Zomba district commissioner Dr Raphael Piringu has appealed for donations from well-wishers in readiness for the upcoming rainy season. 

Speaking at a press briefing with Zomba Press Club members, Piringu admitted that the district is not fully prepared for the disasters.

He said that although the district has warehouses to keep food and other items, the facilities are currently empty.

Piringu said: “We are not well prepared despite the meteorological department giving us a warning that our district might be affected by heavy rains but we haven’t yet started organizing items such as food, blankets, civic education campaigns and infrastructures such as dykes.”

However he confirmed that things are different in the health sector where they have already supplied additional drugs to different health facilities and six tents have also been secured and ready to be distributed.

Piringu further asked the media to take part in sensitizing people in the district on how they can prepare for possible disasters.

He also assured all the stake holders that any assistance rendered to the district will be well managed since his office has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Anti-Corruption bureau to ensure the existence of transparency and accountability in handling the assistance.

The Malawi 2019 Floods Post Disaster Needs Assessment Report estimated that approximately 975,600 people were affected by the floods with 60 deaths and 672 injuries and Zomba was among the most affected districts.