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The Government has made an undertaking that no one will starve despite the fact that most parts of the country had poor harvests this year due to erratic rains. The country which consumes about 2 million tonnes of maize a year, harvested just about 600 000 tonnes which means the deficit has to be covered by imports.

Matabeleland South and North, Masvingo, Manicaland and parts of the Midlands are reported to be the worst affected by the drought as a result of successive poor harvests.

Many families in these areas have already run out of food and there is urgent need for the Government to provide food aid.

In Tsholotsho, according to a story elsewhere in this paper, the San community is reported to be on the verge of starvation. The community is reported to be facing an acute shortage of food that has prompted Bakers Inn to donate 300 loaves of bread to the community every week.

The representatives of the community said many families were on the verge of starvation as they had nothing to eat.

They said they used to be assisted by the late Vice-President Cde Landa John Nkomo. Bakers Inn pledged to continue supplying the community with bread until the next harvest.

We want to commend Bakers Inn for responding promptly to the community’s distress calls but bread alone is not enough. There is therefore a need for Government to move swiftly and complement this kind gesture by providing maize to the community. What is pleasing is that Government has started receiving delivery of maize imported from Zambia.

According to the Grain Marketing Board general manager, Mr Albert Mandizha, delivery of the 150 000 tonnes of maize sourced from Zambia which was temporarily suspended sometime this year when the then Minister of Finance, Mr Tendai Biti said Treasury had run out of money to pay for the maize imports, has resumed.

Mr Mandizha said the resumption of deliveries followed an injection of cash by the new Government recently. He said since last week, 11 000 tonnes of maize had been delivered and distribution of the maize to the worst affected areas had started.

Mr Mandizha said the delivered maize was not being kept at depots but was, soon after arrival, being ferried straight to the needy areas.

We want at this juncture to implore those on the ground who include councillors, traditional leaders like chiefs and headmen and district administrators to also work with the same urgency and ensure the food reaches the beneficiaries at the shortest possible time.

Cases like that of the San community deserve special attention.