Chiefs interfere in KU food distribution programme

some chiefs in Kasungu are interfering with the food distribution programme being implemented by Plan Malawi International in conjunction with the World Food Programme (WFP), according to residents.

The food distribution exercise follows the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (Mvac) report released in August last year which said about 17 percent of the population in the country will be unable to meet their annual food requirements.

The people say the chiefs are interfering in the selection of beneficiaries and in some situations they confiscate food from the beneficiaries and redistribute it.

Plan Malawi’s disaster risk reduction and response manager Tambuzgani Msiska said there are reported cases of chiefs interfering in the programme, but they are yet to review the cases.

“There are such reports but at the moment, we do not have a clear picture of the extent of the practice. We will sit down together with civil protection committees and see the extent and possibly how to handle it,” said Msiska.

Kasungu district commissioner (DC) the Reverend Moses Chimphepo said the chiefs clearly know what is required of them in the programme.

Some quarters have said the chiefs may be doing this to ensure that more people get the relief food since the number of targeted beneficiaries is small compared to those currently facing hunger.

Plan International Malawi is giving each beneficiary a 50 kilogramme (kg) bag of maize, six kg of pulses, two litres of cooking oil and six kg super cereals.

The total number of beneficiaries is 4 497.