{"id":50009,"date":"2023-07-26T17:02:12","date_gmt":"2023-07-26T17:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/130-000-queue-up-for-drought-relief-in-omusati"},"modified":"2023-07-26T17:06:49","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T17:06:49","slug":"130-000-queue-up-for-drought-relief-in-omusati","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/130-000-queue-up-for-drought-relief-in-omusati","title":{"rendered":"130 000 queue up for drought relief in Omusati"},"content":{"rendered":"

Victoria Kaapanda
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

Africa-Press – Namibia. <\/strong><\/span>OSHAKATI \u2013 In the face of devastating droughts that have gripped the northern regions, nearly 140 000 people in the rural Omusati have registered for the government\u2019s drought relief programme.<\/p>\n

According to Omusati Regional Council spokesperson Simion Kandjala, so far, 132 755 people have registered for the drought relief programme.<\/p>\n

Namibia was hit by a dry spell between February and April.<\/p>\n

This severely affected crops<\/p>\n

and livestock, with some politicians and farmers\u2019 unionists asking President Hage Geingob to declare a state of emergency.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe number has accelerated from 74 841, and we are still expecting more, as we are not done with the assessment,\u201d Kandjala said.<\/p>\n

However, regional councillors and traditional leaders in northern regions are unhappy with the alleged slow pace of the drought relief programme.<\/p>\n

According to the population and housing census of 2011, Omusati is the third highest populated region in the land, with 243 166 inhabitants.<\/p>\n

According to the United Nations\u2019 Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), an estimated 390 000 Namibians faced acute food insecurity between January and March 2023.<\/p>\n

Exacerbating food insecurity were key factors, such as high food prices and localised adverse weather that induced severe shortfalls in cereal production in 2022.<\/p>\n

This state of affairs was shared by FAO in its most recent crop prospects and quarterly global report on food.<\/p>\n

Immanuel Shikongo from the Outapi constituency in the Omusati region complained that most of the people in his constituency are not benefitting from the relief, although they are faced with the same challenges as those who are getting.<\/p>\n

The drought relief programme is mainly catered to the vulnerable Namibians, as well as those affected by natural calamities. Therefore, it is supposed to serve a crucial part in feeding all affected families and individuals.<\/p>\n

Cabinet in April directed the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) to extend the drought relief programme by the tune of N$121 million to Kunene, as well as parts of Erongo and Omusati. The programme runs from April to May 2024, according to existing criteria.<\/p>\n

Hunger<\/p>\n

Ompundja constituency councillor Adolf Hitler Uunona<\/p>\n

said many people have started flocking to his office in search of drought relief food after their crops failed.<\/p>\n

Uunona said hundreds of people from the Ompundja constituency in the Oshana region are in dire need of food aid because their crops withered due to erratic rains.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe constituency has been receiving poor rainfall over the previous years, making it difficult for subsistence farmers who depend on mahangu and maize production to produce any food for their families,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Etayi constituency councillor Hans Haikali said more than 6 000 residents have enquired about the drought relief programme. \u201cPeople are starving; they did not get anything from their crop fields. We have been waiting for the programme. The number of people keeps increasing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Maria Petrus from Ompundja told New Era they have not received any drought relief or food aid, although they are registered, adding they were starving, as a majority of them are without jobs. \u201cThe government must do something. We are starving, and we will appreciate the little they can provide, as many of us are not working. Some, who are fortunate, survive on pension and social grants, while the rest are suffering,\u201d said Petrus. Another resident Leena Shipombo said the government should do something before they die of hunger. \u201cThe government is well informed on what happened to our crop fields due to flooding and low rainfall,\u201d she added. Saara Shoolongela from Ehafo LyaKandenge\u2019s field looks like many others \u2013 stunted and wilted mahangu in a dusty field, scorched by the sun.<\/p>\n

\u201cI rely on my crops for the main food security for my family \u2013 and usually, I don\u2019t have to buy mahangu. Now, I have no food to put on the table. It is devastating,\u201d stressed Shoolongela. \u201cWe put a lot of work into the field, but the result is zero. It is demoralising and worrying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martha Namwandi from the same area reports a less gloomy situation. Oshana governor Elia Irimari said the regional council will respond once all the required data are gathered. He, however, maintained there are already measures in place to help those who are affected.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot talk about mahangu. The situation appears to be dire. The worrying factor is that food is incredibly expensive, and people are already struggling with affordability,\u201d the governor said. Oshikoto Regional Council spokesperson Petrus Nehale said no harvests are anticipated in most areas of the region. According to him, the looming drought is a \u201cdouble-edged sword\u201d to his region, as many constituencies are already struggling with water scarcity.<\/p>\n

Ohangwena region could not give the exact number of people, as they were not done with the assessment.<\/p>\n

Ohangwena was the most affected region by the flood, and many farmers\u2019 crops were destroyed. The OPM said regional leaders and OPM officials are gathered at Oshakati for data collection in the regions to determine the food security status in those regions.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Namibia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Victoria Kaapanda Africa-Press – Namibia. OSHAKATI \u2013 In the face of devastating droughts that have gripped the northern regions, nearly 140 000 people in the rural Omusati have registered for the government\u2019s drought relief programme. According to Omusati Regional Council spokesperson Simion Kandjala, so far, 132 755 people have registered for the drought relief programme. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":50008,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[234,236,233],"class_list":["post-50009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-namibia","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"\n130 000 queue up for drought relief in Omusati - Namibia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"OSHAKATI \u2013 In the face of devastating droughts that have gripped the northern regions, nearly 140 000 people in the rura ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/130-000-queue-up-for-drought-relief-in-omusati\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"130 000 queue up for drought relief in Omusati\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"OSHAKATI \u2013 In the face of devastating droughts that have gripped the northern regions, nearly 140 000 people in the rura ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/130-000-queue-up-for-drought-relief-in-omusati\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Namibia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-07-26T17:02:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-07-26T17:06:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/07\/sm_1690378575.440148.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"478\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/130-000-queue-up-for-drought-relief-in-omusati#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/130-000-queue-up-for-drought-relief-in-omusati\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"130 000 queue up for drought relief in Omusati\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-07-26T17:02:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-07-26T17:06:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/130-000-queue-up-for-drought-relief-in-omusati\"},\"wordCount\":833,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/130-000-queue-up-for-drought-relief-in-omusati#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/07\/sm_1690378575.440148.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"africa press\",\"Africa Press-Namibia\",\"namibia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/130-000-queue-up-for-drought-relief-in-omusati#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/130-000-queue-up-for-drought-relief-in-omusati\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/130-000-queue-up-for-drought-relief-in-omusati\",\"name\":\"130 000 queue up for drought relief in Omusati - 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