Govt slaughters cow, goats for stranded Angolans

Govt slaughters cow, goats for stranded Angolans TUYEIMO HAIDULA AND TUNOHOLE MUNGOBA



ETUNDA

Government, which has slaughtered a cow and goats to feed Angolan refugees who crossed into the Omusati Region due to starvation in their country, has asked the Angolan government to provide clarity on what interventions it is working on to save its citizens.

Omusati governor Erginus Endjala confirmed this to Namibian Sun yesterday when asked what long-term sustainable interventions are being sought to help the starving Angolan flock.

He said official records show that 744 Angolans have arrived in Omusati, but more are expected – especially after news reached their villages that those who crossed into Namibia are being fed by government.

About 100 refugees were taken to Etunda irrigation scheme, where they receive food rations after every two days from government. The food donated consists of mealie meal, tinned fish and cabbage.

The group lives under a tree at Etunda amidst good rains received this week. When Namibia Media Holdings reporters arrived on site yesterday, the group had hung blankets to dry after heavy rains on Tuesday night.

Vulnerable to the elements

“We ran under a roofed structure where old-age grants are usually distributed. It only has a roof, so the water was still coming in through the sides,” one of them said.

Yesterday, those on site were mostly women and babies. Male members of the group had gone to scavenge for food in surrounding areas, they said.

Endjala and Angolan ambassador to Namibia Jevelina Costa visited the group recently, and it was after this visit that government decided to provide regular food supplies while awaiting substantive answers from Angolan authorities.

The group fetches water from local Good Samaritans, as there is no tap water available. When nature calls, they use nearby bushes.

More Angolan nationals are arriving in the Ohangwena Region, also due to hunger. Angolans living in the southern parts of that country have endured years of successive drought and neglect from their own government.

Endjala said answers from Angola are urgently needed as it is feared that locals will soon tempt the desperate flock into cheap labour.

“Whatever we have done for now is only a temporary arrangement while we wait on the Angolan authorities to tell us what they are going to do to help their people,” he said.