PM travels to Caprivi to assess food security situation

Namibian Prime Minister Hage Geingob traveled to the parched Caprivi region on Wednesday for a personal food security assessment as President Sam Nujoma considers declaring a disaster.

Geingob's spokesman, Audrin Mathee, said: "He will speak to the affected communities in the Caprivi and report to the cabinet before a national disaster is declared."

He confirmed that the government was considering declaring a national drought disaster after an assessment by the emergency management unit found that half a million people out of a population of 1,8 million would need food assistance.

Gabriel Kangowa, deputy director of the emergency management unit, in the Office of President, told IRIN that cabinet examined the findings of the assessment on Tuesday.

Geingob would also visit Kavango in the North East and Omusati, Ohangwena, Oshikoto and Oshana in the former Ovamboland.

"From the look of things, we have to declare a national disaster. We hope that the Head of State [President Nujoma] can declare that as soon as possible," Kangowa said.

Government was also putting together cost estimates for food-for-work or cash programmes in the areas affected by drought.

Agriculture Minister Helmut Angula said the emergency fund had N $30 million (US $3 million) in reserves but the government was reluctant to withdraw all the money from the fund. The government was still waiting for a response from donors approached for help. The United States had already indicated it would provide food assistance.

Deputy Minister of Finance, Rick Kukuri, said the government must either ask parliament for additional emergency funds, or ask ministries to cut their budgets on non-essential items, to transfer the funds internally. The drought crisis had been unexpected, he said.

Over 14 million people in Southern Africa, including Angola, faced food shortages. So far Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia have declared a disaster.

According to the report to cabinet, only 9,000 of the almost 80,000 people in Caprivi indicated that they might pull through the drought. In the Kavango region 50,000 people would need assistance, while in the Oshikoto region more than 82,000 indicated that they were in dire need of food relief.

Apart from poor rain, a shortage of improved seed varieties, damage to crops by birds and elephants and a lack of draughting power for ploughing, contributed to generally poor harvests throughout the country.

Namibia needed around 269,200 mt of cereal, but produced only 113,500 mt with the remaining 155,700 mt to be imported. Commercial farmers were expected to import about 78,000 mt to cover 50 percent of the overall cereal shortfall. The rest would have to come from the government.

Kangowa said although the commercial millers could import cereal, most of the drought-affected people would not have the cash to buy it.