OUKANGO – About 100 people from 17 households in Oukango, a village in the Omulonga constituency in the Ohangwena Region will receive drought food rations from Ernst & Young Namibia on a monthly basis.
The beneficiary households started receiving the first batch of food rations last Saturday and the donations will continue until the next rains. As part of the drought relief initiative of Ernst & Young last weekend each household received tinned fish and beans, sugar, maize meal and salt. Addressing the beneficiaries, the Omulonga constituency councillor Erickson Nandawanifa urged them to utilise the food prudently and to use it for the purpose for which it was donated. Nandawanifa cautioned the beneficiaries not to sell the food or to give it to other people. “There are people who have a tendency of selling drought relief food in order to get money for alcohol. This should come to an end,” he warned. The councillor also told the elderly that they must not lock up the food while children are suffering from hunger, adding that people should be given food to eat, because they will be receiving food on a monthly basis thanks to Ernst & Young.
“Ernst & Young decided to meet the government half away in donating food and those who are receiving food from EY on a monthly basis have been removed from the list of drought sufferers that are receiving food from government,” the councillor explained. He told New Era that about 19 000 people have been registered for drought relief assistance, but they only received 3 000 bags of maize meal from the government which is only enough for a quarter of that vulnerable population.
The director of Ernst & Young, Mirna Koekemoer, said the beneficiaries were selected according to their vulnerability level and according to their means to sustain themselves.
She said the company decided to donate food worth N$18 000 on a monthly basis that will help 99 families in the drought ravaged village. Ernst & Young is a global leader in auditing and tax advisory services. “Locally, we are committed to doing our part in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities,” said Koekemoer. Globally, Ernst & Young is united by its shared values, which inspire people worldwide and guide them to do the right thing, and the commitment to quality, which is embedded in who Ernst & Young is, Koekemoer said.
Meanwhile, the headman of Oukango Paulus Nkandi described the drought as terrible, adding that he’s never experienced a drought as severe as the current one. He thanked all those who have volunteered to help where they can in dealing with the suffering caused by the drought.
By Loide Jason