon as a stupid person. Therefore, we are saying, we have these goods which are being transferred from Masvingo to the place where they will be distributed," Komichi said.

"I know some of these items will disappear along the way because of the corrupt people within our society. People will take advantage of the sorry state of the people who have suffered from these floods.

"There are some corrupt people who are as of now, planning on how they can swindle the benefactors of these donations. Therefore, I ask you minister, to make a water tight situation for receiving and distribution of these donations."