Staff Reporter
THE Namibian President, Dr. Nangolo Mbumba has declared a National State of Emergency due to Drought.
“Under Article 26 (I) of the Namibian constitution, read together with section 30 (3) of the Disaster Risk Management Act, 2012 (Act. No. 10 of 2012), I declare that, with effect from 22 May 2024, a State of Emergency exists in Namibia on account of the persisting national disaster of drought that exists in all the regions of the Republic of Namibia,” Mbumba said.
The declaration of the state of emergency comes as the minister of Agriculture, water and Land Reform, Calle Schlettwein said that the country is facing its worst drought in a 100 years and that currently 331 000 households have been taken under the umbrella of the government funded drought relief program.
The program will spend around N$ 825 million, and this is still not sufficient to cover the entirety of food insecure households.
