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Herald Reporter
People with information on members of the civil service who were affected by Cyclone Idai may approach provincial or district offices to facilitate necessary assistance, Public Service Commission chairperson Dr Vincent Hungwe has said.

This comes amid revelations that four civil servants, three from Chimanimani and one from Chipinge, died while 12 others in Chimanimani and three in Chipinge, are still missing as a result of the devastating Cyclone Idai.

“Information available to Government thus far indicates that the toll inflicted on the Public Service by Cyclone Idai, apart from the loss of accommodation, household property and projects for livelihood support, also took the form of the tragic loss of lives, serious injury and the painful uncertainty of members who are yet to be accounted for,” said Dr Hungwe.

He said some public servants were also displaced by the cyclone and lost their furniture, utensils and other items at their workstations, thereby disrupting their functions in delivering services to clients.

“In fulfilling its mandate and in the context of the national effort to assist persons and communities impacted by Cyclone Idai, the Public Service Commission is assisting public servants and families of deceased public servants in coping with losses which took various forms.  In this regard the Commission has granted funeral assistance in instances where the requisite details have been furnished, and will continue to extend appropriate assistance as and when information on other cases becomes available,” said Dr Hungwe. He said to facilitate effective contact, the 10 provincial and district offices of the Commission were instructed to collect and relay information provided by affected families and to attend to enquiries and procedures for accessing assistance.

The contact person for Mashonaland Central Province is Mr George Madhumbu, Mr Moses Moyo (Midlands), Mr Nichodemus Serumula (Bulawayo Metropolitan Province), Mr Isaac Ndebele (Matabeleland North), and Mr George Kunene (Matabeleland South).

In Manicaland province, Mr Julius Kurebwatira is the contact person while in Mashonaland East there is Mr Andrew Chimanyiwa, Mr Tavuyanarwo Makuza (in Masvingo) and Mr Edmund Mapara in Mashonaland West. People may also approach the PSC Head office in Harare.

About 344 people in Zimbabwe have since been confirmed dead while several others are still missing.

Nearly 60 000 people in Chipinge, Chimanimani, Buhera and Mutare were displaced as a result of Cyclone Idai, which made landfall in Manicaland province on March 15 this year.

Cyclone Idai affected the Eastern parts of the country together with Masvingo province.

Mozambique and Malawi also bore the brunt of the ferocious tropical storm.

A survey conducted in close co-ordination with Government, UN Women and Caritas Zimbabwe, revealed that 59 125 internally displaced persons (IDPs) were reported, the majority of whom were from Chipinge District, which reported 36 347 IDPs.