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Government assures the nation on adequate grain in silos

by Simbarashe Sithole
18 Mar 2019 at 15:22hrs | Views
The deputy minister of Labour and Social welfare Lovemore Matuke assured villagers of Urere in Rushinga Mashonaland Central province last week that there is adequate food in the country's silos to feed the whole nation.

Speaking during an assessment tour of food distribution points in Rushinga, the deputy minister gave reassurance that everyone in need of food will get it despite erotic rains this season.

"We saw it fit to reach all areas to see whether food is reaching all parts, the District Administrator and his committee sit down and see where  there is food  as we speak we have enough food in our silos which we can give people," Matuke said.

He said the ministry took the mandate to go on the ground and see for themselves if people are benefiting from the drought relief programmes than to just get reports from their offices.
"We could just get reports in our offices of grain being delivered but we found it necessary to go to the ground, out of 1100 households 500 in this ward were deemed vulnerable but the MP (Tendai Nyabani) is appealing for more."

Speaking on the side-lines of the event Rushinga legislator Tendai Nyabani said his constituency is in crises since all the crops people grew wilted and social welfare together with some Non-Governmental Organisations are helping them a lot.

"We have food crises in Rushinga, all crops have dried up, so we are receiving food from social welfare and 3000from comteck then we are left with a deficit of 11 000householdsto meet our number,"Nyabani said

Nyabani said government should introduce food for work in his constituency to minimise the stalks in hunger.

Meanwhile, MDC provincial chairman for Mash Central George Gwarada bemoaned the food relief programmes claiming food was being distributed on partisan grounds.

"Our supporters are not being food hand-outs by ZANU PF officials who think they are the only Zimbabweans affected by hunger, it is not only in Rushinga where MDC Alliance supporters are being denied food aid but it is across the province," lamented Gwarada.

However Nyabani dismissed the claims saying food is being distributed at ward level.

Food is being distributed through social welfare which is a government department. Social welfare has ward based committee which work in hand with social welfare officers."

Source - Simbarashe Sithole