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Leonard Ncube Victoria Falls Reporter
MORE than 40,000 vulnerable households in Matabeleland North Province have started receiving grain under the drought relief food programme targeting families affected by drought in all the country’s 10 provinces.

The national deficit of 700,000 tonnes of grain is being addressed through importation of grain from a number of countries by both the government and the private sector.

There are a total of 43,467 households drawn from the elderly, disabled, chronically ill and child-headed families who are set to benefit from 2,124 metric tonnes of grain delivered to the province last week, according to figures obtained from the Social Welfare department. The elderly constitute the biggest number of beneficiaries with close to 30,000 earmarked to receive monthly handouts.

In separate interviews, District Administrators from Matabeleland North said they had received consignments of grain and had already identified beneficiaries through the Social Welfare department.

They said each household would receive at least a 50kg bag of maize every month.

“We received 900 metric tonnes and fortunately enough we had 500 metric tonnes in stock at the GMB. We asked the Ward leadership to provide a list of vulnerable people who deserve food assistance as we start distributing food aid,” said Tsholotsho District Administrator Nosizi Dube.

She said a total of 7,221 households are eligible for food relief in the district, out of 24,000 in the entire district.

In Tsholotsho, wards 12, 13, 19 and 22 face drought with Ward 19 critically in need of food aid.

Dube said distribution had already started in these wards while Ward 20 is better because there are farms.

She said they made a once off allocation to the San community because they are a vulnerable group.

Binga district, whose population is close to 40,000 people, has the highest number of vulnerable households with 7,982 in need of food aid.

District Administrator Lydia Banda-Ndethi said grain was being distributed to different wards from two GMB depots in the district.

“All Wards collect their maize from two depots at Binga Centre and Lusulu main GMB depot. We’ve received five trucks carrying 30 tonnes each so far and we’re expecting to give all 25 Wards where each household will be getting a 50kg bag every month until the situation normalises,” she said.

Banda-Ndethi said the food situation was worsened by the fact that Lusulu, which is Binga’s breadbasket, did not harvest enough to sustain the district this year and 17 wards are critically in need of food aid.

She said there were other partners helping with food aid in the district.

The District Administrator for Hwange Tapera Mugoriya said they received 400 metric tonnes to be distributed in 19 out of 21 wards.

“We will be distributing 13 metric tonnes per month,” he told The Chronicle.

Simangani and Kamativi are the worst hit wards in the district which has a population of more than 60,000 people.

In Lupane, 7,183 households will benefit with the majority being the elderly and District Administrator Zachariah Jusa said distribution has already started. Nkayi and Bubi districts have also received their allocations and Bubi has the least number of households in need of food aid at 3,460.

The same applies to Umguza District where there are 7,299 households requiring food relief. The DA, Ennette Sithole, who is also Acting Provincial Administrator, said distribution had started in earnest.

She said the province was gratified by the government food relief programme as it would sustain people until the next cropping season.

“Food has been distributed to all districts and we’re busy working on it.

“The whole programme is being handled by the Social Welfare department and so they’re the best to give proper statistics,” Sithole said.

The government’s plan is for every needy citizen in the country’s 10 provinces to get quantities that are in accordance with the severity of the hunger, with priority given to the vulnerable.

President Robert Mugabe is on record as saying government will not allow anyone to die from hunger.