In Mayotte, local elected officials are concerned about the lack of help on the ground
Nearly ten days after the passage of Cyclone Chido, concern and bitterness remain among Mahorese elected officials, between the State's announcements and the glaring lack of aid on the ground. During a videoconference organized by the National Union of Municipal Social Action Centers (Unccas), and attended by Agence France-Presse, several local elected officials deplored the situation.
“We see that the mobilization is there, but it is not concrete on the ground”was particularly concerned by Sitirati Mroudjae, vice-president of the CCAS of Dembeni, on Grande-Terre, the main island of the archipelago. Water, foodstuffs: its commune “did not see the color”she notes. “We manage as best we can. »
Due to lack of sufficient quantities, the municipality chooses “to whom [elle] give, to whom [elle] don't give »and closed its emergency accommodation centers « car [il n’y] does not have enough to feed the families”she laments. “I don't understand how, almost ten days after the cyclone, the help [n’est] still not there »blurted out the chosen one, for whom it is “a question of life and death”.
“We have a lot of trouble getting help on the ground”added Saïd Salim, president of the Departmental Union of CCAS of Mayotte, during this meeting, which sees a “communication effect to say “we are in control”, but on the ground, there is a gap”.
In the streets of the archipelago devastated by the most intense cyclone in ninety years, where all the towns have been affected and the shanty towns razed, waste is accumulating and the health risks are worrying. “Where is the army?” What are they doing? »was also indignant Ericka Bareigts, mayor of Saint-Denis de La Réunion and former minister for overseas territories. Nearly 3,800 civil security, police, gendarmerie and army personnel are employed in Mayotte, including 1,500 as reinforcements, the authorities said on Monday.
