The Directorate of Disaster Risk Management in the Office of the Prime Minister will soon roll out a voucher system to streamline the drought relief food aid distribution. 

The Director of Disaster Risk Management, Helen Likando, revealed this during an engagement the Deputy Prime Minister had with ||Kharas Regional Disaster Risk Management Committee at Keetmanshoop. 

Likando said the voucher system for drought relief food aid distribution also aims to stimulate economic activity within the regions. 

"We are in the process of transitioning from the physical food distribution to a voucher system, digitalisation. We have, through that process, allowed regional councils to recruit interns, one per constituency, to assist in the capture of data on the system. Once all beneficiaries are captured on the system, that's the only time we would be able to transition." 

A market assessment will also be conducted to select retailers and vendors to form part of suppliers. 

"Beneficiaries will be given a card, and these cards will be used to redeem their food from the nearest shops on a monthly basis at their convenience without waiting for the government to come after a month or so because of the logistic challenges. So this will help to ensure that food distribution is taking place timely and that it's given to the correct people. Only those that have been registered and on their own convenient time." 

6,000 households in rural areas of the ||Kharas Region are registered for drought relief aid, while more than 1,000 beneficiaries in the peri-urban areas also benefitted from the drought relief food aid. 

Likando stated that some of the regions have been wrongly classified as informal settlers in towns as those living in peri-urban areas. 

"You find the regions mostly Kavango East, where if you go, you have people who live around Rundu with their mahangu field, with their chickens and livestock. They are there; it's in town. That's what we refer to as peri-urban."

Some attendees argued that the majority of the people living in informal settlements migrated from rural areas and therefore should be eligible to receive drought food aid. 

Deputy Prime Minister John Mutorwa also highlighted other government programmes that cater for other groups. 

Mutorwa commended the high turnout at the engagement.