People surviving on mangoes—Machinga MPs
Two members of Parliament (MPs) from Machinga District have sounded a ‘save our souls’ (SOS) call for humanitarian support for people in their constituencies who are purportedly surviving on cooked mangoes.
Machinga East MP Esther Jolobala (United Democratic Front-UDF) and Machinga South East legislator Fyness Magonjwa (Democratic Progressive Party-DPP) raised the issue in Parliament in Lilongwe yesterday at the start of the Mid-Year Budget Review Meeting.
In her question to Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale, Jolobala said people were dying of hunger-related complications as they were living on boiled mangoes.
She said: “When does government plan to bring food relief in Machinga? It is one of the areas that was hard hit by Cyclone Freddy and people are dying of hunger-related complications.”
Magonjwa, on the other hand, asked the minister to ensure that food aid reaches the area so that no-one goes to bed hungry.
“People are surviving on mangoes, and soon these mangoes will run out. Please take the matter seriously and consider people in my constituency with food aid,” she said.
In his response, Kawale said he had taken note of the query and will ensure that food relief reaches these areas.
