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Whinsley Masara recently in Binga
CHIEFS in Binga have said the district has the worst roads in the country and this affects drought relief food distribution and chases away investors.

“Right now, the community is very grateful for the government’s initiative on food aid but its distribution is always delayed due to poor roads.

“If you move towards Pashu – Lubimbi, you will see why it takes days or even a week for a heavy truck to reach the places. These poor roads and the seriously eroded bridges have been constantly affected by rains in the past years,” said Chief Pashu.

He said the roads have not only delayed food distribution but also put off many developers who wish to invest in the district.

Chief Nekatambe said the situation was pathetic because it forced elderly people to walk up to 20 kilometres to food distribution points.

“The government needs to reconsider their distribution points, add more and at least make them strategic and convenient for the beneficiaries.

“Some of these elderly people come that far and in most cases are forced to stay at those points for a number of days due to the delays. Imagine, they have to carry sacks for distances that even trucks don’t cover,” he said.

“We’re appealing to the government to immediately rehabilitate roads to allow easy movement of trucks. As community leaders we don’t even visit the distribution points because the situation is sad and even embarrassing. These people are already starving and so need to be respected and served as soon as possible”.

Chief Saba said that a few people were benefiting from the Government’s Food for Work projects.

“Many wish to participate to earn a little something but unfortunately only two people per village were chosen.

“It’s difficult to choose who to leave out. If the numbers could be increased, the community would be grateful,” said Chief Saba.

Youths at Saba Business Centre told The Chronicle that there were no jobs in Binga.

“If resources could be made available, we would grab the opportunities to be occupied in some projects like road rehabilitation, irrigation projects, construction of infrastructure, to mention a few.

“We hate waking up to sit idle at business centres. We wish we could be busy working on something fruitful. May the government assist us with projects,” said one of the youths.