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Pamela Shumba, Senior Reporter 

GOVERNMENT has started distributing maize to vulnerable families in urban areas including Bulawayo to fight food shortages as a result of drought, Finance and Economic Development Minister e has said.

He said while the distribution of food is ongoing in rural areas, Government has also started the programme in the metropolitan provinces of Bulawayo and Harare while other towns and cities will benefit in the coming weeks. 

“We know our citizens need food. We’re supporting about 800 000 families in the country, which covers nearly 3,5 million people and we’re scaling up to about 5 million people. 

“The innovation that we’ve introduced as Government is not only the distribution of food and cash transfers in rural areas but we’ve also started doing it in urban areas,” said Prof Ncube while addressing delegates during the Mid-Term budget review breakfast meeting in Bulawayo on Friday.

He said the programme was meant to ensure that no one was left behind in the development of an inclusive economy. “It’s not easy to target the poor and vulnerable families in the urban areas as compared to the rural areas where traditional leaders know all their people and there is a system which makes it easy to identify people village by village. 

“We’re trying to perfect the system in the urban areas and we’re getting there. We’ve been distributing food in Bulawayo and Harare initially. We’ll move to other urban areas in the following weeks,” said Prof Ncube.

He said Government’s social protection programmes go beyond food as the health sector has been included.

“I even mentioned in the budget that we’re revamping infrastructure in the health sector. In Bulawayo we’ve revamped theatres at United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) and Mpilo Hospital. 

“After revamping the hospitals in urban areas we’ll move to rural areas,” said the Minister.

Bulawayo Provincial Affairs Minister Cde Judith Ncube said the Bulawayo provincial food relief programme was launched recently in Luveve and vulnerable families from all the city’s wards will benefit.

“We receive a substantial amount of maize from Government every month and we distribute it in the wards through the social welfare department.

“All families who need food aid will benefit from the programme. We thank the Government for the noble idea,” said Minister Ncube. — @pamelashumba1