The Otjozondjupa region is facing logistical challenges in distributing drought relief to the marginalised San community in both the Grootfontein constituency and Tsumkwe.
The two are the largest San community constituencies in the region.
The region currently has three bakkies and one truck, with one bakkie currently being fixed.
The region has 5 758 households registered in the seven constituencies of the region, and farm Goves has 41 households benefiting from the programme, according to Otjozondjupa region development planner Petronella Golo.
This comes after residents at the Grootfontein constituency complained that they have not received drought relief for three months.
Willem Kobes, a community member in the Goves area, said this of The Namibian last week, calling for urgent assistance from the government.
Kobes said they are surviving on only water and the little they are able to salvage, which is not enough to feed them all.
Kobes claimed January and February were the last months they received drought relief.
“I have been trying to call both the Otjiwarongo and Grootfontein councils to intervene but till now I have not gotten a response nor has anyone from the council come to assess our situation.
“We are really suffering and for three months without drought food is really tough, many of us go hungry,” said Kobes.
He claimed community members are forced to go to nearby areas to ask for food.
In response to the claims, Golo says the region distributed drought relief on 18 February and 30 April.
She says claims of no relief distribution are not true.
She attributes the delay in drought relief to the change of administration following the announcement by president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah that marginalised programmes will no longer be under the gender and equality ministry but under the Office of the President.
“This change did cause some delays and we apologise for the delay but we will resume with distribution on Monday in the Tsumkwe constituency. After that we will then proceed to Goves and other areas,” she says. She adds that they face logistical challenges as the available vehicles are not able to cover all seven constituencies in a short period of time, causing delays in relief distribution.
She says in some instances it can take two weeks to cover a constituency.
Currently, the two bakkies are being used to transport community pupils from the schools to their homes for the long weekend.
The transportation is also part of the marginalised programme by the government.
Golo assures the community that drought relief distribution will commence on Monday, urging residents to remain calm.
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