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The villagers said it took more than two months for them to receive their allocation which is usually not enough for all families who have nothing to eat.
Reports indicate that a food crisis is looming in most southern parts of the country because of the drought.
In an interview, one of the villagers from Zhende Village, Mr Musa Masuku, said erratic deliveries of the grain slowed down the progress of the drought relief programme.
“We appreciate what the Government is doing for us because if it were not for the scheme, some of us would have died of hunger. Our only problem is that deliveries are very erratic and this makes it impossible to measure the effectiveness of the scheme,” said Mr Masuku.
He said some villages in the district had more than 200 homesteads and inconsistent deliveries meant it would take the whole year for all the homesteads to benefit.
“There are many homesteads in our communities and it will take a long time before everyone benefits from the grain loan scheme. The Grain Marketing Board (GMB) usually brings a few bags of maize that are not enough for all families,” said Mr Masuku.
Ms Sithembile Mbambo, another villager, appealed to the Government to increase the number of bags delivered per month.
“The number of families in this community and that of bags delivered does not tally. Most of our crops were a write-off and we appeal to the Government to help us out and give us enough grain for every needy household,” said Ms Mbambo.
Contacted for comment, Matabeleland North provincial administrator Ms Latiso Dlamini said the erratic deliveries were a result of lack of resources on the part of the GMB.
“We are aware of the villagers’ grievances and we will work hard to address them. Transportation costs and grain shortages are some of the challenges that contribute to erratic supplies.
“As long as we continue to have transportation problems, it will be difficult to deliver grain consistently. Villagers should not lose heart because we are doing all we can to help them,” said Ms Dlamini.
Acting GMB corporate communications manager Mr Joseph Katete recently said the parastatal was battling to meet the transport costs for distribution, which average $2 million per month.
He said GMB had accumulated a debt of $1.6 million for transport and some transporters had threatened to withdraw their services if they were not paid.
The grain loan scheme, which was launched by the Government recently for rural provinces, assists each family with a 50kg of maize, which villagers would pay after recording significant harvests.
Reports from drought stricken provinces showed that the shortage of food had reached alarming levels, affecting livestock, which had started dying from hunger.
Villagers from different districts in all affected the provinces said they were now surviving on wild fruits and roots of some trees.
Vulnerable members of the community who include child headed families, widows, people living with disabilities and HIV and Aids and the elderly are the most affected.
Online Reporter