By Cedric Nkungula
President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera on Friday 19th May 2023 met former presidents Dr. Bakili Muluzi and Dr. Joyce Banda at Sanjika Palace in Blantyre to share notes on the progress made so far and bottlenecks being encountered in Tropical Cyclone Freddy recovery efforts.
In March this year, President Chakwera requested the two former leaders to be Cyclone Freddy goodwill ambassadors as way of galvanizing recovery efforts under the Operation Tigwirane Manja initiative.
Muluzi and Banda were considered due to their influence, pool of knowledge and global social capital.
Since the two ex presidents took up the task, they have been working tirelessly coordinating with stakeholders in affected areas on finding lasting solutions to problems that have been availed from the destruction by the cyclone.
In their ongoing efforts, Dr. Bakili Muluzi and Dr. Joyce Banda are advocating for relocation of families from risk prone areas, mobilizing resources for reconstruction of destroyed houses and coordination of other relief interventions.
Since Cyclone Freddy hit the country, the Chakwera – led administration has moved swiftly to address administrative, legislative and social anomalies that may have facilitated the magnitude of damage that the natural disaster rendered.
Among key remedies is the passing of Disaster Risk Management Bill by Parliament which replaces the Disaster Relief Preparedness Act.
One notable provision in the new Bill is the declaration by government of high risk areas and relocation of all people occupying such places.
