OPM rubbishes alleged Mbumba link to Chinese rice donation
The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) has refuted claims suggesting President Nangolo Mbumba had influenced a decision to direct a donated consignment of rice from China to the Oshikoto region, where he hails from.
Executive director I-Ben Nashandi told Namibian Sun yesterday that the president's office had no involvement in the decision to identify Oshikoto Region as the beneficiary of the close to 30 000 bags of rice.
This follows complaints from members of the public who questioned why Oshikoto was the sole beneficiary of the donation, arguing that other areas are more severely affected by poverty.
"The distribution of food is not influenced by the origin of the head of state. That is not correct. It is influenced by the development of issues of food security and malnutrition dynamics as we receive them,” Nashandi explained.
Nashandi said the decision to distribute the rice in Oshikoto was made in line with relevant statistics, which indicate high levels of malnutrition in that region.
“Just because the president comes from there, must people not benefit? They are just like all other people, all other Namibians. They need services of government.”
Targeted and monitored
He added that with limited donations, it is more effective to target a specific area. Once the food is donated, its impact can be measured, unlike dividing it among all regions, which is harder to monitor.
“Oshikoto was considered because the smart survey that was recently concluded points out that there are quite a number of high levels of malnutrition that are imminent in the areas of Oshikoto,” he noted.
"Unfortunately, because of the size of the donation, there is never enough for you to give to the whole country at once."
He said it's prudent to "identify pockets" of urgent need and to monitor the impact.
"Otherwise, you end up getting this donation; you give two there, you give one there, you give half there."
Nashandi said since the drought state of emergency was declared last year, international donors have responded to an appeal for help.
Countries like Qatar responded with food donations, which were distributed to various communities, particularly those reported to have high cases of malnutrition.
Food fit for consumption
Some residents have also expressed concern over rice donated from China.
“China is well known for producing plastic rice," a resident claimed.
"YouTube is populated with videos of Chinese manufacturing rice from mere plastics. How sure are we that the donated rice is not made out of plastics?”
Nashandi said government consults food experts to ensure it is fit for human consumption. He added that there has been no evidence to support the allegations about plastic rice.
"Those allegations are there, but what we do is we engage the food experts when the food comes, and they give us the necessary assurance that the food is fit for human consumption,” he said.
“There is no way the government will distribute food which is not fit for human consumption."
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Executive director I-Ben Nashandi told Namibian Sun yesterday that the president's office had no involvement in the decision to identify Oshikoto Region as the beneficiary of the close to 30 000 bags of rice.
This follows complaints from members of the public who questioned why Oshikoto was the sole beneficiary of the donation, arguing that other areas are more severely affected by poverty.
"The distribution of food is not influenced by the origin of the head of state. That is not correct. It is influenced by the development of issues of food security and malnutrition dynamics as we receive them,” Nashandi explained.
Nashandi said the decision to distribute the rice in Oshikoto was made in line with relevant statistics, which indicate high levels of malnutrition in that region.
“Just because the president comes from there, must people not benefit? They are just like all other people, all other Namibians. They need services of government.”
Targeted and monitored
He added that with limited donations, it is more effective to target a specific area. Once the food is donated, its impact can be measured, unlike dividing it among all regions, which is harder to monitor.
“Oshikoto was considered because the smart survey that was recently concluded points out that there are quite a number of high levels of malnutrition that are imminent in the areas of Oshikoto,” he noted.
"Unfortunately, because of the size of the donation, there is never enough for you to give to the whole country at once."
He said it's prudent to "identify pockets" of urgent need and to monitor the impact.
"Otherwise, you end up getting this donation; you give two there, you give one there, you give half there."
Nashandi said since the drought state of emergency was declared last year, international donors have responded to an appeal for help.
Countries like Qatar responded with food donations, which were distributed to various communities, particularly those reported to have high cases of malnutrition.
Food fit for consumption
Some residents have also expressed concern over rice donated from China.
“China is well known for producing plastic rice," a resident claimed.
"YouTube is populated with videos of Chinese manufacturing rice from mere plastics. How sure are we that the donated rice is not made out of plastics?”
Nashandi said government consults food experts to ensure it is fit for human consumption. He added that there has been no evidence to support the allegations about plastic rice.
"Those allegations are there, but what we do is we engage the food experts when the food comes, and they give us the necessary assurance that the food is fit for human consumption,” he said.
“There is no way the government will distribute food which is not fit for human consumption."
[email protected]
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