By Sharon Chimenya
THE Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) leader, Walter Magaya, together with his congregants and partners, have joined government in assisting the Masvingo hailstorm victims.
Soon after the disaster, the Red Cross mobilised tarpaulins, non-food items, hygiene kits and blankets.
The government has since appealed to the private sector, humanitarian organisations, development partners, communities and well-wishers to support the people of Masvingo during this difficult period.
Prophet Magaya, who has been in Masvingo for the past two days assessing the extent of the damage, joined the Masvingo Minister of State for Provincial Affairs, Ezra Chadzamira, at Mucheke Hall, where he was addressing the first batch of those who were to get food assistance from government.
He prayed for the people of Masvingo and also pledged to assist those affected by the hailstorm that hit the city on Monday.
“I have been here in Masvingo for two days now and ever since I heard about the hailstorm that occurred, I said I should come and see for myself. I came and I have been moving around and together with the church of PHD Ministries and our partners, as well as other businesses, through the guidance of the Minister and the local leadership, are coming here to assist, and where possible, to restore your roofs, beds and food. This is the reason why we are here, and we will be given guidance by our leaders,” he said.
He added that as a church, they stand guided by the provincial leadership, and on a date to be communicated, they would want to be on the ground to assess the affected families to render support.
“As much as we are a church, when we arrive in an area, we take the leadership to guide us on how to proceed. We will ask the Minister to also allow us, together with the church and partners from other countries, to conduct a parade where we move around assessing how things stand and where we can help, so that when we leave, we would have uplifted those households.
“We love you and you are precious. May God do good things for you and restore double wherever you have lost. This assistance comes from our church partners and from Lenox Mine, owned by Mr Hove, which is in Mashava who said I would like to assist through you.”
Meanwhile, speaking in Masvingo recently, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, Engineer Tafadzwa Muguti, called upon development partners to work with the government to avoid duplication of efforts.
“In terms of development partner support and the whole-of-society approach, I am kindly and humbly appealing to humanitarian partners, development partners, NGOs and other PVO establishments not to go on the ground without the directive of the government leadership. We want the whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach,” he said.
“Whoever is going to do anything during this disaster will be coordinated at district and provincial level. We don’t want people who are going to do things by themselves; we want all of us to respond as a whole of government and whole of society.
The scale and the complexity of the disaster require that the government and everyone, all partners, work in a coordinated manner to avoid duplications, close identified gaps and ensure assistance reaches affected communities efficiently and equitably.”
