ONGWEDIVA – A shocking discovery of suspected drought relief food has once again raised questions about the mismanagement of aid meant for vulnerable communities.

On Friday, residents stumbled upon buried cans of fish along the gravel road leading to the Gabus Lodge near Otavi in the Otjozondjupa region. The quantity of the food remains unknown. 

Residents who reported the food  believe the consignment may have been part of government distributed drought relief intended for struggling households.

The matter came to light after vigilant locals alerted law enforcement and the office of the regional council.  A representative from the council inspected the scene to establish the origin and condition of the food items. Police have urged members of the public with information about the buried consignment to come forward. “We have learned of the report from the media. We are now awaiting the police investigation report and the findings of the disaster risk management committee in the region before confirming whether the food was indeed drought relief,” said the Office of the Prime Minister spokesperson, Maxmus Halwoodi.

He urged people to desist from stealing drought relief meant for needy people.

Halwoodi added that people are hungry and families are desperate. 

“Yet, food meant for them is either stolen, hidden or wasted. This cannot continue,” he stressed. This is not the first time drought relief supplies have been mishandled. 

In previous years, reports emerged of food aid spoiling in warehouses or mysteriously disappearing before reaching beneficiaries. 

In 2019, bags of maize meal and beans intended for rural families in Kunene and Omusati were allegedly diverted. 

Moreover, in 2021, residents in Oshikoto reported that relief food was being resold in shops. Early this year, police in the Kavango East region arrested a 48-year-old man for the alleged possession of maize meal and cooking oil suspected to have been stolen from the government’s drought relief programme.

The police found the suspect selling 247 bags of maize meal (10 kilogrammes each) and 47 bottles of cooking oil (750 millilitres) at Shimpanda village in the Kavango East region. 

The items, valued at N$34 150, were recovered. Also, late last year, the Office of the Prime Minister took a swipe at individuals who were suspected of having stolen drought relief food worth N$100 000 at a farm near Oshivelo.

 Similar cases were also reported in the Ohangwena region, where the disaster risk management unit lost more than N$600 000 worth of cooking oil and other items from its warehouse due to theft. 

During the same period, drought relief food worth N$39 000 was allegedly stolen from a warehouse at Katwitwi in the Kavango West region. – vkaapanda@nepc.com.na