Clemans Miyanicwe
Khorixas-The constituency office at Kamanjab village has not distributed drought relief food for the past two months due to a lack of transport, according to Nico Somaeb, who is a senior administration officer.
Somaeb said: “Lack of transport has hampered our efforts to distribute maize meal since December. Even right now we have not distributed for this month.”
The Kamanjab constituency office uses a pickup with a capacity to transport 80 maize bags and only if a truck is available from the government garage at Khorixas is when they can load more as the drought relief food is stored at a warehouse at Khorixas situated 105 kilometres from the village.
Somaeb said if a truck is available then they get more maize meal bags which are then distributed to farms nearby in the Kamanjab area, from Khorixas.
“We want more trucks to be availed to us,” Somaeb pleaded.
Drought relief food is being distributed to 951 households which overall will receive 3 800 bags of maize meal.
Those benefitting from the drought relief food are poverty-stricken households, pregnant women, children, people with disabilities, the elderly and households both in commercial and communal areas. Households where there is no income due to unemployment also benefit.
This month the beneficiaries will also receive canned fish depending on the number of beneficiaries per household with the maximum number of tins permissible to each household being six tins.
Somaeb said if the beneficiaries are asked to pick up their food at the office then there will be no order, so they must just be patient as distribution will start once transport is available.
He also pleaded with government to assist farmers as they are losing livestock which is a livelihood for many rural communities. Farmers in the Kamanjab area are said to be losing mostly cattle and sheep almost on a daily basis.