Masvingo councillors raise alarm over delayed hailstorm relief

Masvingo councillors have raised concern over delays in government assistance to residents whose homes were damaged by hailstorms that hit the city on October 5, 2026, saying affected families are still waiting for promised support to rebuild their houses.

The concerns were raised by Ward 7 councillor Rivhard Musekiwa during a recent Full Council meeting, where he said residents were becoming increasingly frustrated after submitting quotations detailing the damage to their properties but receiving no communication from the government on when assistance would be provided.

Following the destruction caused by the hailstorm, the government announced plans to decentralise damage assessments across 11 affected wards, with homeowners required to submit Bills of Quantities to establish the cost of reconstruction.

The government also announced food assistance for vulnerable households, with 6,711 households earmarked to receive food and non-food items.

Cllr Musekiwa said the lack of updates had left councillors struggling to respond to residents seeking information about the promised assistance.

“We were promised help by the government but it has not yet come. Most of our residents lost their houses to the hailstorm. They were told to go and get quotations of the damage suffered. They did that a while ago but to date there has not been any communication on the way forward,” he said.

“The people keep coming back to us for updates, yet we do not have any. Would it be okay that we call the District Development Coordinator (DDC) to come and address us here, on behalf of the government, so that we can know what to tell the people?”

He urged the government to expedite the assistance programme and provide regular updates, saying the communication gap was undermining councillors’ ability to represent affected communities.

“As people’s representatives, it does not paint a good picture that we do not have answers to such pertinent questions. It will seem as if we do not care about the plight of our people. We expect the government to finish such important programmes,” he said.

Cllr Musekiwa said the declaration of the hailstorm disaster as a national disaster should have prompted urgent intervention, particularly with another rainy season approaching.

“When the hailstorms hit, a state of national disaster was declared. We expect this matter to be treated with urgency because people are in a dire situation. We have people with disabilities among those affected, who need extra care. As things stand, we are already approaching another rainy season. What is going to happen to our people who are already faced with this situation?” he said.

Responding to the concerns, Masvingo Mayor Cllr Aleck Tabe said several stakeholders, particularly businesses, had provided assistance to affected families, although the scale of the destruction meant more resources were required.

He said some businesses had donated building materials and helped construct cottages for families who lost their homes.

“I want to thank everyone who has come on board thus far to render assistance to our affected people. We received great assistance from various stakeholders, especially the business community. They came through with material and managed to build some cottages for some of the affected people. We are yet to have a consolidated list of the assistance we have received thus far,” he said.

Cllr Tabe said about 13,500 households had been affected and that the responsible minister was expected to visit the city to conduct further assessments and monitor resource mobilisation.

“As far as the government is concerned, we need to appreciate that at least 13,500 households were destroyed. This is a huge number. The minister is meant to come soon for further assessment and ensure that resource mobilisation is on track. We need to be patient,” he said.

He added that some vulnerable households had received food assistance through social welfare programmes, although available supplies were insufficient to cover everyone affected.

“Of course, we would have needed more because everyone was vulnerable at the time, but the hampers were not sufficient for everyone. Those who are already on the list of the social welfare were prioritised at the time,” he said.

Cllr Tabe said councillors had fulfilled their role by advising affected residents to obtain quotations for damaged properties and urged them to remain patient as the government mobilised resources. *_-CITE_*