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Chimulirenji hails World Bank

Vice-President Everton Chimulirenji on Saturday commended the World Bank for its support towards people who were affected by floods and drought in the country.

He said this at Chantulo Primary School ground in Traditional Authority (T/A) Nankumba in Mangochi when he visited a flood resilient school block and a head teacher’s house constructed by the World Bank. 

“You know the impact of the disasters in 2015 was huge and a burden to the country. But through the World Bank, there has been a rapid response and recovery. We don’t take this for granted,” said Chimulirenji.

He said the role the World Bank is playing in the country on issues of education, health, agriculture, among others, will help to transform the country.

The VP called for more support to empower people from the flood-prone areas to come up with resilient measures that would withstand the adverse impact of disasters.

“Let me also urge you the communities to fully participate in community development activities to ensure that we regain what we lost,” he said.

On his part, World Bank country manager Greg Toulmin reiterated commitment to work hand in hand with government and other development partners to shape lives of many Malawians.

“We will continue supporting Malawi. At the moment, we have earmarked 120 million US dollars [Crisis Response Window] to support the response of Tropical Cyclone Idai,” he committed.

In June this year, the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) announced post-disaster recovery grants for emergency reconstruction and resilience to disasters.

The Bretton Woods institution said its board approved a $70 million (about K51.6 billion) operation to help Malawi recover from Cyclone Idai that hit Malawi in early March this year.

In a separate statement, the AfDB announced the $22.87 million (about K16.8 billion) grant for the implementation of a four-year cyclones Idai and Kenneth emergency reconstruction and resiliency programme.

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