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Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Gwanda Correspondent
THE Department of Social Welfare in Matabeleland South Province has diverted maize under the school feeding programme towards assisting the vulnerable in communities, as it was rotting away.

According to a database from the department, the province has just over 100 tonnes of maize in schools and about 9 tonnes has gone bad.

About 91 tonnes will be distributed to the community.

Schools had collected maize from GMB depots under the school feeding programme at the beginning of the year and closed for the first term before they could use up the grain.

Schools have remained closed since end March due to the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic.

Matabeleland South provincial social welfare officer, Mr Criswell Nyakudya said their district officers working with schools have been tasked to distribute the maize to vulnerable homesteads that were already under the social welfare database.

“There was a concern that was raised that maize grain under the school feeding programme was rotting away in learning institutions. This is grain that was collected by schools at the beginning of the first term and by the time schools closed they had not used up all the grain with the hope of using it during the second term.

“Now that schools have remained closed due to the prevailing pandemic some of the maize is now rotting as the schools can’t use it to feed the children. We have then tasked our district officers to work with schools and see to it that maize is distributed to communities. It will be given to vulnerable homesteads which are already in our database,” he said.

Mr Nyakudya said although the grain was not going to serve its purpose of feeding learners, it would go a long way in assisting vulnerable homesteads which the learners were also a part of.

He said about 142 000 households in Matabeleland South Province are in need of food aid under the drought relief programme as the number of the vulnerable households continues to rise.

Mr Nyakudya said at the moment 63 380 households were receiving grain under the drought relief programme.

He said they had sent a request to increase the number and were waiting for approval. Mr Nyakudya said they will continue to engage their head office over the matter as there was need for more homesteads to be incorporated under the drought relief programme.

According to a database from the Department of Social Welfare in Matabeleland South Province schools in Umzingwane District have the most grain with about 41 tonnes followed by schools in Bulilima District with about 38 tonnes then Mangwe with about 15 tonnes.-@DubeMatutu