By Tovin Ngombe:-
Sinazongwe District Commissioner (DC) Laiven Apuleni has said the drought situation in the district was no longer a disaster and an excuse for people to be appealing for relief food.
Apuleni noted that the district has economic potential that people could use to feed themselves.
He said government would not send relief food to feed people that were lazy and able to venture into economic activities.
The DC disclosed that Sinazongwe was amongst the district with the highest number of cattle and goats that people could sale to feed themselves.
Despite the raring of animals, Apuleni said district was near lake Kariba where most people were fish traders adding that he does not see any reason why people should use the high prevalent of drought as a scapegoat to appeal for relief food.
He pointed out that every day trucks from ZAMBEEF were tracking to Kanchindu in Senior Chief Mweemba’s area to buy cattle and people could use the same money to buy food other than hiding in the guise of drought.
Apuleni disclosed that the 150 metric tones that the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) was about to send to the district would be given to the orphans vulnerable children, the aged, HIV/AIDS patients, and to child headed households.
He said some people in the district were selling fresh maize on the streets and K200 million has been allocated to buy maize in the district.
“We will only feed the vulnerable people, orphans, the sick, the aged we have a list and we know them not giving food to lazy people,†The DC said.
He urged people to desist from rushing to the press to issue statements on relief food when they could afford to feed themselves.
The DC said certain places in the district that were not near Lake Kariba such as Siampondo and Siameja areas may have problem of food and not near by places such as Kanchindu.
Two weeks ago Senior Chief Mweemba of the Tonga people said the hunger situation in the district would be worse in this month if government fails to send relief food to save his subjects from starvation.
The senior chief who was speaking through his representative Richwell Ntundulu at his palace said the hunger situation in his areas has continued to haunt his people because of the erratic rainfall experienced in the district last year.
it is not everybody has animal.in mweemba there is hunger if you go to place like dengeza,muuka mention the few people are surviving in wild roots .
other erea has no water the zambezi river is very far you have to walk about 25 klm.
we need gavernment to come in and serve people hunger sitaution is terrible .kwamweemba kuli nzala ncobeeni bantu balapenga kunyina chakulya alimwii takuli kuti boonse balijisi ngo’mbe pe. zambezi mulonga ulikule infulumende aifwambane kuleya chakulya bantu balafwa.
I want to agree with the D. commissioner about the hunger issues in sinazongwe which are sometimes brown out of propotion., The truth of the matter is that a lot of goats are sold here in Lusaka at Chibolya area called Kabesha. These goats come from the very places which are demeed prone to hunger. The question is where does that money go? When you lok again you will discover that those people are near the Kariba dam or Zambezi river even as far as siampondo, there is still tributaries of the Zambezi river called Muyaba. There is plenty fish and water which can be used to grow maize and other crops. Time is now to do away with GMOs. People of the valley should not sell their animals at gie away price they should commecialise their prices so that they save more money to cursion their situat