FARMERS REDUCED TO BEGGING

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Otjekua — Residents of Otjekua,
a village in the Ruacana
constituency, affected by drought
for the second year in a row say
their livestock losses have
increased significantly and their
circumstances have taken a turn
for the worst this year.
They further claim their
predicament has worsened
progressively over the past two
years, reducing them to beggars.
Residents of Otjekua, most of
them subsistence farmers, say
for the past two years they did
not receive enough rainfall, but
their herds of cattle had carried
them through until this year.
"This year it is worse, our cattle
died like nothing. We were
forced to sell them at cheap
prices, because they have
nothing to eat and now we are
not even receiving enough
drought relief assistance from
the government," lamented one
of the residents, who is also a
subsistence farmer. The village is
situated some 30km outside
Ruacana in the Omusati Region.
According to the headman
Uazamo Tjiharuka the
government tried its best to give
the little it could, although the
assistance is barely enough for
them. "Most of the homes here
are overcrowded with a
maximum of up to 30 people in
one house and you only receive
six bags of maize that you will
finish within a week or two,"
said the headman, who is also
their spokesman.
Otjekua is populated mainly by
Ovatjimba people and they say
for the past three months they
have not received any drought
relief rations. Now they are
pleading with the government to
increase the number of maize
meal bags to the households in
the village, just so that they can
help them reach the next round
of food distribution. "So far the
food distribution from our
constituency councillor is good,
but we know food is always
finished at the office the same
day it arrives. So, even if you go
there after a week reporting that
your food is finished and the
children have nothing to eat you
will not find anything at all.
Which clearly shows that we are
not receiving enough food," he
said.
Ruacana constituency councillor
Absta Iipinge urged people to
report cases of malnutrition if
there are any, saying that people
must not die from hunger as
stated expressly by President
Hifikepunye Pohamba early this
year. Iipinge said the distribution
of food is not proceeding as
planned, because the drought
relief food policy stipulates every
person should get food every
month, but the villagers last
received their rations in June,
mainly "because the food is not
enough," he said.
Iipinge noted that the main
warehouse in the region is also
empty. "The food distribution is
very slow and if this continues
like this we are not going to
respond on time to the call by the
president that no one should die
because of hunger," said Iipinge.
Meanwhile, Otjekua residents
also called on the Ministry of
Home Affairs and Immigration to
visit their village, because 180
elders and children are without
national identification
documents and birth certificates,
although they have already been
registered by their leaders. They
said Outapi is situated too far
away from their village