Vice-President Saulos Chilima says relocating households from settlements in hilly areas could avert and minimise the devastating impact of natural disasters perennially hitting some parts of the country.

In an interview after cheering Tropical Cyclone Freddy survivors in Lirangwe and Ndirande Township in Blantyre as well as those in Chingale in Zomba, he observed that most of the disasters the country has been experiencing have been worsened by degradation of the environment.

He said: “These hilly places should be declared places where people shouldn’t be residing. Better yet, we should go on an aggressive campaign to reafforest all these mountains.

“The programme is there, there is a willing partner. There are companies that are willing to assist, but as citizens we must all take part. We must look at these trees as an investment for the future.”

Chilima, who made his his maiden appearance and response since the disaster hit 11 districts in the Southern Region last week, said relief items that survivors receive during disasters such as Tropical Cyclone Freddy are not solutions as the country continues to lose lives of people to disasters.

Chilima points at a place where a bridge was washed away at Chingale

Speaking earlier at Matope Primary School evacuation camp, he pleaded with Blantyre City Council (BCC) and Blantyre District Council to find better settlement places for households living in hilly areas.

Chilima said: “When our leaders say don’t settle at this place we should listen to them and not politicise issues. So, my plea is that let’s give our citizens better places to settle and not in these hilly areas, otherwise we will continue experiencing these disasters year in, year out,” Chilima said.

On Tropical Cyclone Freddy, the Vice-President appealed for support from well-wishers, saying the situation on the ground is so pathetic particularly in hard to reach areas.

In his remarks, Senior Chief Kapeni of Blantyre pleaded with survivors to be grateful for what they are getting in camps, saying God spared their live.

His counterpart in Zomba, Senior Chief Mlumbe said his area is in dire need of relief items such as food, shelter and blankets.

In 2014, the Blantyre Magistrate’s Court ordered illegal settlers on Soche Hill to demolish their houses and vacate the hill within six months.

But days after the court order, some people believed to be encroachers obtained and injunction restraining BCC from enforcing the order.

During a visit to flood-prone areas in Soche and Ndirande townships on December 23 2017, Chilima asked BCC to demolish the illegal structures that were built around Soche Mountain to reduce the occurrence of flooding.

He also asked BCC and Malawi Housing Corporation (MHC) to vacate the injunction 61 encroachers obtained to restrain the authorities from forcing them to vacate the illegal settlements. At the time, BCC indicated it had identified land in Machinjiri Township to relocate the encroachers.

Besides chiefs, the Vice-President was accompanied by, among others, Deputy Secretary to the President and Cabinet Janet Banda. At the various points in Blantyre, district commissioner (DC) Alex Mdooko as well as legislators Francis Phiso (Blantyre North) and Chipiliro Mpinganjira (Blantyre City Central) were also in attendance.

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