A resident of Muyako in the Zambezi Region, Patrick Matengu, is appealing to the government to consider some sort of compensation for cattle lost to a natural disaster.

Matengu this week woke up to five of his cattle struck by lightning in Maalo Village in the Muyako Area. 

Four of the cattle, he said, belong to him; the others to a relative. 

The value of the dead cattle is estimated at N$40,000.

"There is no way for me to sell these cattle you see lying down here, because where are the buyers of such cattle going to come from? So it will depend on the people I live with; those who are willing to consume will come and get meat, but with regard to taking it to the market for selling, that is not possible."

He emphasised that the timing was unfortunate, as they were preparing the fields for ploughing.

He now issued a desperate plea for the government to consider aiding farmers who incur losses in the way he did. 

Matengu explained that most village farmers find it close to impossible to recover following such occurrences.

Reached for comment, the Chairperson of the National Disaster and Risk Management Council in the Zambezi Region, Matengu Simushi, said that currently, loss of cattle due to lightning is not covered or compensated.

Simushi said he was aware of the situation and would further enquire with the office of the prime minister.