RUACANA - The Emergency Management Unit in the Office of Prime Minister (OPM) on Sunday handed over 500 bags of maize meal and 2 000 cases of tinned fish to a group of Angolan migrants who are camping at Etunda village in the Omusati region.

The group of Angolan nationals have been camping at Etunda village in the Omusati region’s Ruacana constituency since the beginning of this month after fleeing from their country, reportedly due to starvation.

Handing over the donation, Omusati regional councillor for the Ruacana constituency, Andreas Shintama said: “Our government acted swiftly in donating this food to you because we don’t want anybody dying from hunger in Namibia.”

Shintama, who is also the chairperson of Omusati Regional Council (ORC), told the group that after collecting the information regarding them from Etunda traditional leaders, it (ORC) immediately engaged the OPM, who swiftly donated the food items.

Meanwhile, Shintama told Nampa on the sideline of the event that 180 households of 700 individual Angolan nationals are camping at Etunda Irrigation Scheme site, while another group of 153 individuals is found at Oshifo in the Ruacana town.

He said the Angolan nationals will be relocated to the social grant pay-outs centre and the outreach centre of the ministry of health situated near the irrigation scheme in order to keep them safe from the main road, where they are currently camping.

He added that some of the refugees have moved further at Etunda and are now scattered all over other places such as Epalela, Omindaba, Omahenene and Onesi in search of possible greener pasture.

The group claimed that they have been facing starvation after the areas where they came from received no rains for the past three years.

- Nampa