adminNqobile Tshili, Chronicle Correspondent
ELDERLY people in Bulawayo constitute the majority of residents who need food aid, the Provincial Administrator, Ms Khonzani Ncube, has said.
Ms Ncube said the province is in the process of updating its vulnerability groups’ database.
Recently, the Minister of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare, Prisca Mupfumira, directed all provinces to update information on all those who require food aid.
Ms Ncube said the province has noted that the elderly dominate those in need of food aid.
She said the disabled and child-headed families are among those being prioritised for assistance.
“It’s an ongoing process. It’s not an event. We’re in the process of creating a data bank of the vulnerable in the city. We’re recording the vulnerable by their age, physical addresses and identities. From the preliminary observations, the elderly dominate the number of people needing food aid,” said Ms Ncube.
She said Zimbabwe conducted a vulnerability assessment study in August for urban areas whose results will determine the number of people who should be assisted in the city.
Ms Ncube said at the moment Bulawayo is undertaking a provincial manual vulnerability assessment to update its database which may not project the actual numbers of people needing aid as the information was gathered from community leaders only.
“We scientifically did an Urban Livelihoods Assessment in August. The province is eagerly waiting for the results that are being analysed at national level as the study was a national programme,” said Ms Ncube.
In September, the Department of Social Welfare revealed that 14 000 people were benefitting from the Government’s food relief programme in Bulawayo.
Ms Ncube said the province has enough grain to support all vulnerable groups — @nqotshili.
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