Administrative problems delay food aid

Technical and administrative problems have led to delays in the delivery of food aid to about 345,000 people in Namibia's drought-hit northern regions. The government had hoped to begin deliveries in mid-October, but the suppliers appointed to deliver the food to warehouses in the targeted regions were still finalising certain administrative procedures. "They had to get surety at the bank and letters of credit and they had to resolve problems with suppliers," Gordon Elliott, undersecretary in the prime minister's office explained. "There's a lot of work in putting such a big job together so quickly. The chairman of the [emergency management] committee has insisted that as from next week, he will start checking up on deliveries," Elliott said. The region hardest hit by this year's poor harvest was the Caprivi in the extreme north-east. Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) assisted about 18,000 refugees in Osire camp and 400 refugees in Kassava transit camp this week, the latest WFP situation report said.