Niël Terblanché
Cabinet last week activated emergency measures to provide food assistance to drought-stricken households in the //Kharas, Hardap and Omaheke regions.
About N$87.4 million has been availed for drought relief, for the next six months starting on 1 July 2023, the government announced.
The Cabinet has since directed the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare as well as the Ministry of Health and Social Services to provide assistance through the respective regional councils to people and animals in the worst affected regions.
According to a statement about the Cabinet’s latest decisions, the funding for the assistance will be facilitated by the National Emergency Disaster Fund (NEDF).
In addition, the agriculture Ministry was directed to provide drought-stricken regions with a Livestock Support Programme which will include livestock marketing incentives, a subsidy for transportation of livestock to and from grazing areas and a subsidy for the leasing of grazing.
The agriculture Ministry was advised to consider the extension of the livestock support programme to the Kunene region, parts of the Erongo region and parts of the Omusati Region.
Cabinet furthermore directed the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure that regular maintenance and repair of boreholes and water points are done as well as to provide tanker services with trucks in the Omaheke, //Kharas and Hardap regions.
According to the statement, the Ministry of Poverty Eradication in consultation with the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprise, was directed to intensify the roll-out social of welfare programmes in urban centres and among the marginalised communities in the affected regions.
The Ministry was also directed to assess the conditions of the Bakgalagadi communities in the Omaheke Region to determine if they qualify for assistance through marginalised programmes.
In addition, the Cabinet directed the Ministry of Health to ensure continuous issuance of Ready-to-Use Supplementary Food (RUSF) sachets to malnourished diagnosed cases and water purification tablets in all regions.
