JUST IN: China avails US$13m for Idai Ambassador Guo

Herald Reporter
THE Chinese government has availed US$13 million aid to Zimbabwe through the World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for infrastructure rehabilitation in Cyclone Idai affected areas.

The money was made available from the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund that was launched by President Xi Jinping in 2015 at the United Nations Development Summit with the aim of supporting sustainable development in developing countries. Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Guo Shaochun, said the money will go towards providing food assistance, repairing of housing units, schools and clinics in the Cyclone Idai affected areas in the country. It will also provide health protection for women and children.

“This is part of China’s aid provided to Zimbabwe this year,” said Mr Guo Shaochun.

He said China provided US$80 000 in cash for emergency humanitarian assistance after the tropical cyclone hit the country in March this year. The Chinese ambassador said his country has never attached any political conditions to the assistance it has been giving to Africa.

“We believe all the assistance will help alleviate the difficulties encountered by the Zimbabwean people. Zimbabwean people are now in time of need, a circumstance substantially caused by illegal sanctions which have been in place for nearly 20 years.

“Some countries claim that the so-called targeted sanctions did not have a major negative impact on Zimbabwean economy and its people’s livelihood. But, such an argument is false as sanctions disrupt financial transactions between Zimbabwe and outside world and disable Zimbabwe from accessing lines of credit from international financial institutions, which is essentially needed for development of a country,” he said.

Mr Guo Shaochun said, as China, they were joining other African countries in calling for the immediate and unconditional removal of illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by Western countries.

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