PCL group commits K180m to Tropical Cyclone Freddy survivors

Conglomerate Press Corporation plc and its subsidiary companies has committed K180 million to assist the survivors of Tropical Cyclone Freddy which has killed more than 200 people in the Southern Region.

Newly appointed PCL chief executive officer Ronald Mangani said in a statement that the Malawi Stock Exchange-listed group has mobilised all its subsidiaries to contribute towards helping the survivors of the cyclone.

He said: “We have embarked on a group-wide response to the disaster by working together with all the group companies to pool together financial, material and logistical resources to support the exercise.

“A task force consisting of representatives from all the companies under the group has been formed to reach out to victims with the support.”

Mangani said PCL will work other agencies such as the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) and other humanitarian organisations to ensure that the survivors are supported and helped.

“PCL wears a national face because of our various investments in the key sectors of the economy and we are concerned with the effects of the cyclone,” he said.

Dodma commissioner Charles Kalemba said in a statement that apart from the loss of lives, more than 4 000 households have been affected by the cyclone, translating to more than 10 000 people.

President Lazarus Chakwera on Monday declared State of Disaster in the Southern Region and called for support from public and private sectors to alleviate the suffering of the cyclone survivors.

Caption: Mangani: We have embarked on a group-wide response