Zimbabwe Donates 1 000 Tonnes Of Maize To Mozambique
Zimbabwe has donated 1 000 tonnes of maize to terrorism victims in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado Province.
The donation was delivered by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi during his one-day state visit to Maputo on Friday last week.
Zimbabwe joins donors who are working on providing aid aimed at rebuilding infrastructure and restoring public services in Cabo Delgado province which has been experiencing conflict since 2017.
President Nyusi expressed gratitude to Zimbabwe for the donation and acknowledged the country’s western neighbour’s role in fighting Islamist extremists in the gas and oil-rich province. Said Nyusi:
I want to thank President Mnangagwa for his donation of 1 000 tonnes to the victims of terrorism. The kind gesture will go a long way. Also, Zimbabwe has been very supportive in terms of security.
We have Zimbabwean officers participating in the training and development of our soldiers who are fighting terrorists.
Meanwhile, the International Crisis Group (ICG), while noting the important role played by humanitarian aid, urged the Mozambican government to engage the terrorists in dialogue and address their grievances to bring long-lasting peace. The group said:
Humanitarian and development aid money has started to cool tensions on the ground. It may dissuade some young men from taking up arms, but not enough of them.
Without government efforts to address the insurgency’s political roots, especially through dialogue, the civilian population of Cabo Delgado will probably have to live through a prolonged period of conflict.
In May last year, Zimbabwe received a donation of 5 625 tonnes of mealie meal worth 50 million rands from South Africa for Cyclone Idai victims.
The first batch of 272 tonnes was handed over to President Emmerson Mnangagwa this morning at State House by South Africa Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor.
South Africa made the pledge in 2019 and Pandor said the donation could not come on time because of the COVID-19 pandemic that restricted movement.
