Staff Reporter
AN additional amount of N$698.8 million has been allocated for drought relief provisions under the Office of the Prime Minister, mainly aimed at extending the food distribution programme to eligible communities.
This was announced by Ipumbu Shiimi, the Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises, during his recent presentation of the Mid-Year Budget Review Policy for the 2024/25 financial year.
“This allocation provides for the drought relief programme to be expanded to cover 308,750 households until 30 June 2025. This allocation increases the total drought relief budget for FY2024/25 to well over N$1.4 billion. This is a significant resource envelope, which highlights the importance of instituting climate resilience policies and measures to minimise the impact of weather events on livelihoods going forward,” he said.
Shiimi further highlighted that the National Disaster Management Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister has continued to roll out the drought relief programme to affected regions and communities at a cost of N$129.8 million per month during the first half of the financial year.
“In addition, through the Agricultural Bank of Namibia (Agribank), we have rolled out a dedicated subsidy programme to support farmers whose operations have been adversely affected by drought conditions at a total cost of N$126.3 million during the current financial year,” he added.
He emphasised that the ongoing drought situation has far-reaching effects on the economy as well as the broader population, specifically the most vulnerable members of society.
“To mitigate the potential adverse impact thereof, we have made the requisite expenditure provisions both through drought relief for food distribution and support to farmers, providing funding for the green schemes as well as strengthening the relevant social protection schemes to minimise the loss of livelihoods. We are confident that, in the short term, such interventions will assist in improving food security at both household and national levels. Nevertheless, we will prioritise long-term measures to improve fiscal resilience against climatic events,” he said.
The finance minister also mentioned that the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform has prioritised the drilling of boreholes and the expansion of rural water supply pipelines to enhance community access to water, especially considering the increased frequency of droughts.
“In this regard, the ministry has so far completed 115 boreholes and 20 earth dams in rural communities, with another 83 boreholes and 34 earth dams in the pipeline. We are further pleased to note that procurement has been finalised and construction has commenced for the Rundu Water Treatment Plant as well as the 2nd Ohangwena Aquifer Well Field. Meanwhile, the procurement for the Oshakati Water Treatment Plant is at an advanced stage,” he added.
Shiimi also noted that, as a measure to improve food security considering the ongoing drought, the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform has expanded the area under cultivation for staple food production at various green schemes.
“Accordingly, we expect increased production to reduce the deficit in local food production and subsequently improve domestic food security,” he added.
