The Deputy Prime Minister, John Mutorwa, is pleased with the drought relief food distribution in the Kavango West Region.

Mutorwa embarked on a visit to all 14 regions to assess the distribution of drought relief aid. 

The Kavango West Region has eight constituencies with more than 27,000 people registered for drought assistance.

Only 2,000 households are benefiting from the programme. 

Four privately owned trucks distribute the food aid from one warehouse in the Kavango West region.

The Deputy Prime Minister is impressed with the teamwork and the administration of the food relief programme. 

"I am very impressed with these leaders here, both the political leadership and the man who is in charge despite his working conditions, the people who are there are on duty the warehouses are empty, not because there was no food, empty because the food is where it matters, the food is with the beneficiaries, so I am very happy here. Of course, not everything is in place, but that's why we are together with the governor, councillors, and director; that's why we are touring." 

Despite the impressive work by the risk management committee, there are still some challenges, hampering the effective distribution of the drought relief food items. 

The Chairperson of the Kavango West Regional Council, Joseph Shikongo, says, "We have a serious challenge to maintain these cars, and then the limited budget is also one. We are always given 200 thousand, but these trucks are finishing these 200 thousand because they are old and they are not manageable; it's not easy to manage them. Also, one challenge is safety, there is no security guard at the warehouse. 

The Governor of the Kavango West Region, Sirkka Ausiku, requested more warehouses as the region is vast. 

"We have eight constituencies, but we only have one warehouse at Katwitwi, and it's difficult to distribute or transport the food items to other constituencies. If we can manage to put some or identify some venues where we can store our food, like maybe Rundu, Katjinakatji, or Mururani, it will make the distribution fast and also be closer to the community." 

The Director for Disaster Risk Management in the Office of the Prime Minister, Helen Likando, said the office is aware of some challenges and is working to resolve them. 

"Since then, we have been working on the establishment of a temporary structure to accommodate the recruitment of a chief administrative officer, grade 10, in each region who will be assisting the existing senior. The current positions are chief administrative officers, so we are creating senior administrative officer positions." 

The food relief programme, which was approved, has been extended to June next year.