Nuusita Ashipala
No one has died as a result of drought in the Kunene region thus far. Governor of Kunene region Marius Sheya confirmed this Wednesday during an update on the latest interventions on drought in the region between 14 March to Wednesday.
Sheya reiterated his office’s commitment to distribute food to the affected communities to ensure no person dies from hunger.
He encouraged all stakeholders and partners to ensure that food and animal fodder are dispatched to the most vulnerable communities.
To date, over 15 000 bags of 10kg maize meal have each been received from the Office of the Prime Minister – and of those, over 5 000 bags have been distributed to the community.
Equally, over 30 000 tins of fish of the 50 000 tins allocated have also been given to the community since 14 March this year.
Close to 2 000 bales of hay from over 4 000 bales have been dispatched.
In addition to the assistance from government, the private sector has donated 3 250 bales of animal feed.
Sheya noted that distribution was delayed following heavy rains received in the region.
“Distribution has been halted and delayed by heavy rain received, resulting in rivers flowing, making the road accessibility a challenge,” he said.
The governor noted that good rain has minimal impact on the drought in the region but advised the community to not attempt to cross flowing rivers.
Sheya further announced that the issue of transport to distribute the food items has been resolved.
In terms of water, the region has provided 10 000 litres of water for both human and livestock consumption.
He added that his office will continue to engage its stakeholders from farmers’ unions, communities and traditional authorities to remedy the situation.
Sheya said visits and assessments will be continuously carried out to better plan and implement short-term and long-term interventions.