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Greedy traders shouldn`t hijack relief food supply
2008-03-26 08:58:58
By Editor
The good intentions of the government have most of the time been abused by a few rapacious and greedy individuals. We have seen on different occasions the government taking necessary measures to bring relief to the ordinary wananchi when hit by disasters of any sort.
We have examples of victims of floods, droughts and even man-made disasters being cheated out of relief supplies by on-the-hand selfish operators colluding with government officials tasked to ensure the relief reaches the intended parties.
The government should match word with action in ensuring that the relief supplies for people threatened with hunger reaches them at the prices it has set, that is, 50/- per kilogramme of maize.
On the other hand, there is need for caution. It is true that 50/- looks affordable for ensuring that people can buy the relief supplies, but it is also true that for some people, even 50/- is much too high.
We believe that a screening system in areas affected by the drought will enable even those who cannot afford 50/- to be fed.
The government then needs a highly committed team of monitors to ensure that the exercise is carried out without the profiteers hijacking the process at the expense of the people.
We say so being aware that profit mongers will use every form of persuasion available to cash in on the desperation of the people. This can easily be done when we have a less than alert team of monitors.
We think that the incentives that the government has put in place for traders are more than enough.
Any self-respecting trader who wants to get more out of such a desperate situation only serves to reveal how inhumanly low he is ready to stoop in order to become rich. Without mincing words, it means trading away precious life for riches.
We therefore expect that traders commissioned to sell the relief food, knowing that it is a service to fellow human beings who are desperate for survival, the service is not-repeat-not a killing field for profits.
The government should also, apart from disaster management, also create the necessary conditions to enable people cultivate drought-resistant crops once the problem is over.
Worse still, these drought resistant crops have been treated as last resort foods by both the government and the people, but these are staple foods that are very critical food imports at all times.
People should be encouraged to plant and store drought-resistant crops and store them properly at all times.
Peasant farmers also need to be given training on sustainable food storage that they can handle and manage.
A lot of food is being wasted every year for lack of proper storage techniques.
That said, we support the government`s declared intention of preventing traders assigned to distribute food from inflating prices of subsidized maize.
For too long, this has been the tendency of traders who are commissioned to do the job.
This time around, we hope that the warning will not fall on deaf ears and also that the government will see to it that no stone is left unturned until all unscrupulous traders tasked to distribute emergency food are dealt with.
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