drought food spoiled by rain

Drought Relief Assistance Programme (GDRA) were dumped along the Likwaterera road in the Rundu Rural Constituency in the Kavango East Region recently, the DTA of Namibia revealed on Thursday. DTA Secretary General Vincent Kanyetu said in a media statement issued here on Thursday, the bags were dumped by the side of the road when it was discovered that the foodstuffs were spoiled. "The DTA has reported the matter to the local police at Rundu, who are in the process of conducting an investigation in this regard," he said. Kanyetu said the Chief Regional Officer of Rundu, Sebastian Kantema has confirmed incident. The wasted foodstuffs form part of the GDRA, which falls under the Office of the Prime Minister. Kantema told the DTA that the reason why the food was dumped alongside the road was because the food was apparently incorrectly stored during transportation, and as a result was spoiled by rain. "Considering that Namibia remains in the grip of the worst drought in 30 years, that an alarming rate of Namibians under the age of five years passed away in 2013 due to malnutrition and starvation, and that an overwhelming majority of Namibians do not enjoy food security, the negligent and senseless wastage of such a large amount of maize meal is simply unacceptable," said Kanyetu. The DTA has thus called on the Office of the Prime Minister to launch an investigation into the matter. "The findings of this investigation should be made public, and those who are at fault must be held accountable," said Kanyetu, adding that this will ensure that such wastage of food does not become a recurring issue. He stressed that the irresponsible behaviour which has led to the spoiling and wastage of valuable foodstuffs not only robs those in desperate need of the sustenance they require in order to continue living, but also takes away from all the Namibians, as it is they who finance Government programmes through their tax money.