The Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit has flagged off the distribution of relief food in Lunga District of Luapula province to cushion the hunger situation in the area.
Lunga District was flooded in the previous rainy season resulting in poor harvests prompting the DMMU to release relief food to the area.
On 18 June 2019, the DMMU released 200 metric tonnes of relief food to the area to avert the hunger situation caused by flooding.
Minister in the Office of the Vice President Sylvia Chalikosa flagged off the distribution of 8,960 bags of 12.5 kg bags of mealie meal in Kasoma Lunga ward.
Ms. Chalikosa expressed hope that the distributed mealie meal will help the affected families.
And Luapula member of parliament Emerine Kabanshi lamented that the hunger situation has worsened in the area.
She said urgent help is required especially that most of the families do not have anything to eat.
Ms. Kabanshi also appealed to government to open up the water channels in Lunga District to allow water to flow as it caused the flooding in the precious rainy season.
Lungs is a district surrounded by water, people literally live on water. This part of Zambia receives a fair share of rain every year, it’s impossible for crops like cassava and maize to survive. This is where money for fish farming must be directed not Kitwe where there’s no land to support the project. Most of the loans that will be given in Kitwe are likely to end up in Lufwanyama or not spent on the intended purpose
A friend from Luapula who knows this place well tells me it was wrong to even allow permanent human settlement in Lunga. He says only fishermen should live there and only during the fishing season. He argues that to allow permanent settlement means threatening terrible pollution of Lake Bangweulu and he was critical of Sata’s declaration of a district there. Now I don’t know that place. I hv merely reproduced wht a friend of many yrs has told me.
12 kgs, te tumusebanya utu?
People live there praying for a fish boom in future, it’s not known when that future will be. You can find 70yr olds without NRC and have never seen a motor vehicle. Guy Scott was shocked to find people living in such a settlement. People survive by fishing but now there’s no fish anymore
A 12.5kg in a hunger games area , and rural set probably families of 6 to 10 persons, how long will a 12kg last.
Is mealie meal the only food that can be distributed during hunger times? Other more nutritious foods?
@1.1 Nemwine.. I think your friend is right, one of the reasons for decline in fish stocks in Lake Bangweulu could be coming from human settlement and continuous fishing in breeding grounds in Lunga. ALL PEOPLE MUST BE REMOVED FROM THERE!!
Zambiaisours: just seen your reply. I hv information that even Chinese contractors who went there to do some civil engineering works declined to do bid for the contract after examining the terrain. No-one should live there permanently. But then we aren’t a normal country where we can engage in fruitful dialogue. Why do u think we’re lagging behind so much? No answer expected to the question.