Vusumuzi Dube
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
COMMUNITIES within the country’s eight rural provinces have started benefitting grain under the re-introduced Zunde RaMambo/Isiphala SeNkosi Government concept with each of the country’s 301 chiefs distributing to vulnerable people in their areas of jurisdiction.
The initiative follows the declaration of this year’s drought by President Mnangagwa as a State of Disaster and his promise to provide relief and ensure no one dies of hunger.
To mitigate the impacts of the disaster, President Mnangagwa directed that the Zunde RaMambo/Isiphala SeNkosi facility be decentralised to chiefs in all eight rural provinces.
President of the Chiefs Council Chief Mtshane Khumalo said the distribution is going on well with various wards in the country’s eight rural provinces.
“We have commenced the distribution of grain for drought relief under the Zunde raMambo/Isiphala senkosi Government initiated programme. As we speak I am almost done distributing in my own area with each ward getting about 100 bags each,” said Chief Khumalo.
Sunday News also spoke to Chief Nkulumane Nzula Masuku at Matobo district on Thursday afternoon and confirmed they commenced distribution of the grain last week.
“We have a Government programme called the Zunde raMambo/Isiphala senkosi which saw us receiving grain from the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) which we began distributing last week. I personally got 33 tonnes which I distributed to seven wards with each ward getting about 4.5 tonnes.
“We want to express our gratitude to the Government because we were now facing abit of some difficulties with people running out of food. We hope Government will continue to supply us so that people do not run out of food,” said Chief Masuku.
Under the re-modelled Zunde raMambo/Isiphala senkosi programme, each chief is being allocated five metric tonnes of grain for vulnerable people under their jurisdiction to ensure that it is made available when it is needed.
The chiefs are working with the headmen and village heads in identifying those in critical need of assistance.
Government is also meeting all the costs of transporting grain so that communities are not excluded or discriminated on the basis that they would have failed to contribute towards transport costs.
Furthermore, Government and various development partners have recognised the importance of Zunde Ramambo/Isiphala SeNkosi and have supported its expansion through provision of training, resources, and assistance to communities, helping them improve agricultural practices, manage the communal grain banks more effectively, and build sustainable livelihoods.
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