Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Angolan Government is making arrangements to repatriate its citizens, who earlier this year crossed into Namibia fleeing a years-long drought in southern Angola.
About 3 000 Angolan drought refugees are currently in the Omusati Region where they are being fed by Good Samaritans and also fending for themselves by performing food-for-work tasks.
The minister of state in the office of the Angolan President, General Francisco Furtado, was quoted by the Portuguese news agency, Lusa, as saying that the commission that deals with the drought situation in the south of the country held a meeting in Luanda Thursday and a task force was set up. The task force will operate from Cahama in the Cunene Province and is tasked to establish contacts with the Angolan consulate at Oshakati to organize the repatriation of those Angolans who fled the country earlier this year, originating mostly from the drought-stricken districts of Curoca and Cahama.
A representative of the World Food Program (WFP) in Angola earlier this year said that approximately 3,5 million Angolans were affected by the drought, not only in the southern provinces where it is a recurring phenomenon but also in the central highlands.
