Thousands join food relief programme in Zimbabwe
October 25 2010 , 7:59:00
At least 80 000 people have registered to join the food-for-work programme
in Zimbabwe’s Masvingo province in the wake of acute food shortages,
Zimbabwe’s Herald Online reported today. Government introduced the
food-for-work programme in Masvingo last week following poor harvests in
most parts of the province.
Masvingo Provincial Governor and Resident Minister Titus Maluleke said that
government had introduced the programme to ameliorate the effects of looming
food shortages in the province.
Chivi and Mwenezi districts registered to join the programme after reports
that about 40% of the province’s population will be in need of food relief
before year end. Minister Maluleke said more districts were expected to
enlist soon. “We have already started the food- for-work programme in Chivi
and Mwenezi, which are more vulnerable in terms of food availability and we
have since registered thousands of people who are receiving cash every month
under the programme.”
He added that in the first quarter of next year, the number of people in
need of food aid could rise to about 80% of the population. Masvingo is
believed to have a population of over 1.2 million people, meaning one
million people will require food relief in the first four months of next
year. – Sapa