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Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Gwanda Correspondent
NEARLY 29 000 households in rural Gwanda are in need of food aid under the drought relief programme as the number of vulnerable households continues to rise.
Speaking during a meeting with Matabeleland South Provincial Affairs Minister, Cde Abednico Ncube on Monday, social welfare officer for Gwanda, Ms Sithandazile Bhebhe said Gwanda rural has 28 754 vulnerable households and at the moment 9 645 households were receiving grain under the drought relief programme. She said they had sent a request to increase the number and were waiting for approval.
“In rural Gwanda we have 28 754 vulnerable homesteads. At the moment we are assisting 9 645 households with grain which could be either maize or small grains which is a total of 482,25 metric tonnes per month. We have made a request for an additional 625,3 metric tonnes which will cater for about 13 036 households which will bring the number of households that we will be benefitting to about 22 000 though some households will still be left out and we hope to make another request so that they can all be incorporated,” she said.
“The situation has worsened especially with the Covid-19 pandemic which has left many people vulnerable. Under urban we are targeting 1 144 households who received NetOne sim cards so that they can be getting monthly allowances. We are also working with a number of partners who are conducting distribution programmes and other stakeholders such as the business community. We would also like to appeal to various partners to come forward with assistance as there is still a huge gap.”
Also speaking during the same meeting, administrator in the office of the Gwanda District Development Committee, Mr Thulani Moyo said the district was facing limited supply of subsidised mealie-meal which was making it difficult for residents to access mealie meal.
“As a district we have been experiencing shortage in the supply on subsidised mealie-meal. We formed a taskforce responsible for the sale of mealie-meal and residents have been buying mealie-meal as wards. The supply of mealie-meal in April was satisfactory but so far this month there has been a shortage. This month we only received mealie-meal on the 5th of May. We received 40 tonnes and we had to share it between rural and urban wards,” he said.
Cde Ncube said he had received complaints from some villagers that the grain they were receiving under the drought relief programme was rotten. He said villagers were also complaining that amounts of money demanded by transporters who ferry grain from the GMB depot to their areas were exorbitant.
Cde Ncube said transporters must not take advantage of the vulnerable just because they were desperate. — @DubeMatutu
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