Drought relief late

CHANDAPIWA BAPUTAKI
Staff Writer | Wednesday August 8, 2007 00:00

It took about two months for the cheques to be released by the Ministry of Local Government (MoLG) to the districts. The last bunch was released last Thursday.

This has not gone down well with many residents in the rural areas as it was their only hope of putting food on the table when there were no rains this year.  There were little or no harvests for many citizens. According to the principal public relations officer in the MoLG, Kaelo Kaelo, the funds were delayed by the paying system that is used by government to release money. 

'Had it not been down, the project could have long taken off,' Kaelo said.  He said the long procedure of obtaining government funds could have also caused the delay.  'Even if the drought was declared and some people thought it was an emergency, it did not mean that some procedures of obtaining money could be skipped,' Kaelo said.  He pointed out that some districts had already mobilised and paid their employees at end of July.
When Mogae declared drought, he made a commitment that his government would do everything in its power to ensure that the effects of drought on the country's population were contained.

 
But he warned the nation to be prepared to shoulder some of the burden and comply with measures to alleviate the effects of the drought.