By Tiwonge Kampondeni
Karonga, April 21, Mana: Speaker of the National Assembly Catherine Gotani Hara has advised the people of Karonga to guard against food waste to avoid starvation.
She was speaking on Thursday when she joined the distribution exercise of relief maize to the people affected by the dry spell at Baka CDSS centre.
The centre has a total of 683 households that were registered on the beneficiaries list.
“We are in the trying moments where we can see for ourselves that we will have serious food shortages. As households, let us adjust by cooking only what we need to eat and not cookingtoo much ending up wasting some,” Hara said.
She observed that proper food use is key if affected households are to prevent starvation.
She observed that Malawi is faced with a huge challenge to recovery from Cyclone Freddy’s effects and that resources are limited hence the need for citizens to be responsible with how they use the relief food.
Hara, however, expressed satisfaction with how the distribution exercise is going on in Karonga.
She appealed to local leaders and officials involved to ensure transparency and accountability in the distribution exercise so that only intended beneficiaries get the relief support.
Hara also warned members of the benefitting households against selling the maize, saying such malpractice discourages those that want to assist.
Ellen Nyirenda from Mwambuli Village, in Traditional Authority Kyungu thanked government for the maize she received saying it will be put to proper use.
She asked government to continue giving them relief food until the next growing season.
Speaking at the function, Paramount Kyungu said the multitude that gathered at Baka was a clear demonstration that there is hunger in Karonga.
He appealed for continued short-term interventions so that people should not die from hunger.
“I am happy that the government has responded to our appeal for urgent assistance,” he said.
He appealed to more well-wishers including the sons and daughters of Karonga and Chitipa in the diaspora to come forward with assistance.
A total of 38,605 households have been affected in Karongaand will get a 50 kg per household.