Increase relief maize beneficiaries—chiefs
Chiefs and councillors in Dowa District have asked authorities to increase the number of relief maize beneficiaries ahead of the programme’s rollout in January 2023.
Speaking during an extraordinary full council meeting on Thursday when the Department of Disaster Management Affairs oriented the council on the implementation of the 2022/23 Lean Season Food Insecurity Response Programme, Traditional Authority Kayembe said the number of beneficiaries did not reflect the reality on the ground.
She said a lot of people were facing food shortages, a situation she said could get worse in the next three months.
“We expect a tough time ahead of us. It would be better to increase the number of beneficiaries,” said Kayembe.
She, therefore, asked that in future, authorities should involve councillors and chiefs to advise on the number of beneficiaries.
Dowa District Council chairperson Richard Kassanje said they were concerned that the programme is targeting 19 056 households while there are many households facing food shortage.
“We would have loved if more households were targeted in the programme because the current target is not a true reflection of the situation,” he said.
Kassanje further expressed concern that the targeted households (around 17 300) are those already on government’s Social Cash Transfer Programme while there are other vulnerable households who deserve the assistance.
He said the council will officially communicate authorities on their concerns.
In Dowa, the programme will run from January to March 2023, each month distributing K25 000 per beneficiary through social cash transfer to enable them to buy a 50 kilogramme bag of maize.
According to the 2022 Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee Report, 3.8 million people in 27 districts and four cities will require food assistance, starting from November 2022 to March 2023.
