Government is working around the clock to mitigate the effects of the prevailing drought in the Kunene region, chairperson of the committee of parliamentarians, who were tasked to assess the impact of drought in the region, Nono Katjingisiua said. 

Katjingisiua said donated food and animal fodder have already reached the region, while more aid has been streaming in over the past days.

At the time the team visited the region, there were 7 800 bags of maize, including 1 200 reserved for marginalised communities, 48 600 tins of fish and 5 350 bales of fodder for the livestock.

“The food is there; it just needs to be distributed to the community.  The drought is severe; there is no grazing for the livestock and the trees and rivers are dry,” said Katjingisiua.

In terms of livestock, the parliamentarian observed there was no vegetation for the livestock to graze.

The parliamentarians visited the hardest constituencies of Epupa, Sesfontein, Opuwo Urban, Opuwo Rural and Khorixas.

The chairperson narrated that the challenge to get the food to the community at the moment is transport. 

However, a submission will be made for government to assist in that regard.

She said the current warehouse to store the food has reached its peak; hence, there is more space required during this time.

Another challenge the committee picked up is that of water. 

The chairperson said 16 boreholes were drilled; however, much more still needs to be done.

Not related to drought, the parliamentarians also noted the grave concern of unemployment in the areas they visited.

Katjingisiua said the unemployment situation is worsened by the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic.

The parliamentarian assured that although resources are coming in at a snail’s pace because a huge budget is allocated to fight the ongoing pandemic, the government is trying its level best to cater to and sustain the livelihood of every Namibian.

- nashipala@nepc.com.na