Stop the waste We can only conclude that there has been a form of negligence in handling drought relief consignments even at a critical time when thousands are threatened by the devastating drought. With poor rainfall experienced over the years, many Namibians have been left starving, prompting the head of state to declare a drought emergency. The situation on the ground is dire. Thousands are sleeping on empty stomachs every day due to food stocks that have run out.
The effects of starvation are showing everywhere as you travel across the country.
It is really a sad case. However, it is unimaginable that those tasked with distributing drought relief to the less privileged are doing so without a sense of urgency.
This week Namibian Sun reported how 450 bags donated by the South African government have been allowed to go to waste in a Windhoek warehouse. The food already expired in June and has been declared “not fit for human consumption”. This is not the first time that maize meal earmarked for drought relief is discarded. There have also been instances where the school feeding scheme food has rotted in warehouses.
There have been many well documented instances of sheer negligence over the years, yet there seems to be no action against perpetrators to stop this unacceptable rot.
We should have learnt some hard lessons back in 2005 when some 18 400 bags of maize meal intended for flood and drought relief to needy people were found going to waste at an army warehouse in the Zambezi Region, simply because officials were not being paid overtime to deliver the food.
We have allowed officials to gamble with the lives of the poor and the destitute in need of food aid.
The Office of the Prime Minister must take practical steps against those who have allowed the situation to get to this disastrous point.
Additionally, it is high time that an investigation is conducted to look into the handling of drought relief consignments countrywide.