Government to help 345,000 hit by drought

The Namibian government plans to spend up to US $14 million to provide relief to 345,000 people who face food shortages over the next eight months. Earlier estimates put the number of people in need at over 500,000 but this has been revised, Gabriel Kangowa, deputy director of the Emergency Management Unit told IRIN. The Caprivi region in the northeast of the country has been the hardest hit by drought, with about 25,000 villagers suffering the double blow of severe crop damage by wild animals. They join the estimated 14.4 million people facing similar food shortages in the rest of Southern Africa. Relief supplies could start moving by October, due to a special exemption allowing the government to bypass the tendering process, Kangowa said. It would be transported by the government and distributed by Regional Emergency Management Units, whose committees comprise representatives of the Namibian Defence Force, the police, the Department of Health, and NGOs. Part of the relief effort would have a "food for work" component - to improve roads and build community centres. Funds would also go to school feeding programmes, Kangowa added. The Namibian Red Cross (NRC) said it was ready to assist, focusing on people with HIV/AIDS, water and sanitation, and food security, NRC secretary-general Razia Essack-Kauaria told IRIN. "We are just waiting for the governmnent to declare a drought so that we can launch an appeal for funds," she said. The Namibia Agriculture Union (NAU) announced it would also join the drought-relief effort. NAU director Gert Grobler told IRIN that each farmer had been asked to donate either one cow or the equivalent in cash to "grass roots associations". The money would be placed in a trust fund administered by NAU, and disbursement would be in consultation with the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Agriculture. Meanwhile, although Namibia has suffered a setback with the drought, the country is enjoying a boom in cross-border trade with its northern neighbour, Angola. Saul Kahuika, a researcher at the Namibia Policy Research Unit, said trade in consumer goods and foodstuffs between the two countries had jumped from US $25.7 million in 1998 to US $68.6 million last year. "SWAPO [Namibia's ruling party] was based in Angola for most of the years that it fought for Namibia's liberation. This relationship is now transferring into an economic relationship," Kahuika told IRIN. "Now, with peace almost permanent in Angola, there is sufficient scope for the two countries to focus on economic cooperation." However, a major obstacle for developing trade was the poor state of roads in Angola, a difficulty lamented by aid agencies since the April ceasefire opened access to the country. The report said Angola had a 76,000 km road network, with only 19,000 km paved. Little maintenance had left the roads "in a disastrous state", and landmines present a more lethal hazard. "[Angola] needs road improvements to access all its potential markets," Kahuika said. At present the bulk of the trade along the 500 km shared border has centred around the Oshikango border post and the former military base of Rundu. Most of the foodstuffs being traded are Namibian products, but South African building materials are also crossing into Angola, Kahuika said.