Floodgate: Unaffected people getting relief aid
Floods that have affected 15 of the country’s 28 districts have opened doors for some unscrupulous individuals who are cashing in on relief items for personal gains.
While some are walking from their homes to camps where victims are being accommodated to benefit from items being distributed to the victims, various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have set up initiatives that are collecting money to help the victims with.
Vincent Makolo, head teacher at Konzere Primary School in Chikwawa where there is a camp for displaced individuals, said in an interview on Friday the camp is accommodating 1 326 people from six villages, but when the disaster occured, it was taking care of people from 21 villages.
He said most of the people that came at first were not affected by floods in any way, but they were just following their colleagues when they heard relief items were going to be given to them. He said the unaffected people ended up getting survival kits.
Said Makolo: “At first, we received 20 survival kits containing cups, plates, pots, soap, among other things, as well as maize flour and we distributed these to the people from 21 villages. But when we conducted an evaluation and realised most of the people are not flood victims, we negotiated with them and sent them back to their homes.”
He said had it not been that there were no intruders, things could have been better.
Similar cases were also reported at Bangula Primary School camp in Nsanje where there are about 6 502 people as victims, some of whom cannot walk due to injuries sustained after walls collapsed on them. The people have to scramble for food with those coming to the camp every time there is delivery of items.
“We are lucky we are being provided with food and medication, but the biggest problem being faced is that people from villages surrounding our camp are coming to the camp every time well-wishers bring us things. In some cases, our fellow [flood] victims end up getting nothing,” said Christina Wyson from Kalidozo Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Mlolo in Nsanje, a victim in a plaster of Paris (PoP) due to a dislocation joint.
Paul Chiunguzeni, commissioner for the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma), said in an interview affected people in camps are usually registered and the centre manager keeps a record which is used when giving out food and other items.
“Food rations are being sent to centres according to registered individuals and if people who are not affected are getting items meant for affected individuals, it is not appropriate as the food is supposed to be given to victims only,” he said.
On NGOs that have set up initiatives to collect funds to assist flood victims, Council for Non-Governmental Organisations in Malawi (Congoma) chairperson MacBain Mkandawire said there are no special mechanisms put in place to ensure that there is abuse, but that in such a crisis the assumption is that people will operate according to ethics. n
