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Relief food distribution needs concerted efforts
2006-03-02 09:00:50
By Editor
In his end of the month address to the nation on Tuesday, President Jakaya Kikwete assured Tanzanians that the government has taken precautionary measures to deal with the famine threat in the country.
The President once again allayed any fears saying there is no need to panic as the country has enough food stocks and more were being imported by businessmen.
We would like to support the government once more for its timely intervention and determination to save lives of the hungry and destitute.
The response shown by the business community in a recent harambee to boost the President’s famine kitty could not have come at the right time. More than 3bn/- was collected while ministers have urged to show generosity.
If our predictions are anything to go by, Tanzanians are set to see huge donations of relief food by their fellow Tanzanians never witnessed before.
This goes without mentioning debt relief money the IMF has allowed the President to spend on food and the contributions from the donor community. Can we still complain, given such support?
Yet, the distribution of relief food seems to hit a snag. While plenty has been donated, people, particularly children are still languishing in hunger.
This paper made a survey of the hunger situation in Kilimanjaro Region last week and assessed the government’s response in small villages in Same District.
We published a detailed report on how residents of Ndungu Ward are forced to hunt and eat wild fruits in order to survive. Their children are not attending school and teachers have come up with a strategy to combine Standard One pupils up to six in one class to get life going.
Many homesteads visited by our reporters appealed for food aid and we came to establish that the so called lucky ones only relied on porridge. We must have been moved by photos of hungry children and desperate mothers.
Having said all this, can we perhaps ask whether something is lacking in the distribution network of relief food? Our worry is that the government’s efforts to save lives may be frustrated or deliberately sabotaged by selfish individuals.
There are reports of profiteers taking advantage of the hunger and are selling or hoarding food donations. Relying on such people is a waste of time and resources.
Why then, can’t the government deploy the national service (JKT) volunteers who are disciplined and trained to handle such issues as distribution of maize to hungry villagers? After all this crisis is only temporary.
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