DMMU to ascertain relief food demand
VICE PRESIDENT Inonge Wina says Government through Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) is compiling data from all the districts that are under stress to establish how much relief food is needed in each district.
Ms Wina cited Feira Constituency in Luangwa district as one of the most affected areas when it comes to food insecurity in the county.
Ms Wina however said Government has since put measures in place to ensure that people did not die of hunger.
Ms Wina said DMMU was still collecting the information from the recently affected areas such as Chama district which had experienced flash floods that have affected a number of households due to climate change effects.
The Vice President said this in Parliament yesterday during the Vice President’s question time in response to Feira Member of Parliament Stephen Miti who wanted to find out when is Government, through DMMU, will start distributing relief food to affected people in the area following the dry spell that was experienced.
Ms Wina said once data collection was done in a few weeks’ time Government would be in a position to establish the extent of the calamity and then determine priority areas to take relief food to.
She said DMMU was mandated to respond to disasters through distribution of food relief to affected households.
Therefore it would need to mobilise resources so that the food was distributed to the affected people across the county, she said.
“DMMU is still collecting more information to the recently affected areas, for example like Chama district is not usually affected by rains, but this year there have been flash floods that have affected a number of households.
So these are the consequences of climate change which has a negative impact on our people, therefore Government is working round the clock to ensure that the affected districts have relief food because it was the work of Government to provide food to the affected communities," said Ms Wina.
Meanwhile, Mrs Wina said the rational of introducing statutory Instrument (SI) on groundwater and boreholes licencing of the drillers is not victimisation, but a law to safeguard lives of Zambians to ensure safe drinking water to avert cholera outbreak.
Vice President said Government had of late been concerned with reports of boreholes being drilled near sewer lines, saying this, and shallow wells, were factors that triggered the outbreak of cholera.
Ms Wina said this when Livingstone UPND Member of Parliament Mathews Jere who sought clarity on rational by Government to start charging on sinking of borehole.