The distribution of drought relief food in the Otjozondjupa Region's periurban areas is still moving at a snail's pace due to a lack of transport with only one truck in the region. 

Deputy Prime Minister John Mutorwa has thus asked the region to advertise its need for trucks.

The region's warehouse for drought relief food parcels is situated in Otavi.

Although the food has been delivered to the warehouse since November last year, the warehouse is still packed, as there is only one truck to cater for the whole region.

Mutorwa is dismayed that advertisements for trucks have not been put out yet. "Those who have got these types of trucks, if you are interested, we want to get our food from here to there, and then people come and you inspect the truck, and then you see no, no, no, and this truck can deliver the goods, and then what's the problem? Maybe for this region, we need to approach the army."

The Chairperson of the Otjozondjupa Regional Council, Marlayn Mbakera, says they will look at the expression of interest of truck owners and the roadworthiness of their trucks in the region.

"This is the rate that we are paying you; if you are interested, come with your registration documents for your truck. That is all we need. We don't need Section 50 to apply here in this instance because we are not procuring services in terms of the Procurement Act. This is an emergency process that we are entering as a region. The president has declared a state of emergency, meaning that it's not business as usual."

She says the same directive of not following usual procurement processes was given to their councillors during their meetings, as the trucks are needed as soon as possible.

Otjozondjupa Governor James Uerikua says the issue of administrators also needs to be interrogated. 

"In terms of their pro-activeness, in terms of them aligning with the seriousness of the issue at hand, if a state of emergency is declared, I think all institutions need to know that we are adjusting from operating under these regulations and are now operating under this." 

He says the urgency of food distribution should be understood by all and carried out promptly.