Donations of N$12m towards drought relief

Donations amounting to N$12 million have been received for drought relief, which is just a drop in the bucket compared to government&#039;s budget of N$1.3 billion for the drought relief programme.According to Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, there are still pledges for donations totalling N$229.7 million.Addressing drought relief challenges, she said: “The government has taken note with concern of reported incidents of theft of drought relief food. We also condemn the cases of the politicisation of emergency food aid that have been reported.”She said these incidents must be addressed by all relevant stakeholders within the appropriate policies.Coordinated efforts The prime minister made these remarks Wednesday, during the official opening of the national platform for the implementation of the nationwide 2024-25 drought relief programme in Windhoek, with regional governors and stakeholders in attendance. Food provision is coordinated by the Office of the Prime Minister, while the livestock support programme and water supply fall under the agriculture, water and land reform ministry.“The food insecurity situation is expected to increase during the period from October 2024 to March 2025, with 1.26 million people anticipated to be affected, followed by 776 000 people until June 2025,” Kuukongelwa-Amadhila said. According to a vulnerability assessment and analysis, 1.26 million people (or 41.5%) of the total population of three million are considered to require urgent action to reduce food gaps and protect their livelihoods.The remaining 1.77 million people (or 58.5% of the population) are affected but are considered not to be in a crisis or emergency.This demographic is not covered under the food relief initiative but is addressed under the seed and livestock plan, and they can benefit from the water supply programme.The Prime Minister emphasised that the food assistance programme will be expanded to urban centres through the rollout of the Conditional Basic Income Grant (CBIG).Managing riskKuugongelwa-Amadhila said regional governors have the mandate to establish drought risk management committees in the respective regions. “This places the regional governor in a central role in overseeing the activities of these committees, supported by the regional committees. Other structures will also be provided for constituencies, towns and settlements, and the same responsibilities will fall on the heads of constituencies, town councils and settlements to oversee the implementation within the established policies and programmes,” she explained.Once these structures are operational, they will relieve the burden of coordinating and implementing the programmes, she noted.“While drought relief is the primary intervention to provide immediate assistance to the most vulnerable, the implementation of other programmes remains central to the livelihoods of communities,” she said.

Donations of N$12m towards drought relief

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Namibian Sun 2025-02-25

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Donations of N$12m towards drought relief

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Namibian Sun 2025-02-25

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