South chief calls for consultations over relief food

Written by on August 2, 2019


CHIEF Chikanta of the Tonga speaking people of Kalomo district, Southern Province, has called on government to make pragmatic decisions when dealing with issues that hinge on human lives, such as relief food.

The traditional leader charged that the local leadership was not consulted over the hunger situation in his chiefdom.

Chief Chikanta said that it was high time government was fully furnished with the looming hunger situation in the district.

However, Kalomo District Commissioner, Cosmas Chiiba said the vulnerability assessment was done by the Agriculture Department with the Community Welfare Assistance Committees (CWACs) in various camps who came up with satellite management committee.

Mr Chiiba said the committee has since taken charge in the selection of relief food to beneficiaries.

The District Disaster Management Committee and officers from the Office of the Vice President visited the district to verify the hunger situation before the commencement of relief food supplies to would-be beneficiaries.

The chief’s concerns follows heated debates on the local community radio stations with callers claiming that the local leadership was not widely consulted on who would be food beneficiaries, charging that almost the entire district was affected by the last farming season drought.

Kalomo district has of late received relief food from the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) under the office of the Vice President which has since been distributed to beneficiaries.

The district has in stock another consignment of 4,480 by 12.5 kilogrammes of white breakfast mealie-meal and 560 maize bran to be distributed by the Organisation for Relief food and Development (OFRAD).

The Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has also resumed community sales to the public with 50 kilogrammes of white maize going at K110.00 per person, per month.

The relief food distribution exercise for Southern province was flagged off in May in Kalomo by the President Edgar Lungu who assured the nation that no one would die of hunger in spite of   poor crop yields that characterized most parts of Zambia.-ZANIS


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