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Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Gwanda Correspondent
ABOUT 230 000 learners in Matabeleland South schools out of a total enrolment of about 240 000 need to be fed as they are affected by the drought situation, an official has said.
Speaking during a provincial drought relief committee meeting in Gwanda on Thursday, Matabeleland Provincial Education Director Mr Lifias Masukume said only 46 primary schools in the province were feeding learners out of a total of 514 primary schools. He said schools were struggling to feed learners because of resource constraints.
“It is the policy of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education that students should have at least one decent warm meal warm meal a day. Therefore a total of 228 947 learners in both primary and secondary schools are affected by drought and they need to be fed. These exclude learners in boarding schools. Gwanda has the highest number of learners who need feeding with 47 671.
“The province also has 45 628 orphaned and vulnerable learners who need assistance. A total of 35 245 are at primary level while 10 383 are in secondary. The province also has 488 learners coming from child headed families. Beitbridge has the highest number with 258,” he said.
Speaking during the same meeting, Matabeleland South provincial social welfare officer, Mr Totambirepi Tirivavi said the province had 68 380 households in the province under the drought relief programme.
He said there was a need to increase the number of beneficiaries as more households had been rendered vulnerable.
Mr Tirivavi said his office had submitted a request to the Ministry of Agriculture (Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement) to have the number of beneficiaries increased and they were awaiting a response.
He said several partners have been assisting in alleviating food challenges by implementing various programmes.
Mr Tirivavi said beneficiaries under the drought relief programme were facing challenges in accessing grain as communities could not afford transport charges to move grain from GMB depots to their areas.
Matabeleland South Minister of State for Provincial Affairs, Cde Abednico Ncube called on all departments to compile reports on the drought situation and submit them to the head office in Harare so that Government will be appraised on challenges faced in the province and intervene.
He also called upon Non Governmental Organisations to assist in mitigating the drought situation.
“The drought situation we are experiencing is not only affecting people but animals as well. All departments and local authorities should compile their reports so that they can be submitted and Government can intervene. We also appeal to NGOs to chip in and assist where they can. This situation needs collective effort. If we are not pro active as a province the situation will only worsen,” he said.
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