Chronicle Editor
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
THE Government has set in motion plans to increase the number of people to benefit from the food distribution exercise from the current 2,7 million in the first quarter of the year with a rapid assessment underway to ascertain the level of vulnerability in the country’s communities.
It has also set aside 8 100 tonnes for the Zunde Ramambo/Isiphala Senkosi programme following a directive by President Mnangagwa to at least have five tonnes of maize in each of the country’s 1 620 wards that will assist in case of delays in food distribution as well as cater for those who might have missed out.
The Government has also initiated an approach where all able-bodied people who will be receiving food aid would be required to join the Presidential Input Scheme under Pfumvudza/Intwasa to improve their resilience to drought.
The vulnerability assessment is expected to be completed on 15 April after which a food distribution programme will be rolled out following the declaration of the current farming season a state of disaster by President Mnangagwa.
During the first quarter of the year, the Government had a target of 2,7 million people who were being fed.
The number is expected to be increased from 15 April to September while the misnomer of boundaries that were criss-crossed because of delimitation are also expected to be corrected after the rapid assessment.
Responding to questions from parliamentarians in the National Assembly on Wednesday, the Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, July Moyo said President Mnangagwa sanctioned the rapid assessment which was underway in order to expand food distribution.
“We were feeding people in the first quarter based on last year’s harvest. We had a limited target of 2,7 million people who we were feeding. As we are now aware, the President has just declared a state of disaster. This state of disaster means there is a deepened need for us to look at an expanded delivery of food to food insecure people in the country. We are going to take a rapid assessment between now and 15 April which the President has also sanctioned. With this rapid assessment, we are going to expand the food distribution from 15 April to September this year.
“We are sure that from this month, we will step up distribution. For those who were receiving among the 2,7 million people, we are continuing with their distribution up to end of May. We think that from 15 April, we will start adding more. We are doing this before the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC) is finished because we think that it is urgent that we start by writing people who are in the villages. We think that the villages are our best community-based assessment for those who are food-insecure,” said Minister Moyo.
He said the expanded food distribution requires that every village in the country led by village heads, supervised by headmen and chiefs with every stakeholder involved start writing the names of those who are food-insecure from each village so that distribution starts on those who would have been listed.
Minister Moyo said in September, the Government would start linking the food distribution to preparations for the new farming season.
He said that is why in the joint letter that they sent out with the Minister of Agriculture they reiterated that from September, all able-bodied people who desire to continue receiving food assistance should now do the Presidential Intwasa/Pfumvudza so that they come out of the El Nino-induced drought having resilience and having prepared for it.
“We have been directed by the President that we position in each ward, five tonnes of maize. This has nothing to do with what we will have assessed. We will position five tonnes in each of the 1 620 wards, which are rural. We will position those at chieftainship levels so that those we might miss or those who may be under pressure because of delays can approach their chief. This is our concept of Zunde RaMambo. We have done that in the past and it has worked. The President has said let us go and position food aid there and we are putting aside 8 100 tonnes in all the wards in the rural areas,” said Minister Moyo. @nyeve14
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