President Emmerson Mnangagwa says the government has put in place adequate measures to guarantee food for all communities to ensure that no one dies from hunger.
Zimbabwe is experiencing one of its driest summers as crops wilt under the scorching heat coupled with the rapid drying of water sources.
Speaking at the handover of 100 vehicles to chiefs at the Harare International Conference Centre on Thursday, 29 February, Mnangagwa urged traditional leaders to tell their subjects that they will not starve. He said:
Given the dire effects of the El Niño weather phenomenon, I want to assure the nation that measures have been put in place to guarantee adequate food for all communities of our country. I appeal to you as traditional leaders to go and reassure our people that no communities will starve.
As chiefs, you are all-embracive in the manner you deal with your people and I urge this spirit to continue, while the identification of vulnerable households, in particular, widows and child-headed families, should be undertaken timely.
In January this year, the Government said that it would distribute food aid to 2.7 million people who are food insecure from January up to March 2024.
That same month, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said it would provide US$11.27 million in aid to the World Food Programme (WFP) to assist Zimbabwe in mitigating the challenges posed by the El Nino-induced drought.
SOURCE : PINDULA
