Minister scoffs at DMMU officials in Zambezi

Zambezi East Member of Parliament, Sarah Sayifwanda, has urged the Zambezi District Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit, DMMU, officials in the district not to politicize the relief food distribution exercise.

Mrs. Sayifwanda says relief food should not be used for gaining political mileage because the aid is a government policy implemented for vulnerable communities across the nation.

She said District DMMU officials in Zambezi district are allegedly not fairly distributing the maize meant for flood victims and accused some of the officials of de-campaigning her.

Mrs. Sayifwanda was speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka today.

She warned that she will not hesitate to expose ‘defiant’ DMMU officials accusing government of not paying necessary attention to flood victims in Zambezi East Constituency.

The MP said Mpidi, Lupwempu, Lukung’i, Nyakuleng’a, Chitokoloki in the East Bank were also hit by floods therefore the villagers are in dire need of relief food.

The visibly annoyed Mrs Sayifwanda said the DMMU officials in the district should involve the Office of the District Commissioner and all Appointed Food Distribution Agents to follow established distribution channel of relief food.

Mrs. Sayifwanda, who is also Agriculture and Cooperatives co-minister, bemoaned that government efforts were being frustrated by a few individuals who are bent on de-registering scored development success.

Meanwhile, DMMU National Co-ordinator, Dominiciano Mulenga, said in a separate interview in Lusaka today that stakeholders who are willing to donate to flood victims should do so through their respective area district commissioners.

He told ZANIS that people are free to support affected communities to help reduce government burden of addressing the effects of floods and other natural disasters.