BULAWAYO Provincial Affairs Minister Judith Ncube has
appealed for assistance on behalf of 400 locals recently deported from Botswana
and placed under 14-day quarantine in the city for Covid-19 monitoring.
The deportees, among the 450 initially placed at Plumtree
High School have been moved to Bulawayo for decongestion purposes.
They started arriving in the city on Sunday while some
arrived on Monday with the last batch expected to arrive yesterday. The
deportees spent six days in Plumtree and were moved when Government decided to
find more comfortable accommodation for them. They will spend eight days at the
Bulawayo Polytechnic and United College of Education.
On Monday Minister Ncube said there was urgent need for
food and toiletries especially sanitary wear for women as they were not
prepared when they were deported.
She said there are food shortages as Government was
currently channelling a lot of resources towards Covid-19 testing and other
related areas.
The people need beans, cooking oil, soap, vegetables,
mealie-meal, soya chunks, sugar, among others.
Minister Ncube also called for donations of blankets and
clothing such as jerseys and jackets and general clothes as most of the
deportees had only one set of clothes.
“Our brothers and sisters arrived well from Plumtree where
they were being housed. They will spend nine days at the quarantine centres at
our colleges here in the city. As we can all see the situation in the country,
there is need, in terms of food, toiletries and clothing. Our people had gone
to other countries in search of jobs so as to have better lives. They are back
and most of them could not manage to bring their belongings,” said the
Minister.
The Minister commended the Bulawayo community for continued
efforts to complement Government work during the Covid-19 fight and in other
times of crisis.
“I therefore once again appeal to the business community
and the generality of the Bulawayo community and the Zimbabwean community as a
whole, at home and away to once again come to the rescue of our fellow
countrymen. All the acts of partnering Government efforts so far are all
appreciated and we once again extend our hand and appeal for assistance. Most
of these people have been taking care of many of us through sending money and
groceries home. It is now our turn to reciprocate and help in taking care of
them while they are on quarantine before coming home to families,” said the
Minister. Chronicle
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