Govt determined to tackle hunger
Published On April 15, 2015 » 3809 Views» By Davies M.M Chanda » Features
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By  Kelvin Chimbinde –
It is  still  the rainy season and expectations of the Zambian people are  quite high.
Food security is guranteed in the nation where agriculture remains the priority sector in achieving sustainable economic growth and reducing poverty.
In 2014, the Vulnerability and Needs Assessments under the Office of the Vice President (OVP) carried out an assessment that was triggered by shocks experienced mainly in the Eastern, Northern and Western parts of the country.
These shocks were mainly due to flooding caused by heavy rains in these parts of Zambia coupled by dry spells for some areas which led to disturbances in the lives and livelihoods of communities living in these parts.
The districts where the assessments were conducted includes Luano in Central Province,  Chadiza, Petauke, Mambwe, Nyimba and Lundazi in Eastern Province Kawambwa, Nchelenge, Milenge, Lunga and Samfya in Luapula.
Other areas were  Chinsali and Shiwang’andu in Muchinga, Mungwi in Northern, Kasempa, Manyinga, Kabompo and Zambezi in North-Western Province, Gwembe, Monze, Sinazongwe and Pemba in Southern Province.
The rest were  Kalabo, Mongu, Senanga, Nalolo, Sesheke, Shang’ombo, Sikongo, Sioma, Mwandi, Mulobezi and Limulunga, all in Western Province.
Climate change and variability is exacerbating this challenge by heightening threats related to seasonal floods, water logging, shortening of the growing season and poor rainfall distribution, coupled with prolonged dry spells.
The dependence of small-scale farmers on rain-fed agriculture, therefore, worsens the risk of crop failure.
However, despite all this, most of the infrastructure, especially in the educational sector, remains in a poor state as most community schools are built from pole and mud. Assessment of the impact of floods on infrastructure damage on roads, bridges and culverts was done by the Road Development Agency (RDA) in consultation with the OVP.

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Deputy Minister in the Office of the Vice President Stephen Kampyongo was recently in Western Province on a fact finding mission to acquaint himself with the operations of the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) in the region. Vice President Inonge Wina tasked Mr Kampyongo to visit the region to carry out an assessment on the hunger situation because eight districts out of 14 in Western province are the most hit. This follows the lack of rainfall in some areas, while others are hit by perennial flooding.
The deputy minister and his entourage achieved this mission by conducting an aerial view in a  ZAF helicopter to inspect  maize fields in Kalabo, Nalolo and Shang’ombo districts to familiarise himself with the situation in the province.
Mr Kampyongo’s first visit was in Mongu, the provincial town before he went to the districts. He said Government, through the DMMU, would provide and facilitate the distribution of relief food. Mr Kampyongo disclosed that 21, 074 tonnes are required to feed 351,267 affected people or 58,545 households in 14 districts across the province.
Mr Kampyongo disclosed this during a meeting with District Disaster Management Committee members for Mongu, Nalolo and Shang’ombo in Western province.
Vice President Inonge  Wina said Government was aware of calamities which are associated with the rainy season.
She said the poverty index showed Kalabo district is the most hit in the province compared to other parts of the country.
The number of people requiring relief food is high, hence Mr Kampyongo’s visit.
Mr Kampyongo assured that government was determined to provide food to its citizens and that, no one should die as a result of hunger.
“Government won’t allow its citizens die of hunger. It’s a big mistake to go to those extremes.
This is the more reason why l have come here to assess the situation,” he said.
He said Chadiza requires 2, 005 tonnes  of relief food, Lundazi (5,728 tonnes), Nyimba (1,764 tonnes), Milenge (1,129 tonnes), Chinsali (1,324 tonnes), Shiwang’andu (882 tonnes) and Kalabo (1,673 tonnes). He added that Limulunga needs 641 tonnes , Mongu (962 tonnes ), Shang’ombo (1,185 tonnes ), Sikongo (1115 tonnes), Sioma (508 tonnes), Nalolo (863 tonnes) while 1,295 tonnes is for Senanga. He said Lundazi has got the highest figure of 15,912 tonnes for the households, while  Chadiza has 5,570 tonnes, Nyimba 4,899 tonnes and 1,411 tonnes for Sioma District.
About 351, 267 people in 14 districts will require relief food amounting to 21,074 tonnes of cereal for eight months.
Of the 14 districts, eight namely Chadiza, Lundazi and Nyimba in Eastern Province, Milenge in Luapula and Chinsali and Shiwang’andu in Northern Province, will be on market intervention. All these districts from Western Province except for Mongu, will also be on the relief distribution programme from up to March 2015, where a total of 8,242 tonnes of grain will be distributed under my office,” he said.
He said Government would procure five helicopters to help in air-lifting relief food to flood prone areas in the country. He said his ministry is sourcing funds for the procurement of the three helicopters. Mr Kampyongo says at the moment his office through the DMMU was relying on Zambia Air Force (ZAF) helicopters to air-lift the maize to needy areas. He assured the nation that government was determined to ensure that its citizens don’t go hungry but have enough food.
The deputy minister further disclosed that his office has procured Six  heavy trucks suitable for all terrains to  ferry maize in even sandy areas like Kalabo, Mongu, Nalolo and Shang’ombo districts.
He warned against discriminating vulnerable communities and politicising relief maize aimed at befitting any desperately calamity stricken person.
He said his office was disturbed by reports that relief maize was being politicised by DDMU officials when it was supposed to benefit any disadvantaged citizen, adding that relief food should evenly be distributed to the beneficiaries across the country.He said government has procured three choppers,  trucks and other necessary materials like tents and blankets noting the bad terrain of the area.
On public funds, the deputy minister directed the office of the  Western Province Permanent Secretary to ensure that those allegedly frustrating government efforts should not be left Scott-free but punished. He said Government releases public resources in key sectors of the economy but regretted that some of these funds are not utilised prudently. Mr Kampyongo said  civil servants’ responsibilities are to interpret, supervise and implement government policies effectively.
He said government is in a hurry to deliver meaningful development to people, adding that it will not tolerate any casual attitude towards work from any civil servant.
He said despite many operational challenges civil servants are faced with, non-performance should not be an excuse. Former area Permanent Secretary  Mr. Augustine Seyuba regretted that the  region accounts  for more than half of the 14 districts threatened with hunger.
He, however, commended the Office of the Vice President for coming to the plight of the people in the province.
The former PS named some of the affected schools that were damaged as Kaeya, Litoya, Nangwanji, Matamena, Nakato, Sesheke High, Kasima, Nyuta Holy Cross, Lwanja, Bwina Likuma, Maande and Mwanamwalye. He appealed to government to send relief food to the affected areas. Mr Seyuba said the region needs at least two  6 x 6 trucks in order to ferry the relief food to the beneficiaries.
“We need at least two of those trucks to ferry maize to the intended beneficiaries,” Mr Seyuba said.
Mr Seyuba disclosed that 53 schools have had their roofs blown off in the province. Nololo is the most hit on infrastructure but he is happy the DMMU is on the ground to address the challenges.
Kalabo District Disaster Management Committee vice coordinator Mwiya Inambao bemoaned the erratic rains the district was currently experiencing and the low participation by community members.
Mr Inambao who is also Kalabo District administrative officer (DAO) further stated that Kalabo has so far experienced seven floods and three droughts in the last 31 years.
He said the district is waiting to receive 210 tonnes of relief food for distribution to the intended beneficiaries. He said hazards experienced in the district include fires, poor water and sanitation,  drainage system, illegal immigrants, squatter settlements and disease out-breaks for both humans and animals.
He further bemoaned that limited accessibility to infrastructure, high poverty and illiteracy levels, poor communication, low soil fertility and rainfall variability. He called for the formation and strengthening of local structures including law enforcement agencies, enhanced networking and cooperation.
“We would like to request for more money to allow us to monitor and evaluate satellite disaster management committees (SDMC) and without this we cannot achieve our objectives,” Mr. Inambao said.
The DAO said the visit by Mr Kampyongo to western province gives hope to people.UPND Kalabo Central MP Chinga Miyutu urged government to move in quickly before lives are lost. Mr Miyutu said the district has in the last 30 years experienced floods and he attributed to the hunger being experienced in his area as due to the poor rainfall pattern resulting in drought.
Shang’ombo DAO Albertinah Kabatana could not hide her empathy and informed the visiting deputy minister that people in her district were allegedly dying of hunger because of lack of food. Mrs Kabatana further disclosed that a total of 10, 485 households out of the population of 41,781 people are in dire need of relief food.
“I would like to inform you honourable deputy minister that 10, 485 households from all the seven wards in Shang’ombo district don’t have food and they want to be supported from your good office. To be frank, our people here are dying of hunger and thirst because they don’t have anything to eat or adequate clean drinking water,” she said.
Mrs Kabatana said the district received 144 tonnes of relief food translating into 2,880 x 50 kilogramme bags of maize which has since been distributed to the hunger stricken people.She appealed to government to consider increasing the number of bags for relief maize in order to cater for the ‘growing’ but vulnerable people.
She said the district is currently faced with huge financial challenges. She said her district has not been spared from damage to school infrastructure and they needed urgent attention.
She identified the affected primary schools as Beshe, Libala, Maweleya and Nalwamba respectively. She however, commended government for rehabilitating Liyuwayuwa and Lyamaya primary schools whose roofs were blown off by the wind.
“Our humble request is that four primary schools whose roofs have been blown off be rehabilitated so that pupils can use the classrooms to enhance  the pass rate in these affected learning institutions,” she said.
Shang’ombo MP Poniso Njeulu said politics were over and peoplke should concentrate on work.
Mr Njeulu, who is also Western Province Minister, echoed that the hunger was threatening many people in the region.He however, commended government through the Office of the Vice President for the funds Provincial Disaster Management Committee was receiving to mitigate calamities including challenges from the education sector.
Nalolo District Commissioner (DC), Samwene Mundia appealed to the government to consider adjusting the crop marketing season because of the rainfall pattern. Mr Mundia observes that Nalolo district in Western Province experiences crop failure because of the rainfall pattern.
The DC added that geographical factors, such as terrain of the land, lack of rainfall and flooding, makes it difficult for his area to start crop marketing at the same time as other districts. He disclosed that Nalolo district is threatened with hunger because of the lack of rains the district is experiencing hence his proposal to adjust the crop marketing season.
“I propose to government to change the crop marketing season because of the situation we experience here in our district as selling maize to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) at the same time as other districts,  is putting us in an awkward situation,” Mr Mundia said.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock annually announces the crop forecast survey and sets June 1 to September 31 as a crop marketing season in which farmers sell their maize to the FRA. Mr Mundia further disclosed that some schools, among them Maande, Mayowu, Litoya and Wayana Basic had their roofs blown off because of hail storms thereby limiting the number of classrooms for the pupils to learn from.
In response, Mr Kampyongo said he would deliver the message to relevant authorities.
Mr Kampyongo, however, assured that no one should die of hunger as a result of the rainfall pattern. Mr. Kampyongo also disclosed that Government has put in place a four-year 2014 to 2018 strategic plan for the Zambia Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZVAC). The visit by Mr. Kampyongo to Western province gives hope to people.

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